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A review by lauredhel
Undine by Penni Russon
5.0
I just love the way Russon writes. For the first half in particular, the rhythm was electric, was corporeal - I found myself somehow breathing along with the book, and whenever I put it down for a moment, I felt a physical reorganisation, a hitch as my breathing rearranged itself.
I was put off for a little while by the sexualised compulsion scene [magically-coerced kissing, no rape, but this is because the characters were interrupted, not because they stopped willingly. The compulsion is semi-inadvertent, as this magic is entirely new to the character involved]. I think my difficulty was because of being in the head of the character perpetrating the compulsion. However, it was treated as horrible within the narrative, though I detected a certain ambivalence at first - I'm assuming this was the ambivalence of the POV character coming through. This character grew to take a look at herself and at the problematic nature of that behaviour, and to learn that it was essential to control her magic to avoid harming others.
As some other reviews opine, it may have wrapped it a little too quickly and neatly; but overall the book was a glorious allegory for the feelings and changes of adolescence, and a delightful fantasy tale in its own right. I'm looking forward to reading the next book, Breathe.
I was put off for a little while by the sexualised compulsion scene [magically-coerced kissing, no rape, but this is because the characters were interrupted, not because they stopped willingly. The compulsion is semi-inadvertent, as this magic is entirely new to the character involved]. I think my difficulty was because of being in the head of the character perpetrating the compulsion. However, it was treated as horrible within the narrative, though I detected a certain ambivalence at first - I'm assuming this was the ambivalence of the POV character coming through. This character grew to take a look at herself and at the problematic nature of that behaviour, and to learn that it was essential to control her magic to avoid harming others.
As some other reviews opine, it may have wrapped it a little too quickly and neatly; but overall the book was a glorious allegory for the feelings and changes of adolescence, and a delightful fantasy tale in its own right. I'm looking forward to reading the next book, Breathe.