I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I wish Goodreads would let us do half stars and quarter stars etc. I was sent this book from the author for review and I have to say that I wish I had this book when I was younger. I gave it a 3.5 stars on Goodreads. Emerson Page is a great female leading character and I think a good role model for younger girls (around 12-15). I saw on Goodreads that this is the first book in a series (or trilogy, I’m not sure) and I’m excited to see what adventures Emerson goes on.
SPOILERS BELOW
There were many great things about this book. There were also some things that I think could have been fleshed out more.
I loved the descriptions of the different places in the book. The river/pond was probably my favorite. The fact that someone could just jump in and literally go into their imagination was fascinating and beautiful. I loved the library, I mean who doesn’t love libraries. The fire ball of light that was Emerson’s mother was so lifelike and I could picture it clearly in my mind.
I wish we could have gotten to see more of Cassandra’s world before the confrontation at the end. I had a hard time understanding where she was coming from and what her life was like before this point. I understand that she wanted the book and she was a great villain but I think her character could have been fleshed out more. I wanted to see more of her; her thoughts, dreams, friends/enemies in the In-Between, etc.
I loved the whole magic setup; the council and how everything was connected through the different muses and their descendants. I don’t think I have ever read a book that centers its magical source around imagination and the muses before so that was really cool. It makes the rules of magic almost endless because imagination is endless. At first I was a bit confused on who had what kind of magic but then I understood that it all comes from the person’s own imagination. They all made their own kind of magic.
I wish more of the background characters were fleshed out. I wanted to know more about Irene, Raymond, Terence, Samuel. We got to know some facts about some of them but sometimes it was hard to distinguish them because what they looked like wasn’t described. I noticed this mostly when the point of view would change to one of them and I had to go back and read which character I was with at that moment. It was hard to know who was who at first. Just like with Cassandra, I would have loved to see more of these characters’ personal thoughts and personalities.
I think one of my favorite parts of this book was the relationship between Emerson and her parents, mostly her mother. I feel like in most young adult books the parents are either nonexistent, dead, or just not good parents. Emerson’s parents were the complete opposite. They were present throughout the book which I loved and they had an impact on Emerson’s character and her arc throughout the story. The first chapter of the book was great because it established that relationship that she and her mother had before her mother “died.” Sharing stories with parents is what I personally grew up on and this beginning scene mirrored that.
One line that stood out to me, and there were a lot, was when Emerson says, “Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I’m weak.” That hit me straight in the heart because I feel like a lot of adults see children as these weak, fragile things when children and the younger generation are actually much more observant than we give them credit for. They are much stronger than they seem. They are human too, just a little younger.
Overall, this was a great book and I loved the new ideas and concepts it posed. I wish I had this book when I was in middle school/junior high. Emerson is a wonderful and thoughtful main character and I am looking forward to seeing more of her. Thank you again to the author for sending me her book. It was thoroughly enjoyable to read and I look forward to seeing more from this author.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day and happy reading!
~Erin ❤
Confessions of a Ravenclaw 