Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Alyzon Whitestarr by Isobelle Carmody

Alyzon Whitestarr does not come from an ordinary family: her father is a musician, her mother is a pinter, and her siblings have all inherited similar artistic talents; in fact, Alyzon is the only ordinary one among them. After an accident puts her in a coma, however, everything changes. When she wakes up, all of her senses are heightened, making the world seem to be a new and fascinating place. But most importantly, she can now smell things no one else can sense - including the emotions of those around her. This new ability will be invaluable when Alyzon discovers that something terrible threatens her family and friends - and she's the only one who can tell that it's there.


There were several things that I really enjoyed about this book - the characters, in particular, are well-developed and interesting people. The story was also a bit different from the ordinary and moved at a good pace. The only thing that I had trouble with is that I couldn't quite buy in to the central premise of the story regarding the 'evil' in the world that they were trying to stop; I was actually a bit disappointed because I liked reading the book, but it seemed a little dubious to me. (Also, I couldn't figure out where it was supposed to take place, which doesn't really matter, but I prefer to know.) That being said, I would suggest that critical fantasy readers who want everything explained should probably let this one go - if you're just looking for something fun and a little different (or if you're a fan of conspiracy theories), this book might be worth it for you.



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