Title: Imaginary Girls
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Number of Stars: 2 and 3/4 (of 5)
Number of Stars: 2 and 3/4 (of 5)
Flash forward two years, and Chloe has been living with her dad, hours away from Ruby. Chloe has become very apathetic towards life, and toward Ruby, who she has barely spoken to over the last two years. Then suddenly Ruby forces her way back in Chloe's life, and Chloe returns to their small town with her sister. But things are not as she remembers; they are very different, and very sinister.
My Review:
I'll start with the good. First, I devoured this book in two days. I was desperate to figure out what was going on. I love a good mystery, and this one delivered. As a mystery, but not much else. The tone reminded me of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman. It had the same kind of dark, sinister tone where you know something is wrong but you can't quite put your finger on it.
I also really enjoyed the writing. Nova Ren Suma is a good writer, despite the problems I had with the book. The characters are interesting, and for the most part the story keeps you reeled in and wanting to find out what happens. I was fascinated by Ruby, even as I disliked her more and more. As it became more and more apparent that everything was not what it seemed in this town, I wanted to reach the end as quickly as possible so I would finally have all the answers.
One last thing I really liked was the mystery of the drowned town, Olive. Ruby and Chloe are obsessed with the story of Olive, a town that was flooded when the people refused to leave for the reservoir to be built. Ruby always says that the townspeople are still down there, living their lives at the bottom of the water. The subplot of Olive becomes more fascinating as the story goes on.
But unfortunately, that's where the good stops. I did have some problems with this book, the main one being that it was just too long. Neil Gaiman had it right when he wrote The Ocean at the End of the Lane as a novella, instead of 350 pages, which is about how long Imaginary Girls is. I expected my curiosity to be satisfied by the end of Imaginary Girls, but it just wasn't. It's never really explained what's going on, and that disappointed me. With Neil Gaiman's book, when you don't get any solid answers, it's okay because the book is short, and it feels like a snippet of a longer story. But with Imaginary Girls, it just feels like a letdown.
My other problems were small, like the side characters being flat and uninteresting, and scenes that didn't move the story along, or hold my interest. The second of these contributes to the unnecessary length of the book.
When I first finished the book, I didn't really know how to feel. I was disappointed, yes, that there were no real answers, but at the same time I could not stop thinking about it. And I still can't. I keep turning the story over and over in my head, thinking about the characters, and the plot, and what the heck was even going on. The book didn't quite live up to its potential, which is too bad. It could have been amazing, but instead it was not quite good.
Next up on my To Be Read Pile: The Accident Season, by Moira Fowley-Doyle
I'll start with the good. First, I devoured this book in two days. I was desperate to figure out what was going on. I love a good mystery, and this one delivered. As a mystery, but not much else. The tone reminded me of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman. It had the same kind of dark, sinister tone where you know something is wrong but you can't quite put your finger on it.
I also really enjoyed the writing. Nova Ren Suma is a good writer, despite the problems I had with the book. The characters are interesting, and for the most part the story keeps you reeled in and wanting to find out what happens. I was fascinated by Ruby, even as I disliked her more and more. As it became more and more apparent that everything was not what it seemed in this town, I wanted to reach the end as quickly as possible so I would finally have all the answers.
One last thing I really liked was the mystery of the drowned town, Olive. Ruby and Chloe are obsessed with the story of Olive, a town that was flooded when the people refused to leave for the reservoir to be built. Ruby always says that the townspeople are still down there, living their lives at the bottom of the water. The subplot of Olive becomes more fascinating as the story goes on.
But unfortunately, that's where the good stops. I did have some problems with this book, the main one being that it was just too long. Neil Gaiman had it right when he wrote The Ocean at the End of the Lane as a novella, instead of 350 pages, which is about how long Imaginary Girls is. I expected my curiosity to be satisfied by the end of Imaginary Girls, but it just wasn't. It's never really explained what's going on, and that disappointed me. With Neil Gaiman's book, when you don't get any solid answers, it's okay because the book is short, and it feels like a snippet of a longer story. But with Imaginary Girls, it just feels like a letdown.
My other problems were small, like the side characters being flat and uninteresting, and scenes that didn't move the story along, or hold my interest. The second of these contributes to the unnecessary length of the book.
When I first finished the book, I didn't really know how to feel. I was disappointed, yes, that there were no real answers, but at the same time I could not stop thinking about it. And I still can't. I keep turning the story over and over in my head, thinking about the characters, and the plot, and what the heck was even going on. The book didn't quite live up to its potential, which is too bad. It could have been amazing, but instead it was not quite good.
Next up on my To Be Read Pile: The Accident Season, by Moira Fowley-Doyle
It's too bad it couldn't ultimately deliver because it sounds really compelling.
ReplyDelete