Book Review
Basic Details:
Book Title: Rising Tide: Dark Innocence
Subtitle: The Maura DeLuca Trilogy #1
Author: Claudette Melanson
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Part of a series? Yes
Order in series: 1
Best read after earlier books in series? No
Overall score:
I scored this book 5/5
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
Short Summary of the book:
Maura is a teenager who has no friends at school. Just when it appears some of her classmates want her to join their friendship group, her mother decides to move to Canada. Suddenly she becomes a ‘normal’ teenager and rebels against the rules set by her single mother. With her dad not in her life, she has looked after her depressed mother for a long time. The sudden friendship is not what it appears but Ron has admired Maura from a distance for years and rescues her. Will their friendship survive? And what do all the changes in her appetite mean? Why does she feel ill in the sun?
What I liked about the book:
I enjoyed the developing friendship and love between Maura and Ron, even if it came just for her move.
What I didn’t like about the book:
Bullies are my worst pet hate. This book had its fair share.
My favourite bits in the book:
Friendship developing amongst these young people. It was an honest friendship which could bridge a distance. Whether it would last is still an open question.
My least favourite bits in the book:
The scene in the woods. How could they do that to her?
Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?
I understand this is the first book in the series and I had to restrain myself from immediately buying the next in the series. That will need to wait until I have made a good dent in the large collection of books on my Kindle.
What books could this be compared to and why?
This was quite a different look at the paranormal world. There are no books I can think of I’ve read like this. Only one book slightly reminds me of this one but I can’t remember its title at the moment.
Recommendation:
Children No
Young Adult Yes
Adult Yes
If you like this book may be the book for you.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.
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獲得ポイント:
11pt (1%)
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The Opening
The first chapter opens with an interesting hook and quickly establishes Maura as a sympathetic character. It also features an intriguing end that hints there’s more going on that we realize.
The Characters
Maura is an instantly sympathetic character because of the imposed move introduced in the first paragraph. As the first chapter progresses, it’s clear she’s an underdog and also suffering from a debilitating skin condition, which helps to increase the readers’ interest. In later parts of the book, we become more invested in her as she has more and more to lose.
Mom (Caelyn) is a complex and interesting character. There are elements of her character that I find illogical within the context of the story. For example, the name she gave Maura and the reasons for that as well as the reasons for her depression and anxiety.
Initially, it all seems to make sense. However, by the end of this book, some of the reasoning has been eroded to the extent that her initial personality becomes somewhat implausible. I may be too harsh about this. There are reasons for Caelyn to feel as she does. It’s just that the reasons are not nearly as good toward the end.
Katie Parker and her brother are well introduced and sketched. In some ways, she’s the most interesting character. She is a caricature of the popular girl in school, but I liked her backstory.
Ron is cute. I like the little things he does for Maura and his faithfulness toward his mom. Through his interaction with Maura, speaking about music and other interests, both characters are made more three-dimensional with a distinct life beyond the plot.
The Plot
For much of the novel, the plot follows the countdown archetype. Maura and her mom are moving to Canada, and there is a set future date when this must happen. Much of the conflict and tension revolves around the timing of this move and its implications in Maura’s life.
Also, it is clear that Maura is going through interesting hormonal changes in this coming-of-age tale. But said changes are a little more extreme than average. Running in tandem with these changes we have Maura’s serious health issues. These also subscribe to the countdown archetype in that set times are given for events to occur, and we’re working toward them.
The health-scare approach to the paranormal elements is unique. I like the novelty of how Maura’s supernatural biology and abilities are introduced slowly throughout the story. In that way, there are many similarities to Stephen King’s Carrie. However, I did find some elements of the health scare conflict frustrating.
It becomes clear pretty soon that mom is hiding something, and I felt throughout that if Mom would just be open and transparent, most of the tension would disappear. That would be a good thing if it were not for the fact that Mom’s withholding of the information is illogical. The longer she keeps secrets, the more dangerous the situation becomes.
There are a few tiny hiccups in the plot. For example, Maura receives a dentist appointment before she gets her health card after it’s been stressed that she can’t made any appointments or take any medical tests until after she gets said card.
Another issue is regarding Maura’s newfound mental abilities. At the end of her stay in Indiana, her abilities help her to stay ahead of the curve in school. In Vancouver, it feels as though they all suddenly disappear.
I find it implausible that Shane doesn’t know about Ron’s extended family and situation when they’ve been friends their entire life. I also don’t much like the simple resolution of the final relationship conflict. It just seems too easy.
The resolution of the health scare plot line feels rather deus ex machina. Most of the remaining conflict is resolved by an external agency that is only a background element of the preceding story. However, to be fair, said agency is well foreshadowed, so it doesn’t come entirely out of the blue.
The ending does generate a nice hook encouraging the reader to continue on to the next book. I wonder what will happen to Maura next and how she will deal with her relationship with Ron. It’s all very intriguing.
The Setting
The physical setting is well sketched. The magic system is pretty cool and is well introduced through the changes in Maura and small incidents that occur throughout the story.
The Prose
Generally, the prose is clear and this story is successfully shown rather than told. There are a few small things I didn’t like.
The story as a whole feels slow paced to me. I can’t put my finger on exactly why, but it just seems to drag a little between the action scenes.
I do like that the paranormal elements are small and scattered and introduced slowly, but not the long gaps between where relatively little seems to happen. The relationship is definitely slow burn and not your typical teen-hormone-driven fast-paced romance.
Within Maura’s first person narrative, I don’t like that she calls her mom Caelyn. If she calls her mom Caelyn in dialogue, I would be fine with it. However, if she calls her mom “Mom” when addressing her or when speaking with other people about her, then she should also call her Mom in her thoughts. Otherwise, it distracts me from the story and somewhat spoils my immersion.
My Opinion
I enjoyed the growing relationship between Maura and Ron, the magic system, and Maura’s slow discovery of herself. However, I would have preferred a faster pace and a better reason for Mom to keep secrets. I am going to rate this YA paranormal romance 7 out of 10, which will translate to 4 out of 5 on Goodreads and Amazon.
このレビューの画像
DEP
Whining soppy teenager
2018年4月1日にカナダでレビュー済みAmazonで購入
