Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Genre: Young Adult
Source: Library
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan, an extremely talented musician, lives a fairly ordinary life. But when she meets a mysterious boy named Luke, she finds her whole world turned upside down. Soon, they develop a deep and undeniable bond of friendship, that eventually lead to romance. Here's where things get complicated; Deirdre finds out that she is a cloverleaf; one that has an ability to see faeries. Luke, on the other hand, is a gallowglass -- "a soulless faerie assassin." His next target? Deirdre.

Review:
Characters & Plot: 3 stars
The truth is, I didn't connect to the story and its characters as much as I wanted to. Even though the characters were believable and likable enough, I just did not quite get the "hang" of it. To me also, both the plot and the characters just didn't develop naturally.

Writing: 4 stars
I do have to say though, that I am impressed by Maggie Stiefvater's writing. She is very eloquent and romantic -- almost poetic. I felt that though I didn't care much about what's truly going on in the book, I wasn't getting tired of reading her words. They flowed without effort, and seemed very artistic in style. And in all fairness, never did it seem at all forced or contrived.

Overall: 3.5 stars
For me, Lament fell a little short. The story wasn't anything special, and I didn't get into the plot as much. Though I generally like the main characters -- as they are at least likable -- I'm afraid they didn't stand out as much. However, it's the poetic writing that ultimately made me appreciate it, and made me think that it was at least a worthwhile read.

8 comments:

  1. Her writing is lovely, isn't it... Almost hypnotic. I quite liked Lament and have got Ballad on order, but I think that you make some valid points in your great review!

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  2. I really liked Lament more than Shiver actually. Maggie Stiefvater really is a great writer though. You should give Ballad a chance, I liked it so much more than Lament.

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  3. Ballad is far better than Lament, in my honest opinion. I really think you should give it a chance, and I like Lament better than Shiver, which I didn't really like haha great review :)

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  4. @Splendidbird: Yes, hypnotic is just the right word for it, thank you! Haha. I did enjoy it, just not my favorite I guess :)

    @Adriana: I have not yet read Shiver. I want to try it though, since I hear a lot of people raving about it.
    I think I will read Ballad too.

    @Melissa: I'm going to go ahead and reserve Ballad at our local library. I think I will read it. Like I said, I thought it was a worthwhile read. Not bad at all.

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  5. I really enjoyed both Lament and Ballad. I have recommended them to others and heard great things back from them! I think they are both worth reading!

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  6. Good Review! I have to admit, Lament and Ballad aren't my favorite books but Ms. Steifvater does have talent. I enjoy the Folklore she infuses her stories with. I have heard a lot about shiver and linger and will probably give them a go :)

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  7. @Beverly: I believe they're worth reading as well. I'll check out Ballad whenever I get the chance.

    @KIKA: Thank you! Yeah, they aren't my favorites, but they're not bad either! I will continue to read more from Stiefvater mainly for her writing.

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  8. I'm reading Lament right now. I'm finding it kind of dull, but I'm only 60 pages in. Maybe it will get better.

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