I was sceptical of what to think about this book. Honestly, for the first part, I thought it was rubbish. I put off reading it over Trouble by Non Pratt and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. But I was forced to do what I usually do when I don't like the sound of a book, and that's literally to not judge a book by it's cover. My God, I am glad I did.
Carey and Jenessa were kidnapped at a young age by their mother and sent to a camper in the middle of a forest they called the Hundred Acre Wood, partly because of their endless upbringing with Winnie the Pooh. They had only their drugged up mother for company and she would often go away for weeks at a time. Carey holds a dreaded secret that could destroy them forever, but if she doesn't tell, it will ruin her future. Then her father comes, and then a whole world comes.
INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT NOTICE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS THAT SADLY I NEED TO DESCRIBE THE BOOK IN THE BEST WAY. SORRY!
I found it really fascinating actually how Murdoch managed to explore the adaptations that Carey and Jenessa had to take to adjust to normal life, and the threats that peers can sometimes pose. It gave me the sort of caveman impression. In fact, let's paint the picture for you. You build a time machine, and take modern life back to the cavemen times. These cavemen have just been taken out their environment and thrown into somewhere new and it's your job to teach them how to live your life. That's pretty much Carey and Jenessa.
Then you expose these cavemen (Carey and Jenessa) to ugly stepsisters (ugly in a different sense of the word), falling in love with those who you want to keep secret and then someone getting hold of your past you want to forget. Do I have negatives? Firstly, I don't like the cover. It seems like a budget option and it's the reason that I was put off reading this novel for so long! Why do it? This isn't the first book I've had this problem with, but still! Let that be the lesson of that paragraph!
Second, I don't like the layout. Parts are old fashioned and the way it's shown is a bit off. Italics confused me between the different parts of the tales that were being told. The fact that the story was told in first person throughout meant that Emily probably wanted flashbacks here and there. The way these were shown was horrible though. If there is a reprint, please sort this! Mainly editorial notes (I seem to like them for whatever reason) though. I really enjoyed this novel and want to read something from Emily Murdoch next. Fantastic work!
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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