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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You May Want to Wait for the Entire Trilogy, June 4, 2002
This review is from: Witch Boy (Paperback)
I picked this book up originally on account of the cover, the cover artwork is admittedly beautiful and struck a real chord with me. Finding this fairly slim book shelved in the Young Readers section, I suspected the book would be a fairly quick, enjoyable read. I can honestly say, I did not find the kind of story that I was anticipating. Marcus Aurelius is a 17 year old who has strange powers that he doesn't know how to explain to anyone. He's plagued by feelings of guilt for the terrible thing he may or may not have done to his girlfriend Jules. Now he faces a new town where the people are not quite who they seem to be . . . and they have been waiting for Marcus. On the surface, the story is familiar. A young man who doesn't quite fit into the community he has grown up in discovers he has extraordinary powers and has to come to terms with what these powers mean and who he will be. The story is told from the protagonist's (Marcus Aurelius)POV in first person. While this adds a level of insight into the character, the semi poetical and limited vision style of the writing tends to keep the reader confused as to what's actually going on. This is unsurprising since Marcus spends most of the book being confused as well. The writing style is different, and could be refreshing for a reader who wants a break from the typical narrative. There are many aspects of this book that worked well together, but I found a few key concerns as well. While I have nothing against trilogies as a rule, this is one example in which I felt furious at the end of the story. As a reader, I was just beginning to feel comfortable with the author's style and the character's voice and then-- the story ended. This book comes across as more of a set up, or an introduction than a story in and of itself--I don't quite understand why it was made into a trilogy, the break off point for this first book is certainly dramatic enough, but I never got the sense of a story, only half of one. So, those readers who may want to try it, I recommend waiting until the second and third books are in easy reach, as I suspect the story will be more satisfying as a whole. My other concern is on the placement of this book. I found it within the Young Readers category, where it certainly does not belong. The protagonist is 17 years old, and one of the central themes of this story revolves around his sexual awakening. This is not a book for 12 year olds who have just come from Harry Potter. Sex, Death and guilt seem to be some of the main underpinnings of this story--and I do not think most young readers are ready for these themes. Parents, pleased be warned, this is not a child's story. And it is not a happy story by any stretch of imagination. The tone of this story is dark, strongly melancholic and laced with guilt and confusion. There's some startling violence and flashes of painful emotions as well as desire. To give the author credit, this tone and atmosphere may very well be what its like to live inside a young man's mind who is just verging on adulthood, I cannot say for certain. But there is a significant lack of joy, of real love or connection to things that make the book dream-like, or more to the point, nightmare-like. It's an interesting read, and those looking for something beyond the usual wizards and witches might find this story worth their while. But it is incomplete without the other two books in the trilogy. Happy Reading!
shanshad
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
First Book in the Witch Boy Trilogy, March 6, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Witch Boy (Paperback)
For the past six months, 17-year-old Marcus Aurelius has been changing, not just physically, but mentally--as in gaining telekinetic powers. As if that weren't frightening enough, Marcus believes he may have killed his girlfriend, Jules, in a bizarre fit in the woods. Leaving this mystery unanswered for the moment (hopefully it'll be resolved in one of the following two books: "Dark Prince" and "Blood War"), he, his mother, and his "familiar" (Chuck, a bluetick hound) move to Blackwater, where he meets a coven of Celtic witches who know more about him than he knows about himself. But what's even eerier--and what could possibly send him over the edge--is that one of his female classmates looks exactly like Jules. While told in the first person, which you would think would make the story more revealing, I found "Witch Boy" rather confusing, mainly because of Moon's surreal, complicated writing style. While it's a nice change of pace from most teen fiction (the profanity was definitely unexpected), I think this book/trilogy is better suited for more advanced teen readers (or even adults) who are into fantasy and Celtic mythology. The cliffhanger at the end of "Witch Boy" will certainly make fans want to read the next two books.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Can't wait for book 2, October 13, 2002
This review is from: Witch Boy (Paperback)
Summary Marcus isn't like all the other teens, unless they can move things with their mind too, and for the past six months it's been happening and lately Marcus hasn't been seeing himself in the mirror. To further complicate this, Marcus doesn't know where of what has happened to Jules (Marcus's girlfriend). Weird things continue to happen when Marcus moves into a new town with a different set of kids, half of them are witches and some of them even look like some of the kids from his old town. Also, his new house has been acting up and doing all these strange things. Commentary
I thought the writing style was beyond the usual. In this paragraph, Marcus is looking for his dog, Chuck, in the woods and Chuck is hiding and Marcus is getting frustrated."'Chuck.' The entire woods shake with my rage. I squeeze my eyes shut, my fists pulled so tight my fingertips just might pop through the back of my hands. I open my eyes to see it actually happening, the trees trembling, pine needles and leaves parachuting to the ground, branches snapping." The book kept me interested through the whole story line. Sometimes the story got a little weird but that's okay; what would science fiction be if it didn't get weird.
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