Stephanie S. (skywriter319) - , reviewed on 11/4/2010 + 784 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

With its beautiful cover, I really wanted to like EXTRAORDINARY. But it didnt turn out as I had hoped. Choppy writing and distance from the characters marred my reading experience of EXTRAORDINARY.

If Nancy Werlin was going for a fairy tale-like narrative style, then she succeeds. The narration feels distant from the characters: oftentimes, the characters thoughts and peculiarities are told rather than shown us. Fine for a fairy tale (have you ever read the Grimm brothers works?), but I couldnt be sure if that was what the author intended. It is a book featuring fairies, but whether the narration was supposed to match the ethereal quality of its fantasy aspect, or it was simply clunky and emotionally ineffectual writing, I couldnt tell.

There was definitely a forced quality to both the writing and the story. I understand that Mallory and Ryland manipulate Phoebebut I remained unconvinced that Phoebe was so easily convinced by their machinations. Phoebe falling in love with Ryland, who is so vague in the performance of his supposed attentions toward her? I didnt necessarily have to like RylandI dont think thats the intentbut I at least had to believe that Phoebe would really like him. Which I didnt.

EXTRAORDINARY was an interesting attempt to meld together the formalities of fairie court life with the concerns of contemporary human beings. However, it was missing the connection between story and reader that I desire in the books I read. As a result, this is a hard one for me to recommend.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details