Series: Wish, 1
Author: Alexandra Bullen
Published: April 1st, 2010
Publisher: Point
*THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Here we are, again with a book that was never on my TBR. I guess I was just curious, and in need of a fairytale, and that’s why I went for this one. And what can I say? It’s an ok story. Not the best ever, but not a complete disaster, either. The first thing I thought when I finished it was that it definitely lacked a certain spark that would have made it better.
One of the most prevalent aspects of this book is its narration, which I often thought, was poorly chosen. Even when the grieving aspect is well written, and the portrayal of the brokenhearted Larsen family, trying to move on after their terrible loss, is realistic, with both parents trying to unsuccessfully drown their pain in work, I still think that the third-person narrative was not the best way to go. If instead we could have been in Olivia’s mind, through a first-person narrative, her raw experience through loss and emotional swings would have been a lot more intense, and would have felt more as a personal journey than a mere plot device to justify their moving to San Francisco (not that it is, though).
For me, the best character in this book was definitely Violet, the dead twin. Through the wish Olivia makes while wearing the magical dress, she’s allowed to come back as a ghost, and immediately, you can tell her personality is completely different from her sister’s. And I think it was lacking in that aspect, as Olivia felt, more often than not, really flat as a character, without enough depth as for me to believe she could actually be a real person. That’s why I liked Violet better, as she is strong and direct, never feels sorry for herself, always takes the lead, and is virtually the driving force that leads Olivia to change her life and start to move on, finding her own self in a life in which she mostly depended on her sister to make decisions. Violet was the risk taker in opposition to the careful, restrained Olivia. Yet, I think the sisterly bond is really well written, and I liked how, by the end, Violet is the one who pushes Olivia to be herself, and find her own identity, separated from the life they had together before the tragedy.
As for the romance, I really didn’t care a lot about it. It felt a little forced, because Olivia falls for Soren without even really knowing him. I liked that he was the listening kind of guy, and that he had the nice gesture of taking her to see the stars, thinking it would make her happy. But we never really get a real reason why he suddenly breaks his solid, year-long relationship with Calla –a person who has done nothing wrong and is actually very nice to Olivia–, for a girl he has known for a couple of weeks and is in the middle of a terrible grieving process. It makes no sense. At one point, Olivia asks him what is that he likes about her, but the answer is vague and not very believable, and I was left really unfazed by their relationship, not really caring if it worked out, or not. Plus, it felt really out of place that, in one moment, Olivia is thinking that she doesn’t belong and never will in her new world, and not two paragraphs later, as she talks to Soren, she suddenly feels she does. What?
Also, at certain points, I honestly didn’t know where the plot was going, as it felt like it was rambling on and on without really leading somewhere. Although it was obvious that Violet would be gone by the end of the book, in general, she was the most interesting character, because none of the others had much of a personality. In many cases, I could have taken them out of the story, without disrupting the plot. Like the girls, Lark and Bowie. Or Miles, who’s intervention only helps to solidify the metaphor from Virginia Woolf’s book, in which the protagonist finishes her painting and moves on, as a reflection of Olivia herself. Even though I think this symbolism could have been introduced without bringing yet another character to the plot, I still think it’s well done. Just as Woolf’s character, Olivia feels she’s nothing without her sister, but not having her anymore is what has to push her to build her own life, separated from Violet’s personality. She needs to close that chapter of her life –a.k.a, finish the painting–, even if she thinks the grieving process will last forever, at the end of the day, it’s necessary to unstuck herself and continue living her own life.
As for Olivia’s parents, I think their portrayal was realistic, and well done. Doing their best to hide their pain after their loss is a natural, self-protective reaction, but I kind of hated that they didn’t seem to remember they had another daughter that needed them, and was in as much pain as them, having not only lost her sister, but also having been uprooted from everything she knew, leaving her life behind to start anew. Some family therapy was immediately needed there, no doubt. But I liked that, by the end, the family didn’t try to hide their pain anymore, choosing, instead, to do their best to remember Violet with love and joy, even if losing her was terribly painful. It’s never easy to go through such processes, but the way is described is honestly well done, for a children’s book.
And, finally, I would have really liked to know more about Posey and her grandmother, and their unusual ability to sew magical dresses. It’s definitely interesting, as it speaks of a parallel world of magic I would like to know better. Still, the fact that we do not know much about them helps to create this mysterious aura around them, so that way, it’s nicely done.
So, in short, it’s a lovely book, but it definitely could have been better. I will read the next one in the duology, and I just hope it’s good.
See you soon!
One of the most prevalent aspects of this book is its narration, which I often thought, was poorly chosen. Even when the grieving aspect is well written, and the portrayal of the brokenhearted Larsen family, trying to move on after their terrible loss, is realistic, with both parents trying to unsuccessfully drown their pain in work, I still think that the third-person narrative was not the best way to go. If instead we could have been in Olivia’s mind, through a first-person narrative, her raw experience through loss and emotional swings would have been a lot more intense, and would have felt more as a personal journey than a mere plot device to justify their moving to San Francisco (not that it is, though).
For me, the best character in this book was definitely Violet, the dead twin. Through the wish Olivia makes while wearing the magical dress, she’s allowed to come back as a ghost, and immediately, you can tell her personality is completely different from her sister’s. And I think it was lacking in that aspect, as Olivia felt, more often than not, really flat as a character, without enough depth as for me to believe she could actually be a real person. That’s why I liked Violet better, as she is strong and direct, never feels sorry for herself, always takes the lead, and is virtually the driving force that leads Olivia to change her life and start to move on, finding her own self in a life in which she mostly depended on her sister to make decisions. Violet was the risk taker in opposition to the careful, restrained Olivia. Yet, I think the sisterly bond is really well written, and I liked how, by the end, Violet is the one who pushes Olivia to be herself, and find her own identity, separated from the life they had together before the tragedy.
As for the romance, I really didn’t care a lot about it. It felt a little forced, because Olivia falls for Soren without even really knowing him. I liked that he was the listening kind of guy, and that he had the nice gesture of taking her to see the stars, thinking it would make her happy. But we never really get a real reason why he suddenly breaks his solid, year-long relationship with Calla –a person who has done nothing wrong and is actually very nice to Olivia–, for a girl he has known for a couple of weeks and is in the middle of a terrible grieving process. It makes no sense. At one point, Olivia asks him what is that he likes about her, but the answer is vague and not very believable, and I was left really unfazed by their relationship, not really caring if it worked out, or not. Plus, it felt really out of place that, in one moment, Olivia is thinking that she doesn’t belong and never will in her new world, and not two paragraphs later, as she talks to Soren, she suddenly feels she does. What?
Also, at certain points, I honestly didn’t know where the plot was going, as it felt like it was rambling on and on without really leading somewhere. Although it was obvious that Violet would be gone by the end of the book, in general, she was the most interesting character, because none of the others had much of a personality. In many cases, I could have taken them out of the story, without disrupting the plot. Like the girls, Lark and Bowie. Or Miles, who’s intervention only helps to solidify the metaphor from Virginia Woolf’s book, in which the protagonist finishes her painting and moves on, as a reflection of Olivia herself. Even though I think this symbolism could have been introduced without bringing yet another character to the plot, I still think it’s well done. Just as Woolf’s character, Olivia feels she’s nothing without her sister, but not having her anymore is what has to push her to build her own life, separated from Violet’s personality. She needs to close that chapter of her life –a.k.a, finish the painting–, even if she thinks the grieving process will last forever, at the end of the day, it’s necessary to unstuck herself and continue living her own life.
As for Olivia’s parents, I think their portrayal was realistic, and well done. Doing their best to hide their pain after their loss is a natural, self-protective reaction, but I kind of hated that they didn’t seem to remember they had another daughter that needed them, and was in as much pain as them, having not only lost her sister, but also having been uprooted from everything she knew, leaving her life behind to start anew. Some family therapy was immediately needed there, no doubt. But I liked that, by the end, the family didn’t try to hide their pain anymore, choosing, instead, to do their best to remember Violet with love and joy, even if losing her was terribly painful. It’s never easy to go through such processes, but the way is described is honestly well done, for a children’s book.
And, finally, I would have really liked to know more about Posey and her grandmother, and their unusual ability to sew magical dresses. It’s definitely interesting, as it speaks of a parallel world of magic I would like to know better. Still, the fact that we do not know much about them helps to create this mysterious aura around them, so that way, it’s nicely done.
So, in short, it’s a lovely book, but it definitely could have been better. I will read the next one in the duology, and I just hope it’s good.
***
Thank you for reading!See you soon!
0 comments:
Post a Comment