BE FOREWARNED: this is not a whole book. This is half a book, and the other half came out just now and HOW ANGRY WERE YOU, people who read this back in 2005 and then had to wait 6 years? Probably so angry, right? (Alternately, this is a whole book with a highly unsatisfactory ending.)Continuing this trend of not really talking about the book for a second, can we have a 15 minutes of hate for this cover? WHO is that supposed to be? Because Ginny spends the whole novel in low-maintanence tourist-wear (t-shirt, white sneakers, braids, cargo shorts) and that is sort of a Thing of which some angst is made.
Contrariwise, there are VERY FEW descriptions of OUTFITS. Or HAIR. Or people's SLENDER WAISTS, and the novel is mostly about what people are DOING or THINKING and not what they are WEARING. I am not used to this sort of focus in my YA.
The novel, though! Ok, so. Ginny's aunt Peg was awesome but prone to doing a runner and then she died. Woe. And then Ginny, who is sort of Reserved (in the way that teen girls are) receives a packet of envelopes from Dead Aunt Peg, sending her on a scavanger hunt (to London! And Amsterdam! And Greece!) the prize at the end of which is, presumably, herself (er, Ginny. Not Peg. Peg appears to be concretely, real-worldly dead and not just Harry-Potter dead).
And I had this nutty theory about this being written in 2005, i.e. soooooer long ago, and not Johnson's Apex of Great for that reason. But The Bermudez Triangle PRECEDES this, and that was so awesome I could have died. Theory: pantsed. I mean, still good, you guys. Ginny is very normal and encounters a sufficient amount of whimsy and the secondary characters are actually people and not just hangers on. Still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp Twi-lite. But the banter is not as banty and the jokes feel stilted and whether I ever love a Johnson as much as I loved her short story in Let It Snow remains to be seen.
Because I do need to find out what's in that Last Little Blue Envelope.
Eight caterpillars, and pending.
I've got a book with a cover like that but without the headless girl...it's much nicer.
ReplyDeleteI hated Aunt Peg with the hate I reserve for those whose only pleasure in life is controlling others. She couldn't even let go after she was dead. And who were the idiot parents let a seventeen year old travel the world on the whim of a controlling egoist, even/especially a dead one? Ergh.
ReplyDeleteha! The kindle edition puts the cover at the end, so i didn't see it. which is good, cause i would have never read it. this was my first MJ read, and i do think i shall read more. i immediately downloaded the sequel. i have to KNOW.
ReplyDeletefunny word choice - PANTSED. you clever referencer to the book, you!
Yeah - downloaded this for free on my iPhone, so I can't complain too much, but I didn't finish it.
ReplyDeleteIt felt SO YA. And before anyone jumps on me, I know it is YA, but the writing was so blah and obvious. I've read YA that isn't like that, which is why I found it so annoying. Her motivations, the angst...not my cup of tea. I don't often not finish books, but I can't see myself going back for more of this one.
I will, however, check for the other story you mention.
I heard Johnson speak at BEA last year, and she rocked my boat; and yet, I still haven't picked up one of her books. Clearly need to jump on top of things here.
ReplyDeleteI love that you are always so honest with your book reviews. I know I'm getting the real when I read your blog. I don't get the cover either. I don't generally like covers with people on them doing nothing, especially showing skin. It irks me.
ReplyDelete