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66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicately Crafted and Brutally Beautiful, February 18, 2009
This review is from: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie) (Paperback)
As a rule, I generally find the fiction directed at young women frustrating. So often, it's populated by Kicky Young Heroines with *just enough* strength and self-reliance to be bothered when they ultimately have to be rescued by the male love interest, but not quite enough to get out of trouble without his help. Too many authors lack the skill to create dramatic tension without placing the main character in a danger she just can't escape on her own, and the most dramatically convenient means of rescue is usually her love interest. The underlying message of, "no matter how strong you are, you're still a girl and girls get rescued by men who think they're pretty," is pervasive.
So, it was with certain reservations that I picked up Maggie Stiefvater's "Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception" on the recommendation of a friend. In my head I was already trying to think of diplomatic ways to compliment a Young Adult Faerie Book without having to point out Kicky Ineffectual Heroines and overly perky and harmless (or unreasonably malicious and evil) fae.
"Lament" blew all that right out of the water.
First, the core of the story is about women. Deirdre's relationship with her mother and grandmother, her relationship with her aunt, her relationship with the Faerie Queen, all played out across the story of a young woman making the choices that will determine the course of her life. The love story, though woven through the tale, supports the focus on Deirdre instead of overwhelming it; this is a refreshing change from the languishing heroine waiting for life to start for her and bemoaning her singlehood (usually because 'normal guys' can't handle her Special Uniqueness) until magically the perfect guy comes along who just happens to be [insert dramatic and predictable otherworldly cliche].
Part of this comes from the fact that Stiefvater balances the love interest with a strong core friendship that it can't replace, and part of it comes from the fact that like many of us, Deirdre has to make most of her really hard decisions alone, and she's faced with a lot of very realistic complication in the way she has to balance the relationships in her life. Stiefvater places her protagonist in situations where she has to acknowledge and consider the very different sorts of love and relationships in her life, and can't simply let fear or infatuation guide her choices. It creates a much better dramatic tension and a much better read than simply placing her in an inescapable danger.
Stiefvater's fae were another pleasant surprise. Instead of the benign, ethereal beauties or the deliberately evil monsters I've come to expect from popular fiction (not to mention the giggly little winged flower sprites), the fae in "Lament" are complex and subtle. The word most appropriate to the faeries of the older tales is 'perilous', and these fae most certainly are. Are they good guys? Are they bad guys? Neither, really; they're somewhere outside of morality and bound to older, simpler, more brutal laws than human perception of right and wrong. Stiefvater *nails* the notion of the faerie bargain and the faerie favor perfectly, capturing the layers of gift, threat, and obligation. She manages to make them alien and familiar enough to be completely unsettling.
The book is a satisfying and well-crafted read. I finished it in a single sitting, and have read it again since. And having done so, I can recommend it without reservation or hesitiation. Read this book. Seriously.
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49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read This Book!, September 7, 2008
This review is from: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie) (Paperback)
It's About: Deirdre Monaghan, a sheltered teen and gifted harpist, who slowly discovers that she is strangely exceptional. Unfortunately for Dee, she's not the only one who's noticed she's strangely exceptional- the fey have taken notice, and they want to play with her. The problem is, fey playthings rarely survive the attention.
As a rule, I'm not real big on faerie stories. They just don't ring my bell on a visceral level, but Lament cuts down deep. Stiefvater is a gifted author who weaves a dangerous world, and sensual characters with ease, and balances the entire package with a wonderfully wry sense of humor. The strong voice and appealing characters are easy to love, and just like the fey's playthings that fall sway to their magic, you kind of- no, I found myself- completely entranced by the villains, as well.
Would I Give This Book To a Teen: Yes, absolutely. The impossible love that's impossible to deny is potent, and Dee is a fierce protagonist who refuses to be a victim to glamoured circumstances.
Would I Give This Book To an Adult: Oh, I am so giving this book to adults. I'm giving this book to my best friend so she can read it and squee with me; I'm going to tell my librarian friend Kyle to get this book, and hand it to kids who are on The Endless Breaking Dawn waiting list. I'm getting another copy and sending it to my bff's sisters- there is, in fact, an extraordinarily good chance I am going to get yet another copy so my husband can read it. This is an awesome book, for serious.
My 14 Year Old Son Says: Nothing, because I'm reading it again and won't give it to him. (I think he'll like it though- the action and humor will appeal to him, and as a musician himself, I'm pretty sure he'll love how important music is in this story.)
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32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed, But Beautiful, February 25, 2009
This review is from: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie) (Paperback)
I was highly anticipating this novel from before it was even released. Then, once the reviews started coming out, I was even more excited. After reading this book, however, I did not feel it was entirely worth the hype.
The cover is beautiful, the title grabs my attention, too, and the description piqued my interest, but the book itself falls short. While the story is fairly original and very unique in parts, the main characters bring down the story. From the first moment when the two characters meet, the motivation behind the main protagonist's actions does not make sense. Later, when her character is explained a bit more, her actions still do not make sense. She is quite temperamental, which she explains by having a short temper. Having a short temper does not readily explain why she would act the way she does with a stranger, even one she saw in a dream. If it did, then her other actions of getting mad at him do not make sense, for she already "knows" him.
While the male main character is supposed to be mysterious, he does not really have too much else going for him. There is no depth to him, unless you lend your own imagination to the book.
The side characters, including her best friend (who I really enjoyed, though he was simply her funny, unique friend, and not really a fully developed person), were also flat.
The story was also burdened with random bits that were left unexplained and brought up to further the plot, and then dropped. If such an event caused the plot to move forward, wouldn't the characters even think about why or what happened instead of simply going with the flow? Much of the story seemed to count on the reader going with the flow, as well.
The thing about this book though, is that I WANTED to know more about the whole thing, characters and story. I wanted to know about the friend, and why things were happening. When events and actions were left unexplained, I would simply move on in the hope of discovering more of this world/story created by the author. I went along with it.
Another redeeming part of the novel is the writing style (which is quite lovely and easy to follow). Also, descriptions of the fairy world and two fairies in particular were marvelous. I loved them. The intertwining music and folklore was enjoyable, too.
So, while this book is flawed, I know I am eagerly looking forward to the author's next novel. I hope not only to get another taste of her delicious descriptions, but a chance to see her redeem the errors made in this one. If you are interested in reading a unique story with fairies mixing with the contemporary world, I would recommend it, but with the warning it is no where near as perfect as other novels out there. Then, again, there is nothing exactly like this book I have seen either.
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"Vibrant and potent, YA readers searching for faerie stories will be happy to find this accomplished debut novel."
