A wonderfully evocative and positive opening, with Ivy thinking of something that she loves - a butterfly emerging from its metamorphosis, of being freed. Already the book is drawing me in, wanting to read more.
Ivy is not just a character, but a person - she has feelings, emotions and is clearly a thinking, intelligent young woman. Ivy is not merely a 1-dimensional run-of-the-mill fictional character, but is someone that you can believe in and care about.
Abandoned by her mother as a baby and no mention of a father, Ivy's life journey started within the care system, but that has made her who she is - physically, mentally and emotionally.
We have already been drawn into Ivy's personality traits with mention of being someone who does not take the easy option, is determined and does not accept help from others when she is perfectly capable herself. Ivy is a strong character, and her name is perfect - the plant she is named after is a climber, it seeks out the light, clings on and is determined - perfect attributes for someone about to begin the next stage in the journey of her life.
Ivy shall soon be 18 - an adult, and has managed to trace her birth mother and speak to her. Soon her journey will take her on a voyage of discovery - finding out about her birth mother.
And what a wonderful journey this is going to be with the authors descriptive writing style. Smells of overripe fruit, rotting vegetation, the stench of decay - something that is out of place and not belonging on her lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Observations of flashes of colour that distract other characters.
Other characters that we have met so far are described and fleshed out; they are not just an old dear sitting reading a book; an unkempt old man; a young girl. These are not just cardboard cutouts, they have become human beings you could easily walk past in the street.
Analogies abound - screen dimming along with hope; half finished note abandoned just like Ivy; the caterpillar turning into a butterfly - childhood into adulthood.
The deaths head moths hovering over Ivy; the stench of decay on her lungs - the foreshadowing of difficulties to come on her journey ahead.
Even though this is a YA novel I can imagine this will be popular with adults as well. There is a lot of depth within the writing, something to give you pause for thought.
Waking the Witch is a journey, a journey of discovery, of coming of age, of transforming and metamorphosis set within the backdrop of British myths and legends; and it is a journey I want to be part of.
. . . . . . .
The cover is highly eye-catching and if I saw it in a bookshop would be drawn towards it calling me to read the novel.
The lighthouse, being part of the story and as a symbol of caution and danger; the birds as portents of doom; an island depicting isolation; a curled up figure signalling rebirth, new life and new beginnings.
The cover has been well thought out and paints a picture of the story within.
Ivy is not just a character, but a person - she has feelings, emotions and is clearly a thinking, intelligent young woman. Ivy is not merely a 1-dimensional run-of-the-mill fictional character, but is someone that you can believe in and care about.
Abandoned by her mother as a baby and no mention of a father, Ivy's life journey started within the care system, but that has made her who she is - physically, mentally and emotionally.
We have already been drawn into Ivy's personality traits with mention of being someone who does not take the easy option, is determined and does not accept help from others when she is perfectly capable herself. Ivy is a strong character, and her name is perfect - the plant she is named after is a climber, it seeks out the light, clings on and is determined - perfect attributes for someone about to begin the next stage in the journey of her life.
Ivy shall soon be 18 - an adult, and has managed to trace her birth mother and speak to her. Soon her journey will take her on a voyage of discovery - finding out about her birth mother.
And what a wonderful journey this is going to be with the authors descriptive writing style. Smells of overripe fruit, rotting vegetation, the stench of decay - something that is out of place and not belonging on her lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Observations of flashes of colour that distract other characters.
Other characters that we have met so far are described and fleshed out; they are not just an old dear sitting reading a book; an unkempt old man; a young girl. These are not just cardboard cutouts, they have become human beings you could easily walk past in the street.
Analogies abound - screen dimming along with hope; half finished note abandoned just like Ivy; the caterpillar turning into a butterfly - childhood into adulthood.
The deaths head moths hovering over Ivy; the stench of decay on her lungs - the foreshadowing of difficulties to come on her journey ahead.
Even though this is a YA novel I can imagine this will be popular with adults as well. There is a lot of depth within the writing, something to give you pause for thought.
Waking the Witch is a journey, a journey of discovery, of coming of age, of transforming and metamorphosis set within the backdrop of British myths and legends; and it is a journey I want to be part of.
. . . . . . .
The cover is highly eye-catching and if I saw it in a bookshop would be drawn towards it calling me to read the novel.
The lighthouse, being part of the story and as a symbol of caution and danger; the birds as portents of doom; an island depicting isolation; a curled up figure signalling rebirth, new life and new beginnings.
The cover has been well thought out and paints a picture of the story within.