I Finally Finished...

I finally finished...

I didn't even realize that it was about the sinking of the Titanic when I stated it. 

I learned a lot. 

The story is about a young maid, Tess, who wants to be a dressmaker. Having heard about the Titanic's upcoming voyage to America, Tess takes this as a sign that better things are ahead. But first, Tess needs to figure out a way to get on the ship. She accidentally meets Lady Lucille Duff Gordon, a famous British fashion designer, who is traveling on the Titanic to New York. When she overhears a conversation about needing a maid, Tess approaches the designer with an offer to fill the position. She will do anything to get on that ship! But what Tess, of course, doesn't realize when she takes the position, is that she will become involved in tragedy and the aftermath... and her life will never be the same. 

I attended a Young Adult Literature panel at the Tucson Festival of the Book LAST year and heard Aprilynne Pike speak at that time. I received a copy of the book and just never got around to reading it until now, when my Book Group voted it for April's reading! 

It was a fun diversion. 

Clever premise.

Laurel has never really worried about the things that make her different than other people.  Sure, she only eats fruits and vegetables, she never has to wash her hair and she has never had a cut or scrape that she can remember.  But that isn’t so odd, is it?  Then one day Laurel realizes there is something growing on her back.  At first she thinks it’s just a pimple, but when it grows to the size of a football, she knows something is definitely different.  The flowers that bloom from her back are not normal and a trip to the forest where she meets Tamani confirms her theory.  She is faerie - a Fall faerie to be exact. Unlike my notion of faeries as butterflies or little people, Ms. Pike portrays them as flowers. Now the faerie people need Laurel's  help to save the land they live on and protect the gateway from our world to theirs.

Faerie, trolls and some romance.  This was a classic YA paranormal read.  I enjoyed the scientific approach to figuring out what Laurel was with the help of her friend, David.  This was a light, easy read with a simple story line.

I remember Ms. Pike speaking about the book last year and asking us to remind her that next time she starts a series to really ponder whether she wanted to write about something with NO heart. Plants do not have hearts or a circulatory system. Writing about falling in love without a heart was really hard! After I've read the book now it makes much more sense!! 

Yep, two, count 'em, books....I really do read!