April 5, 2022
This book is tag-lined as a modern day fairy tale, and it lives up to that expectation. Krystal Sutherland successfully gives us with one hand a classic coming of age story for 17 year old Iris Hollow, complete with youngest child and “I just want to be normal” cliches, and with her other hand gives us a beautiful, disturbing, alluring, repulsive aesthetic to fit it in. Iris’ first person descriptions of her two captivating older sisters are nothing short of evocative, and her personal journey toward finding out who (or what) she is brings the reader along for every beat. Balancing an almost ancient reverence for old magic and mystery with a realistic and unforced portrayal of young adults in the digital age, Sutherland’s (appropriate) efforts to straddle two worlds and two aesthetics are well rewarded. The twists are satisfying, almost because of their mild predictability, and the ending is a gratifying shift away from what “should” happen, towards something wholly more enjoyable.
8.5/10
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