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A review by rainmisoa
The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by Paul Elwork
3.0
Sometimes with little knowledge in a book can go a long way. I won this book off of GoodReads FirstReads and I was so excited and super pumped up because this was the first book I ever won off of GoodReads. When I read the synopsis, I knew that this book was going to be some ride. The premise of a girl who can make a cracking sound with her ankle and then start using that to fool other people into thinking that she can contact the dead was just a unique concept. I just had to read it. (I tried to get this review up in time of the publication but I think I may be a day late so... bare with me.)
Let me start off by saying that the writing in this book is amazing. Paul Elwork has a way with language and it just amazes me how well he can write a female perspective. That's another thing I want to mention. This book is written in third person (with the exception of the last chapter) which I find to be a great relief! So many books today are written in first person that it drives me insane! Not to say I don't like them; I just like seeing diversity. Anyway, the writing was very good. Elwork knew how to get his point across without much effort. One thing negative I feel I must point out about his writing style has to be the way he moves from one subject to the next. He has this habit of starting one thing then completely changing it to something entirely different without much transition. This happens quite a few times in the book which it made it hard for me to get through. But I feel this is just something very minor to how the majoroty of his writing style is.
His characters are what I feel made the book. Emily, female lead and twin sister of Michael, was very strong and intelligent. At the beginning of the story she starts off gullible and willing to please everyone but I feel she grows from that throughout the remainder of the book. Michael, male lead and twin brother of Emily, was a bit more introverted. He was reserved throughtout the story and cynical. I found I connected more to him because his views on life and people in general are much like my own. I really appreciated him. He was my favorite out of the twins. However, I enjoyed the side characters a whole lot more than I did the main. The side characters felt more troubled, more passionate, more real to me. They have this drive to do things that is so rare to see in books. My favorite being Stan and Donald because of the relationship they had with Naomi. They were so involved with her and did what they felt was right in order to make things continue to flow. Man, I love those two... but I'll stop there because I don't want to say any spoilers.
Now, even though I love the characters and I felt the writing style was good, I did find this book to be slow at times. At the beginning of the book, I found it really hard to pay attention to what was going on only because it seemed to have nothing to do with the story. I did mangae to stay focus and I understand why it had to be there but it still felt flat to me. I feel that Elwork wanted us to fully undertsand everything and put those slow parts in for a reason but I think the way it was executed to be a bit poor. It was just too many things far and in between for the story to really take effect on the reader. The premise is amazing! However, the execution needs a bit more work.
But don't let this setback dissuade you from picking up this book and reading it. Yeah, it has a lot of slow parts and the transitions are a bit choppy but it's still a fantastic and unique read! I truly do think that because a story like this is so rare that it is worth the read. Besides, just because I found some parts not to my liking doesn't mean that you will. Others will love this story for it's richness in language and interesting backstory! Go ahead and pick it up. You may just fine it to be one of your favorites.
Let me start off by saying that the writing in this book is amazing. Paul Elwork has a way with language and it just amazes me how well he can write a female perspective. That's another thing I want to mention. This book is written in third person (with the exception of the last chapter) which I find to be a great relief! So many books today are written in first person that it drives me insane! Not to say I don't like them; I just like seeing diversity. Anyway, the writing was very good. Elwork knew how to get his point across without much effort. One thing negative I feel I must point out about his writing style has to be the way he moves from one subject to the next. He has this habit of starting one thing then completely changing it to something entirely different without much transition. This happens quite a few times in the book which it made it hard for me to get through. But I feel this is just something very minor to how the majoroty of his writing style is.
His characters are what I feel made the book. Emily, female lead and twin sister of Michael, was very strong and intelligent. At the beginning of the story she starts off gullible and willing to please everyone but I feel she grows from that throughout the remainder of the book. Michael, male lead and twin brother of Emily, was a bit more introverted. He was reserved throughtout the story and cynical. I found I connected more to him because his views on life and people in general are much like my own. I really appreciated him. He was my favorite out of the twins. However, I enjoyed the side characters a whole lot more than I did the main. The side characters felt more troubled, more passionate, more real to me. They have this drive to do things that is so rare to see in books. My favorite being Stan and Donald because of the relationship they had with Naomi. They were so involved with her and did what they felt was right in order to make things continue to flow. Man, I love those two... but I'll stop there because I don't want to say any spoilers.
Now, even though I love the characters and I felt the writing style was good, I did find this book to be slow at times. At the beginning of the book, I found it really hard to pay attention to what was going on only because it seemed to have nothing to do with the story. I did mangae to stay focus and I understand why it had to be there but it still felt flat to me. I feel that Elwork wanted us to fully undertsand everything and put those slow parts in for a reason but I think the way it was executed to be a bit poor. It was just too many things far and in between for the story to really take effect on the reader. The premise is amazing! However, the execution needs a bit more work.
But don't let this setback dissuade you from picking up this book and reading it. Yeah, it has a lot of slow parts and the transitions are a bit choppy but it's still a fantastic and unique read! I truly do think that because a story like this is so rare that it is worth the read. Besides, just because I found some parts not to my liking doesn't mean that you will. Others will love this story for it's richness in language and interesting backstory! Go ahead and pick it up. You may just fine it to be one of your favorites.