Pages: 262
Intended Audience: Mature Teens
Genre: gothic horror
Notes for Parents: Includes murder, cruelty, suicide and lots of darkness. For mature teens only.
The Back Cover
Two lives, two centuries apart. But they walked the same paths, lived in the same house, became obsessed by the same question.
When city girl Rebecca steps into the quiet streets of Winterfold that relentlessly hot summer, her uneasy friendship with strange, elfin Ferelith sets in motion a shocking chain of events.
What the cover doesn’t tell you:
The present-day story of Rebecca and Ferelith is interspersed with the 18th century diary of the town’s former priest.
What’s good?
The slow, churning pace creates an intense, almost stifling atmosphere, as it follows the unbalanced friendship of Rebecca and Ferelith. Adding to the tensile mood are the disturbing journal entries of the town’s former priest, detailing his and Dr. Barrieux’s horrific experiments.
The writing is dark and lyrical, the characters are vibrant, the shifting points of view are effective, and the ending is shocking and unexpected.
Best Part: The town, a decrepit and dying village, is itself, a stunning character.
What’s isn’t good?
Ferelith is an unsympathetic character who lacks depth. She is thoroughly creepy, which lends much to the story, but I didn’t like or care about her, especially by the end. The questions about God, angels, and life after death are thought-provoking, but the heinous experiments and Ferelith’s deluded laments skew any real philosophical debate.
Worst part: Ferelith.
Recommendation þþþo
Normally, this is not the type of book I would choose to read, but I was attracted by the sticker that read “Shortlisted for the Cilip Carnegie Medal 2011.” It was dark, creepy, and quite gory – not my cup of tea – but will likely be devoured by those who like a well-written, gothic thriller.
Sedgwick, Marcus. White Crow. London
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