Title: Unspoken (Lynburn Legacy, #1)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis (taken from the jacket flap):
Kami Glass loves someone she's never met...a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn't silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outside in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn't suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown - in fact, she's determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?
Review:
I've been a fan of Sarah Rees Brennan for a few years and I know going into her books that she is going to tug on my heartstrings and Sarah Rees Brennan proved her powers over my emotions once again with Unspoken. One of the greatest things about her books is that, even though she might make you cry, she will also make you laugh out loud despite yourself.
I read Unspoken for the first time almost a year ago but when I decided to start this blog, I knew I wanted to review it and so immediately I reread it. Before I started, I was afraid it wouldn't hold up to a second reading, but it does hold up, without a doubt. I was just as charmed by Sarah Rees Brennan's cast of characters as I was when I first discovered the book.
Something I noticed during my second reading of the book was that while the pacing is fantastic through the majority of the book, toward the end it starts to feel a bit rushed. This small issue with pacing is the main reason I was not able to give the book a 5/5.
Some time ago, I tired of hearing female protagonists say they "aren't like other girls," but I do think YA literature is moving away from this trend and it's not quite as common as it can sometimes seem like it is. Part of my love for Unspoken stems from its defiance of this trend. Kami's best friend is Angela Montgomery, the sort of girl who could have a devoted group of followers, both male and female, if she wished, but that isn't what she wants. These are two girls who, in other books or in cheesy teen movies, might be enemies but are instead best friends who accept and love each other, which is something I love to see.
I would recommend Unspoken to anyone, but especially those who love Gothic novels or stories about ambitious girl reporters.
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis (taken from the jacket flap):
Kami Glass loves someone she's never met...a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn't silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outside in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn't suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown - in fact, she's determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?
Review:
I've been a fan of Sarah Rees Brennan for a few years and I know going into her books that she is going to tug on my heartstrings and Sarah Rees Brennan proved her powers over my emotions once again with Unspoken. One of the greatest things about her books is that, even though she might make you cry, she will also make you laugh out loud despite yourself.
I read Unspoken for the first time almost a year ago but when I decided to start this blog, I knew I wanted to review it and so immediately I reread it. Before I started, I was afraid it wouldn't hold up to a second reading, but it does hold up, without a doubt. I was just as charmed by Sarah Rees Brennan's cast of characters as I was when I first discovered the book.
Something I noticed during my second reading of the book was that while the pacing is fantastic through the majority of the book, toward the end it starts to feel a bit rushed. This small issue with pacing is the main reason I was not able to give the book a 5/5.
Some time ago, I tired of hearing female protagonists say they "aren't like other girls," but I do think YA literature is moving away from this trend and it's not quite as common as it can sometimes seem like it is. Part of my love for Unspoken stems from its defiance of this trend. Kami's best friend is Angela Montgomery, the sort of girl who could have a devoted group of followers, both male and female, if she wished, but that isn't what she wants. These are two girls who, in other books or in cheesy teen movies, might be enemies but are instead best friends who accept and love each other, which is something I love to see.
I would recommend Unspoken to anyone, but especially those who love Gothic novels or stories about ambitious girl reporters.
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