As Simple As Snow - Gregory Galloway
This book has the most awesome opening paragraph I have ever read. It made me desperately want to read it. About three more paragraphs in, however, I felt as though I had been hoodwinked and taken advantage of.
I can't really say the book was bad. There was really nothing technically wrong with it. It was the reason for my goth in YA lit rant though. I spent the first 160 pages wondering whether the weird goth girl was going to die, disappear, run away, move away, or go psycho. Turns out I needn't have wondered as we ended up with a little from all categories. Sort of.
Also, I kept putting down this book and reading others. I just wasn't that engaged by it. It was trying too hard to make Anna weird and deep, and I found it annoying. The 'deep' interests in literature, the fascination with Houdini, the themed music compilations, the short wave radio. Again, nothing technically wrong, and it all was important to the story, but it just kept bothering me. I don't think it would have bothered me as much if the author hadn't made the weird girl a goth girl. They don't need to go hand in hand, but it's becoming a stereotype and it's glaring to the point of interfering with a potentially decent story.
I enjoy weirdness for the sake of weirdness, not because someone's trying to squish a character into a pre-defined concept of weirdness.
I would still recommend this book to the right folks. It definately has qualities to it that I can see myself going if your interested in [blank] then read As Simple As Snow. I just don't think I'll be raving to anyone about it.
I can't really say the book was bad. There was really nothing technically wrong with it. It was the reason for my goth in YA lit rant though. I spent the first 160 pages wondering whether the weird goth girl was going to die, disappear, run away, move away, or go psycho. Turns out I needn't have wondered as we ended up with a little from all categories. Sort of.
Also, I kept putting down this book and reading others. I just wasn't that engaged by it. It was trying too hard to make Anna weird and deep, and I found it annoying. The 'deep' interests in literature, the fascination with Houdini, the themed music compilations, the short wave radio. Again, nothing technically wrong, and it all was important to the story, but it just kept bothering me. I don't think it would have bothered me as much if the author hadn't made the weird girl a goth girl. They don't need to go hand in hand, but it's becoming a stereotype and it's glaring to the point of interfering with a potentially decent story.
I enjoy weirdness for the sake of weirdness, not because someone's trying to squish a character into a pre-defined concept of weirdness.
I would still recommend this book to the right folks. It definately has qualities to it that I can see myself going if your interested in [blank] then read As Simple As Snow. I just don't think I'll be raving to anyone about it.
posted by Chrissy at 8/02/2005 10:04:00 AM
1 Comments:
I think that's fair. The goth thing is really getting on my nerves, too. Did you read Sweetblood? Because that one seemed to me like a non-negative goth portrayal, but there are a few sticky things--like all of the other goths are lame and there's a bit at the end that I wasn't sure about. But it's a Good Book. And the main character, Lucy, is way cool (as a person, not in a popular way) AND goth.
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