Helpful Score: 1
I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine Program. I had heard great things about this book and it sounded like a wonderful fairytale-like premise. It was a great book. It starts out a little slow but ends up being a finely crafted and engaging story.
Plain Kate is raised by her dad who is a woodcarver, from a very young age Kate practices carving and is set to become her dad's apprentice. Then a sickness rages through the village and her father dies. With everything her family owned going to the new carver from the Guild, Kate is left to fend on her own. She is a very good carver; so despite displacement from the guild she manages to eke out a living in the village with her only companionship being her cat, Taggle. Then one day a man, Linay, shows up. He wants Kate to do some carving for him and he wants her shadow. He forces events so that Kate is driven out of her village and accused of being a witch; he trades her shadow for her heart's desire. Kate ends up fleeing with her now talking cat Taggle. Kate must struggle to survive and on top of that she finds that Linay may be out to do great evil with her shadow; it is up to her to stop him.
I will admit when I first started reading this book I found it to be a bit...well plain and boring. It is written in a very un-embellished style and written about a very plain girl. The style of the story is a cross between being folkish and fairy tale-like. When you start it you are kind of wondering what the point is and why we are following Plain Kate around as she ekes out a living in her village or makes a living among the Roamers (a gypsy-like people).
Towards the middle though, Kate is forced to make some tough decisions and fight through some dire situations and things get a lot more interesting. As the story continues many of the seemingly random elements from the beginning come together to form a very cohesive and engaging story of death, betrayal, and sacrifices. There is some violence in the form of witch hunts and people being burned alive.
Parts of the story are especially touching. The companionship Kate enjoys with her talking cat Taggle is cute, funny, and heartwarming. The sacrifices Kate and Taggle are forced to make to stop great evil are heartbreaking and had me in tears. As I progressed through the novel I found my reaction of cool indifference to the first half of the book transforming into an absolute love of these characters and admiration for how well put together this story was.
This story is written in more of a folk tale or fairy tale kind of way. The words are simple, the description is minimal, and Kate herself is not a complex character. There are fairly clear distinctions between good and evil; but even, Linay, as the villain of the story has a history that makes you sympathize with him some. By the time I got to the end of this book I realized that these seemingly simple characters had more complexity to them than I initially gave credit for.
Overall, I ended up loving this story and it is a keeper for me. The fairy tale like cast to it all, the Russian folklore included, and the companionship that develops between Kate and Taggle make it something special. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend to people who love the darker fairy tales and stories about plain girls overcoming great odds. It is appropriate for all ages, although it does address burning people alive as witches, so that may be too scary for younger kids. I loved this story and Erin Bow is definitely on my list as an author to watch.
Plain Kate is raised by her dad who is a woodcarver, from a very young age Kate practices carving and is set to become her dad's apprentice. Then a sickness rages through the village and her father dies. With everything her family owned going to the new carver from the Guild, Kate is left to fend on her own. She is a very good carver; so despite displacement from the guild she manages to eke out a living in the village with her only companionship being her cat, Taggle. Then one day a man, Linay, shows up. He wants Kate to do some carving for him and he wants her shadow. He forces events so that Kate is driven out of her village and accused of being a witch; he trades her shadow for her heart's desire. Kate ends up fleeing with her now talking cat Taggle. Kate must struggle to survive and on top of that she finds that Linay may be out to do great evil with her shadow; it is up to her to stop him.
I will admit when I first started reading this book I found it to be a bit...well plain and boring. It is written in a very un-embellished style and written about a very plain girl. The style of the story is a cross between being folkish and fairy tale-like. When you start it you are kind of wondering what the point is and why we are following Plain Kate around as she ekes out a living in her village or makes a living among the Roamers (a gypsy-like people).
Towards the middle though, Kate is forced to make some tough decisions and fight through some dire situations and things get a lot more interesting. As the story continues many of the seemingly random elements from the beginning come together to form a very cohesive and engaging story of death, betrayal, and sacrifices. There is some violence in the form of witch hunts and people being burned alive.
Parts of the story are especially touching. The companionship Kate enjoys with her talking cat Taggle is cute, funny, and heartwarming. The sacrifices Kate and Taggle are forced to make to stop great evil are heartbreaking and had me in tears. As I progressed through the novel I found my reaction of cool indifference to the first half of the book transforming into an absolute love of these characters and admiration for how well put together this story was.
This story is written in more of a folk tale or fairy tale kind of way. The words are simple, the description is minimal, and Kate herself is not a complex character. There are fairly clear distinctions between good and evil; but even, Linay, as the villain of the story has a history that makes you sympathize with him some. By the time I got to the end of this book I realized that these seemingly simple characters had more complexity to them than I initially gave credit for.
Overall, I ended up loving this story and it is a keeper for me. The fairy tale like cast to it all, the Russian folklore included, and the companionship that develops between Kate and Taggle make it something special. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend to people who love the darker fairy tales and stories about plain girls overcoming great odds. It is appropriate for all ages, although it does address burning people alive as witches, so that may be too scary for younger kids. I loved this story and Erin Bow is definitely on my list as an author to watch.
I am possibly the furthest from objectivity in reviewing this book, because epic, magically written fantasy adventure novels sweep me off my feet each and every time, leaving me drowning in my own puddle of envious, awed, and enraptured drool. PLAIN KATE channels the good old-fashioned writing of fantasy queens such as Robin McKinley to conjure up an astonishing world that flavorfully blends together folklore and magic, both in content and writing style.
Truth be told, I wouldve read this book solely for its language. Reading Erin Bows words is like reading a generations-old fairy tale, passed down from parent to child again and again. The book has a poetic soul at heart, and without the language, Im pretty sure the magic of this story wouldnt have been the same. I fell in love with the writing from the first page, and savored each paragraph of PLAIN KATE like I would decadent, heartwarming chocolate.
The plot doesnt quite have the epicness that I adore in beautifully written fantasy adventures, but is enjoyable nonetheless. Like her name, Plain Kate is a no-nonsense girl: here is someone who has had to deal with loss and prejudice her whole life, and thus she doesnt have time to waste on ambiguous hormonal teenage issues, which is almost refreshing in a YA book. Taggle, Plain Kates cat, adds much-needed humor breaks throughout the book, with his wry cat comments that anyone who has come in contact with cats before can most certainly relate to.
The story moves slowly, even as the characters travel far, preferring instead to spend time on the language rather than on specific physical action. The parts containing Linay and his sinister plans are a bit confusingagain, probably because I was, uh, too spellbound by the writing to get a solid hold on the storys main magical conflict.
Despite that, I would read this book again and again, if only to savor Erin Bows words when I need a touch of beauty in my life. If you, like me, like falling under the spell of beautiful fantasy writing, then PLAIN KATE is a must-read. Kates story will make you fall in love with this genre all over again.
Truth be told, I wouldve read this book solely for its language. Reading Erin Bows words is like reading a generations-old fairy tale, passed down from parent to child again and again. The book has a poetic soul at heart, and without the language, Im pretty sure the magic of this story wouldnt have been the same. I fell in love with the writing from the first page, and savored each paragraph of PLAIN KATE like I would decadent, heartwarming chocolate.
The plot doesnt quite have the epicness that I adore in beautifully written fantasy adventures, but is enjoyable nonetheless. Like her name, Plain Kate is a no-nonsense girl: here is someone who has had to deal with loss and prejudice her whole life, and thus she doesnt have time to waste on ambiguous hormonal teenage issues, which is almost refreshing in a YA book. Taggle, Plain Kates cat, adds much-needed humor breaks throughout the book, with his wry cat comments that anyone who has come in contact with cats before can most certainly relate to.
The story moves slowly, even as the characters travel far, preferring instead to spend time on the language rather than on specific physical action. The parts containing Linay and his sinister plans are a bit confusingagain, probably because I was, uh, too spellbound by the writing to get a solid hold on the storys main magical conflict.
Despite that, I would read this book again and again, if only to savor Erin Bows words when I need a touch of beauty in my life. If you, like me, like falling under the spell of beautiful fantasy writing, then PLAIN KATE is a must-read. Kates story will make you fall in love with this genre all over again.
Superb! I cried buckets at the end (though not because it was a bad ending!). This is a wonderful coming of age story, complete with magic and adventure. I think anyone from age 12 to 112 would love this.
My favorite part about it was the way we see Plain Kate change, grow, expand. It's really more than just "coming of age." It's her coming into her own power, not as in magic, but as in the power that rests in all humans - the power to change our lives, see possibilities, embrace independence, follow our passions, etc.
5 stars. Would definitely read more by the author.
My favorite part about it was the way we see Plain Kate change, grow, expand. It's really more than just "coming of age." It's her coming into her own power, not as in magic, but as in the power that rests in all humans - the power to change our lives, see possibilities, embrace independence, follow our passions, etc.
5 stars. Would definitely read more by the author.
