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monstroustea's review
1.0
I received a copy of this through Goodread's First Reads giveaway. I was very excited to start reading this book. A heartwarming story about twins in a magic modern world? I love this stuff. Unfortunately, this book is rather... lacking. Just at first glance, the formatting inside the book needs a lot of help. The story feels like a first draft; a quick run through of the story to get started so the real meat can be added into the second draft. There are so many unanswered questions and so much that could use a good editing.
The synopsis calls this story heartwarming and I really wouldn't call it that at all. It's mostly of a muddle of confusion and anguish. The story is hardly full of the promised magic, either. The fairies, nymphs, and sentient gingerbread men are certainly there, but they don't seem to serve any purpose and their existence is never explained.
The life the boys live before everything comes crashing down around them is also very strange. Neither they nor their parents seem very realistic and too much time is spent with Alex and Jason bickering like seven year olds instead of seventeen year olds. I rarely complain that something has too much dialogue, but the opening of the book does, considering that the dialogue has no substance. It may have been fun to write, but it wasn't fun to read.
After their father left and their mother shut down, I thought maybe the magic elements would go away. Maybe the story was going to be about loss of innocence and such? But, no, the magic elements just sort of got shut-out as Catherine began to spin out of control and take her children with her--and that is probably the best part of the book to me, Catherine's problems. The moment she just suddenly brightened up and decided to throw a huge party, I knew that it was mania driving her, and I kept reading despite half wanting to give up on the book. I almost feel like the whole thing was worth reading just for this one quote:
It's a really wonderful quote that I think anyone who struggled through abuse from a parental figure could identify with. And after how Alex has been feeling like he's going crazy, trying to rectify his mother's words and actions with what he's seeing himself, it's good to hear. It's so good to see him recognize this and not give in when his mother continues on with how she has been behaving this whole time.
Unfortunately, the story ends incredibly abruptly. Catherine attacks her sister and leaves her in a pool of blood--and then the narrative shifts back to the boys in their motel room and tells us how they go on to lead a life full of everything they ever dreamed and talked of. But what happened to Aunt Haddy? Did their mother ever get help? Was there more magic in their life? Is magic normal in this world or just something special about Alex and Jason?
In the end, I really feel like this story could be fleshed out and become something a lot stronger.
The synopsis calls this story heartwarming and I really wouldn't call it that at all. It's mostly of a muddle of confusion and anguish. The story is hardly full of the promised magic, either. The fairies, nymphs, and sentient gingerbread men are certainly there, but they don't seem to serve any purpose and their existence is never explained.
Spoiler
At this point, I can only assume the magic elements are just a way of showing that the twins might have some problems like their mother. Otherwise, the magical elements of the book are extraneous. I kept waiting to see why the twins had guardian fairies or how Aunt Haddy's gingerbread men came to life. No answers!The life the boys live before everything comes crashing down around them is also very strange. Neither they nor their parents seem very realistic and too much time is spent with Alex and Jason bickering like seven year olds instead of seventeen year olds. I rarely complain that something has too much dialogue, but the opening of the book does, considering that the dialogue has no substance. It may have been fun to write, but it wasn't fun to read.
After their father left and their mother shut down, I thought maybe the magic elements would go away. Maybe the story was going to be about loss of innocence and such? But, no, the magic elements just sort of got shut-out as Catherine began to spin out of control and take her children with her--and that is probably the best part of the book to me, Catherine's problems. The moment she just suddenly brightened up and decided to throw a huge party, I knew that it was mania driving her, and I kept reading despite half wanting to give up on the book. I almost feel like the whole thing was worth reading just for this one quote:
"[...] You're not a friend we know, or a stranger on the street. You're our mother... we can't just ignore the things you tell us. We can't just brush it off, like we do with other people. When you say or do anything, it affects us. We can't help it. We learned our whole lives to trust you. We can't just turn that off now, even if we know what you're saying and doing is wrong."
It's a really wonderful quote that I think anyone who struggled through abuse from a parental figure could identify with. And after how Alex has been feeling like he's going crazy, trying to rectify his mother's words and actions with what he's seeing himself, it's good to hear. It's so good to see him recognize this and not give in when his mother continues on with how she has been behaving this whole time.
Unfortunately, the story ends incredibly abruptly. Catherine attacks her sister and leaves her in a pool of blood--and then the narrative shifts back to the boys in their motel room and tells us how they go on to lead a life full of everything they ever dreamed and talked of. But what happened to Aunt Haddy? Did their mother ever get help? Was there more magic in their life? Is magic normal in this world or just something special about Alex and Jason?
In the end, I really feel like this story could be fleshed out and become something a lot stronger.
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