“I sought to puncture Heaven and instead discovered Hell.”
This book is everything I wanted a YA book to be. White does an excellent job of staying true to the genre without writing down - it just screams maturity. Granted, there were moments when Elizabeth's internal dialogue took a turn for the immaturity,but all in all, I’m a very happy reader.
Otherwise, though I love the book and can easily give it four stars, it took me forever to get into the story. The beginning had great moments but I was ultimately bored. The middle was drawn out. I wasn’t even sure where it would be going. The moments felt out of place. But it all was a build up to the ultimate end and the great reveal. And no, the monster wasn’t the great reveal. Don’t think I’m spoiling the story. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know Frankenstein is a monster.
“I would lie silent and still, like a corpse, as he studied me. His careful, delicate hands explored all the bones and tendons, the muscles and tracings of veins that make up a person. “But where is Elizabeth?” he would ask, his ear against my heart. “Which part makes you?” I had no answer, and neither did he.”
Let’s spend a spoiler free moment on the ending. White places the tiniest of bread crumbs to make the ending clear, but she never actually tells the reader what happens. I’m assuming here, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. Now I’m dying to read the original Frankenstein, to know how this one deviates or lends to the story. I feel that there is some clue to that ending from the original. And I like the nod White takes to Mary Shelley by naming a character after her. But then again, maybe there is a Mary character in the first book and I’m making a horrible assumption.
All of your questions will be answered in the end, but some of them didn’t get the attention they deserved. They felt like the equivalent to one word answers and White definitely had room to expand since the book is less than 300 pages.
White travels the globe in her story, and puts just enough on paper to paint a picture without slowing down the narrative. I will definitely be taking notes for my own book. Though I do like to paint a detailed picture of my location, I never want to spend long drawn out paragraphs pointing out every leaf in the tree. I’m no G.G.R. Martin. There’s a level that is needed to give the reader all the supplies to paint the background in themselves. White has perfectly mastered this skill.
“I did not repent my distance from God. If I wanted help, I would find it myself.”
And finally, I want to talk about Elizabeth. She is such a unique character for the day. She’s not perfect by far. She’s not some nice character we can all love. She’s selfish, manipulative, and dark in her own way. Essentially, a beast put into fine dresses. A breath of fresh air if you ask me. I was starting to get bored with the same cookie cutter lead that most writers are spitting out. White sat down and really thought over the actions that her character would take. She didn’t make Elizabeth bow to her author’s wishes.
Now I want to read everything White has written. I love her style, from the darkness to the characters. And if you didn’t think about reading this book, I suggest you change your mind. It was worth every single minute.
Happy Reading
Love Kait
Reading Challenge: 24/100