Helpful Score: 2
This was a surprisingly good book. I have never read a book by Chris Wooding before, and although I had to slog through the first chapter, the book really picked up pace from that point on.
Poison lives in a swamp with her step-mother, father and baby sister. Poison is an outcast, she can never understand why the people of the swamp village put up with living the way they do, she can't understand why someone doesn't change things. When Poison's sister is stolen by the Phaeries it is the last straw. Poison leaves the village with the local wraith-catcher determined to get her sister back.
This book starts out as a wonderfully Gothic and classic Brothers Grimm-like story. These is not your Disney fairy tale but the dark and scary fairy tale that stays true to a Grimm fairy tale. Initially you think this book is just a very well written story about a girl on a quest to save her sister. As the story progresses it ends up being about so much more. There is much more at stake than Poison's sister. Poison quickly finds out that reality is not what it seems; and deeper questions come up as to who weaves the stories that are a person's life.
This was a delightful book. The details are magnificent and the story is very creative. The plot weaves irony in and out of the story and you will say "huh, wow that was clever." Poison is a strong character and the side characters are also intriguing. Wooding has developed an interesting world where humans are on the bottom of the food chain, except in one aspect.
This is not a book for the faint at heart. Although it is appropriate for preteens and young adults; it is a creepy and scary book. I would put the creepiness right up there with Joseph Delauney's Spook's Apprentice series. This is a wonderful young adult horror though.
I also have the book The Storm Thief by Wooding and I am very much looking forward to reading that book. I am definitely going to look into acquiring more of Wooding's books. He is a great storyteller. I don't think I have gotten such delight out of a fairy tale since I read Ironside by Holly Black. Although this tale is set in a different world; the characters are just as engrossing.
Poison lives in a swamp with her step-mother, father and baby sister. Poison is an outcast, she can never understand why the people of the swamp village put up with living the way they do, she can't understand why someone doesn't change things. When Poison's sister is stolen by the Phaeries it is the last straw. Poison leaves the village with the local wraith-catcher determined to get her sister back.
This book starts out as a wonderfully Gothic and classic Brothers Grimm-like story. These is not your Disney fairy tale but the dark and scary fairy tale that stays true to a Grimm fairy tale. Initially you think this book is just a very well written story about a girl on a quest to save her sister. As the story progresses it ends up being about so much more. There is much more at stake than Poison's sister. Poison quickly finds out that reality is not what it seems; and deeper questions come up as to who weaves the stories that are a person's life.
This was a delightful book. The details are magnificent and the story is very creative. The plot weaves irony in and out of the story and you will say "huh, wow that was clever." Poison is a strong character and the side characters are also intriguing. Wooding has developed an interesting world where humans are on the bottom of the food chain, except in one aspect.
This is not a book for the faint at heart. Although it is appropriate for preteens and young adults; it is a creepy and scary book. I would put the creepiness right up there with Joseph Delauney's Spook's Apprentice series. This is a wonderful young adult horror though.
I also have the book The Storm Thief by Wooding and I am very much looking forward to reading that book. I am definitely going to look into acquiring more of Wooding's books. He is a great storyteller. I don't think I have gotten such delight out of a fairy tale since I read Ironside by Holly Black. Although this tale is set in a different world; the characters are just as engrossing.
When argumentitive Poison's younger sister is kidnaped by phaires she must seek out the Phairie Lord to get her back.
Chris Wooding's poison is an ambitious book that starts out promising, but for me it fell short.
The book begins as the tale of a girl desperate to escape her backwater hometown, given the opportunity by the Phaeries, who kidnap her sister and replace her with a changeling.
Aided by one of the elders of the village, she sets out in search of her sister, and, aided by friends along the way, she's forced to outwit a number of cunning magical creatures--and from there, the plot takes a left turn into an entirely new story.
I very much enjoyed the first half of the story--and i wish i could have enjoyed the second half. It's undeniably well-written, but the big twist to the plot was unsatisfying, and the ending lacked closure. Perhaps this was setting up for a sequel, but the story doesn't quite stand up on its own.
The book begins as the tale of a girl desperate to escape her backwater hometown, given the opportunity by the Phaeries, who kidnap her sister and replace her with a changeling.
Aided by one of the elders of the village, she sets out in search of her sister, and, aided by friends along the way, she's forced to outwit a number of cunning magical creatures--and from there, the plot takes a left turn into an entirely new story.
I very much enjoyed the first half of the story--and i wish i could have enjoyed the second half. It's undeniably well-written, but the big twist to the plot was unsatisfying, and the ending lacked closure. Perhaps this was setting up for a sequel, but the story doesn't quite stand up on its own.
Well I'm going to Apologize apparently somehow I pasted a review for an anita blake book here instead of the review of Poison.
Here is my Reveiw of Poison:
So not my cup of tea. The writing was not bad but it was written for an age group of I'd say 8-12. The writing is more along the lines of a classic fairy tale, and not really a great one. The books was really very predictable. If your are looking for good fairy books try Melissa Marr.
Here is my Reveiw of Poison:
So not my cup of tea. The writing was not bad but it was written for an age group of I'd say 8-12. The writing is more along the lines of a classic fairy tale, and not really a great one. The books was really very predictable. If your are looking for good fairy books try Melissa Marr.
Chris Wooding's poison is an ambitious book that starts out promising, but for me it fell short.
The book begins as the tale of a girl desperate to escape her backwater hometown, given the opportunity by the Phaeries, who kidnap her sister and replace her with a changeling.
Aided by one of the elders of the village, she sets out in search of her sister, and, aided by friends along the way, she's forced to outwit a number of cunning magical creatures--and from there, the plot takes a left turn into an entirely new story.
I very much enjoyed the first half of the story--and i wish i could have enjoyed the second half. It's undeniably well-written, but the big twist to the plot was unsatisfying, and the ending lacked closure. Perhaps this was setting up for a sequel, but the story doesn't quite stand up on its own.
The book begins as the tale of a girl desperate to escape her backwater hometown, given the opportunity by the Phaeries, who kidnap her sister and replace her with a changeling.
Aided by one of the elders of the village, she sets out in search of her sister, and, aided by friends along the way, she's forced to outwit a number of cunning magical creatures--and from there, the plot takes a left turn into an entirely new story.
I very much enjoyed the first half of the story--and i wish i could have enjoyed the second half. It's undeniably well-written, but the big twist to the plot was unsatisfying, and the ending lacked closure. Perhaps this was setting up for a sequel, but the story doesn't quite stand up on its own.
