Sunday, January 27, 2008

Revenge of the parenthetical title


I loved Haven Kimmel's two other novels so much that I had high (perhaps too high) expectations for Something Rising (Light and Swift). I was willing to overlook the weirdness of parentheses in the title (which has annoyed me in the past), but I just didn't love this story. While Cassie is an interesting and well-written character, I couldn't like her or relate to her. The plot felt choppy in too many places -- some of the skips in time made sense, but others made the story too jumpy. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), my favorite parts were the descriptions of the games of pool, something I generally have zero interest in. And the book did end very well. Had I read this one first, I might have enjoyed it more, but up against The Solace of Leaving Early and The Used World, Something Rising couldn't quite compete.

2 comments:

a real librarian said...

I felt the same about this book! It was my first Haven Kimmel novel, and I was reluctant to start another one. But, I think it was actually because of your blog, I am getting ready to start The Solace of Leaving Early. Thanks! =)

Amy said...

I'm glad you're trying Solace -- I loved that one, and The Used World is even better.