Thursday, April 14, 2011

Another Me- Cathy Macphail

1


Pages: 176

Published: 2009

Date Finished: 15th April 2011

Rating: 3 Stars

It was as I was walking into the drama class that I remembered the girl I had bumped into and the green sweater just like mine. That was what had got Mrs Watt mixed up. She had seen the girl in the green sweater and thought it was me. That was the simple explanation. Wasn't it? Fay can't help thinking it odd that people start remarking on conversations she knows she hasn't had, or saying they have seen her when she knows she was somewhere else. But then she starts hearing muffled footsteps behind her, the flash of fair hair just like hers around the corner. Is she imagining things? A gripping, spooky thriller from the acclaimed story-teller Catherine MacPhail – Synopsis from www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

I must admit I wasn’t as excited to read this novel when I found out it was a middle grade /early high school book, [they aren’t really my style] and I always get the feeling that they are going to be vague and lack the intensity I need and get with young adult and adult novels. But Another Me wasn’t so bad and I found myself enjoying it.

While through most of the novel it did lack the language I like, Cathy’s writing style and her building of suspense made it an interesting read. I did want to know what happens to Fay, but I also found myself putting it down a lot of time because it didn’t provoke me enough to continue reading page after page.

The characters lacked what I would call extreme motive. Most of them felt flat to me, and I don’t want to judge this on the merit of the age group, but even still much like Alyson Noels Radiance, I needed more from the characters to want to care about them. Even Fay was a flaky character.

I did enjoy Another Me for what it was worth. The cover was what really drew me in and I might be interested to read one of Cathy’s other novels, granted, I hope that the next one I choose has more depth to it.

I would totally recommend this book if you want a really light read, and by light I mean big words, simple language and enough suspense and excitement to just about carry you through. If you are looking for a short read between more intense books, this also would be a great book to pick up.

Ideally, I am going to recommend it for younger readers because it reads better for a younger audience [11-15.] It does deal with elements of horror, but I don’t think it affects to age group it will affect a middle grades reading experience.

1 comment: