Friday, October 28, 2011

White Crow by Marcus Sedwick –NOT RECOMMENDED

Sedwick, Marcus White Crow, 240pgs. Roaring Brook Press, 2011. $12.40. (Language-G, Violence-PG; Sexual Content-G.)
This is the story of three people in the same creepy sea side town; chapters and font type differentiating the three points of view. The first is in the past, a priest whose desire to find out what the afterlife holds is driving him to dabble in the dark side. In the present is Rebecca, she is new to town and is very sulky about it. Also in the present, is Ferelith –a smart girl with an interest in darkness, who is all alone in the world and has little or no boundaries. Their stories collide in a dark old building which is full of secrets, and bodies.
It’s the perfect time of year to read a creepy story, but I was disappointed. The priest chapters featured a ton of repeated religious blather that got old very quickly. It was tempting to skip over much of what he said and try to pick out continuing plot elements. The author failed to endear me to Rebecca, the one character who is most danger. I didn’t even feel like I knew her at all, so was unable to get that fear factor when it came time for her to be a part of the action. Without a character to care about, this story was total loss for me. I know that teens will relate to the angst that Rebecca exhibits, but even they will lose patience with her moody yet gullible ways. There was a point where this story was meant to come together in some profound way–but I never did grasp what the author intended.
MS, HS –NOT RECOMMENDED Reviewer: Stephanie MLS graduate.

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