Another tricky one to rate and my rating did change as I wrote this review. I found it hard to get into at first. At the start we are expected to know this book and its film, the world it's set in. It's slightly disorientating the way we are thrown into it.
We are barely introduced to the characters: Alice, the fan-fiction writer with model looks, Katie the newer friend from Liverpool who shuns popular culture for Shakespeare, Violet's younger brother Nate who is much smarter than she is, and our narrator Violet who is a major fan of this book 'The Gallows Dance'. That's it, that is the entire sum-up of her character. She is average and yeah, a Mary Sue. Her role is to take the place of Rose, the main character of 'The Gallows Dance' after the group get transported to the book's universe and accidentally get her killed.
There are some interesting side characters, I loved Nate and Ash, and Baba was interesting. There were a few interesting twists along the way, the world was rich and well-developed and the plot was very character driven BUT thanks to the opening school moment and repeated tellings we basically know the plot and overall it deviates very little.
The ending also seemed very incomplete which could imply possible sequel but I'm not sure how that would work. Which brings me onto the format of this book, or rather creation of it. The result of two competitions, a writing based one to find a new author, and an idea based one to come up with a plot for a children's/young adult's book. This book is the result. I will say though that I found Anna's writing style very expressive and engaging and I hope we see more from her.
2/5 stars.
Stef Out x
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