Knife by R. J. Anderson
Feb. 5th, 2009 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Knife woke in a cold sweat, the torn edge of her wing sizzling with pain. How long had she lain unconscious? Her worst fears had come to pass: she was trapped, flightless, a prisoner. The humans had put her in a box, and now they had come to torment her ...
As the spirited youngest member of a faery community living in an oak tree at the bottom of a garden, Bryony wants nothing more than to escape the confines of the Oak and explore the world outside. When the Queen apprentices her to the Oak's Hunter, Bryony seizes her chance to do so and finds herself drawn to the humans who live in the house at the other end of the garden, despite the Queen forbidding the faeries to have any contact with them. Her fascination grows when Paul, a young man carried about in a wheeled throne, returns home, and as the two form a friendship, Bryony finds herself questioning all that she has been told about the humans - specifically that they are responsible for the dreadful Silence that is decimating the faery community - and involves Paul in her quest to help her community and uncover hidden secrets.
An accomplished and charming debut novel, there is a great deal to enjoy in this story. The faery community is well realised, with relationships and characters clearly depicted. Bryony is a determined and resourceful heroine who doesn't take no for an answer and a scene where she steals a knife from the humans (from which she takes a new name of Knife) is tautly written. Supporting characters, such as the crotchety Thorn and the kindly Wink, help to give depth to the story and Queen Amaryllis is nicely ambiguous for the reader to wonder what is going on.
Anderson never descends into sentimentality and the hardships faced by the faeries to ensure their daily survival (from gathering berries and hunting food) is shown in a matter-of-fact way. Particularly good is the threat from Old Wormwood, a crow who has eaten several of the faeries and developed a taste for them.
It's refreshing to read a novel with a central character who is in a wheelchair and Paul is an interesting character who I'd have liked to have seen more of on the page. Particularly interesting is the fact that his hostility to his disability is generated by the reaction that it's created in his friends and parents rather than the changes it's made to his life. It was a surprise to discover that Paul is of driving age because the portrayal of both him and Bryony had made them seem younger but also because this book is marketed for 9 - 12 year olds, and it's not often you see protagonists in their late teens in such books. This didn't make the story any less entertaining, but it was a jolt when it came.
The main criticism to make about the book is that the backstory is spread a little unevenly throughout the plot, with a large amount of exposition coming in the final quarter. I also found myself a little confused by the proliferation of character names at a couple of spots and found myself having to turn back a few pages to work out who was who. However, neither of these things stop me from looking forward to the sequel to this story, which is nicely set up at the end.
The fact that the book is about faeries and the main characters are girls is likely to put off boy readers, which is a shame. However, girls should enjoy the adventure, romance and history that Anderson weaves into her tale and I look forward to reading more from this author.
The Verdict:
There's much to enjoy in this debut novel and despite some clunky exposition towards the end, it's a fairytale with a great deal of charm and pace that is bound to enchant girls between the ages of 9 and 12.
Knife woke in a cold sweat, the torn edge of her wing sizzling with pain. How long had she lain unconscious? Her worst fears had come to pass: she was trapped, flightless, a prisoner. The humans had put her in a box, and now they had come to torment her ...
As the spirited youngest member of a faery community living in an oak tree at the bottom of a garden, Bryony wants nothing more than to escape the confines of the Oak and explore the world outside. When the Queen apprentices her to the Oak's Hunter, Bryony seizes her chance to do so and finds herself drawn to the humans who live in the house at the other end of the garden, despite the Queen forbidding the faeries to have any contact with them. Her fascination grows when Paul, a young man carried about in a wheeled throne, returns home, and as the two form a friendship, Bryony finds herself questioning all that she has been told about the humans - specifically that they are responsible for the dreadful Silence that is decimating the faery community - and involves Paul in her quest to help her community and uncover hidden secrets.
An accomplished and charming debut novel, there is a great deal to enjoy in this story. The faery community is well realised, with relationships and characters clearly depicted. Bryony is a determined and resourceful heroine who doesn't take no for an answer and a scene where she steals a knife from the humans (from which she takes a new name of Knife) is tautly written. Supporting characters, such as the crotchety Thorn and the kindly Wink, help to give depth to the story and Queen Amaryllis is nicely ambiguous for the reader to wonder what is going on.
Anderson never descends into sentimentality and the hardships faced by the faeries to ensure their daily survival (from gathering berries and hunting food) is shown in a matter-of-fact way. Particularly good is the threat from Old Wormwood, a crow who has eaten several of the faeries and developed a taste for them.
It's refreshing to read a novel with a central character who is in a wheelchair and Paul is an interesting character who I'd have liked to have seen more of on the page. Particularly interesting is the fact that his hostility to his disability is generated by the reaction that it's created in his friends and parents rather than the changes it's made to his life. It was a surprise to discover that Paul is of driving age because the portrayal of both him and Bryony had made them seem younger but also because this book is marketed for 9 - 12 year olds, and it's not often you see protagonists in their late teens in such books. This didn't make the story any less entertaining, but it was a jolt when it came.
The main criticism to make about the book is that the backstory is spread a little unevenly throughout the plot, with a large amount of exposition coming in the final quarter. I also found myself a little confused by the proliferation of character names at a couple of spots and found myself having to turn back a few pages to work out who was who. However, neither of these things stop me from looking forward to the sequel to this story, which is nicely set up at the end.
The fact that the book is about faeries and the main characters are girls is likely to put off boy readers, which is a shame. However, girls should enjoy the adventure, romance and history that Anderson weaves into her tale and I look forward to reading more from this author.
The Verdict:
There's much to enjoy in this debut novel and despite some clunky exposition towards the end, it's a fairytale with a great deal of charm and pace that is bound to enchant girls between the ages of 9 and 12.
