chipperHarperTeen
352 pages, urban fantasy/dark fairy tale/young adult romance
Currently in print
***
I had managed to miss Wicked Lovely for the longest time, because, quite frankly, I am a picky bitch when it comes to my fairy stories anymore. You try spending all your time working on Toby and see how much you want to deal with another book full of giggling, effortlessly beautiful, magical, carefree fairy princesses. I usually wind up wanting to deal with it through use of a chainsaw, and I've been told that's antisocial. So I looked at the back of Wicked Lovely, saw 'fairy,' thought 'oh, God, not again,' and ran back to the safety of the horror section.
Never let it be said that I can't admit when I'm wrong.
Wicked Lovely is a sweet, sharp, unflinching vision of Faerie; it's not a nice world, and it's not a nasty world. It's just a world, and while its workings may not always make sense, there's a minimum of hand-waving and 'oh, it's magic, you have to let it work that way' from the author. (The book's mortal characters get that on occasion, mind you, but that's much more understandable.) It is, in fact, internally consistent and believably matched to aspects of known folklore. From me, on Faerie, that's the highest compliment there is.
Aislinn has always seen faeries, even thought she's never in her life wanted to, since she can never admit that she realizes they exist. To admit to Faerie is to be brought to Faerie's attention, and that's never ended well, for anybody. Sadly, Faerie can still admit that it sees her, and now Keenan, the Summer King, has decided she'd make the perfect girlfriend. That's sort of a problem. Especially since, once a faerie lord decides he wants you, you don't get all that much of a choice.
Spunky, believably heroine? Check. Dead-hot best friend-maybe-boyfriend? Check. Enthralling faerie politics? Check. The alternating point of view means we get a chance to see Aislinn's Faerie and Faerie's Aislinn, from a lot of different angles, all of which combine to give us one fabulous ride. It's very much a 'cusp of the age range book,' enjoyable for young adult and adult readers alike. The language is compelling, and the parts that feel predictable are predictable in the 'this is a classic story, you know this story' sort of a way, rather than because they feel like chiches.
I highly recommend Wicked Lovely. It's a very fun, beautifully involving story, and I'm looking forward to the sequels.
August 3 2008, 15:36:18 UTC 8 years ago
Also, have you had a chance to pick up any of Holly Black's tales of faerie*? I think you'd really enjoy them.
* Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside
August 3 2008, 15:38:03 UTC 8 years ago