Midwinterblood

Midwinterblood

By Marcus Sedgwick
Published: Roaring Brook Press, 2013
Pages: 288
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Amazon, Goodreads

It cannot be, he thinks, that when our life is run, we are done. There must be more than that, surely?

That we are not just one, but a multitude. 

About the book

In 2073 on the remote and secretive island of Blessed, where rumor has it that no one ages and no children are born, a visitor arrives. He is greeted warmly, but something is wrong. Something is hidden on the far side of the island. Something that, as if in a dream, he cannot reach.

And so it is that under the light of the waxing and waning moon, seven stories unfold: the story of an archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact; of an airman who finds himself far from home; of a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking. And the story of life so primal and passionate it slips the bonds of time.

Review

Urgh, I so wanted to like this book. I really enjoyed the premise behind the story and how everything ties together... yet I found the writing to be on the dull side.

The author sets up an eerie atmosphere on a strange, mystical location far, far away - an isolated island where freakish things are happening. This tone continues throughout the book until the very end, where the reader FINALLY uncovers what's going down. This is not a story of horror or mystery, but rather one of love.

I'm not a fan of the author's sentence structure, which is very simple and uninspiring, or writing style.

In half an hour, Isabella shrieks.
She actually shrieks.
"Oh God! I think I found something!" 
She has.

Now why, he thinks, would they print a map of only half the island?
That would be stupid. Unless, unless, unless you wanted to keep half of it secret.
He knows he's on to something.

I think Midwinterblood reads more of a middle grade level... I got bored easily while reading it. This book may be for others, but wasn't for me.

RATING (out of five puppies)