Tuesday, July 15, 2008

We're not talking about hair.

I will admit that when both Little Willow and Sarah Miller are proclaiming the wonders of a book, I do take note. The two of them generally gravitate toward very different types of books, so I figure, if they both love it? Well, it's unlikely I'll regret reading it.

And so with Feathered by Laura Kasischke. I think that had I any clue whatsoever of what this was about before I cracked it open, I probably wouldn't have read it. I don't really go for the "kids in peril" books, well, unless they're fantasy. And then what's the point of creating a whole world if there isn't some danger in it?

Anyway...

Spring break in Cancun is going to rock. At least that's what Michelle and Anne think, and for one perfect day they are right...

There's an ominous tone from the very first sentence, and to tell you the truth, it just plum wore me out, worrying about how those girls were going to run into trouble, and when, because there's a heck of a lot of build up. They all make some very questionable decisions - only one of which proves truly dangerous.

The book was told by both girls in alternating chapters - in different tenses AND POVs, which I found a little jarring, to be honest. Michelle (3rd person, present) is understandably in third - the distance from the character is necessary, and I liked her sections where it was in poetry; I thought that was just right. Anne was more run of the mill, but more compelling since she's telling it first person past - so she already knows what happens.

I didn't have any problem getting through the book, but I'm not going to proselytize about it either. I just feel pretty lukewarm about it in general; mostly, I think, because it's very clear that something bad will happen, but it takes So Very Long to actually happen that you aren't left with enough time for resolution, or even to get an accurate feel for what exactly happened in the interim to the affected girl, things I need and want as a reader. However, I know just who to give the book to. It will be a very easy sell.

1 comment:

Little Willow said...

So pretty.
So glad that you liked it.