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annathepiperThis one was a short, fast read--and, it turns out, the third thing I've read this year actually intended for a YA audience. It's also a prequel of sorts to A Red Heart of Memories and Past the Size of Dreaming, two of Hoffman's earlier novels, telling the backstory of several of the characters that appear therein. It dates, however, back to when they were youngsters.
That said? It's a nice little novel. Not particularly complex of plot, but there are some lovely lyrical passages in it describing certain magical experiences for our young heroine. It's also quite wrenching when it describes the abuse her family is suffering at the hands of her father, behind the perfect facade he is forcing them to present to the world. I initially wanted to find the ending a little too pat and convenient, and yet, that's unjust of me, since upon reflection it's really only like that on the surface. What's accomplished is something subtler, a sort of minor victory that will hopefully set the stage for a larger victory at some later date. And it really makes me want to read Past the Size of Dreaming, to see if that victory does indeed occur.
Check it out. Hoffman has a talent for magic realism, which is what drew me to this book of hers in the first place, and in that respect certainly this book did not disappoint. Three stars.
That said? It's a nice little novel. Not particularly complex of plot, but there are some lovely lyrical passages in it describing certain magical experiences for our young heroine. It's also quite wrenching when it describes the abuse her family is suffering at the hands of her father, behind the perfect facade he is forcing them to present to the world. I initially wanted to find the ending a little too pat and convenient, and yet, that's unjust of me, since upon reflection it's really only like that on the surface. What's accomplished is something subtler, a sort of minor victory that will hopefully set the stage for a larger victory at some later date. And it really makes me want to read Past the Size of Dreaming, to see if that victory does indeed occur.
Check it out. Hoffman has a talent for magic realism, which is what drew me to this book of hers in the first place, and in that respect certainly this book did not disappoint. Three stars.