March 28, 2013

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I don't often post reviews of books that I got from the library or that I bought on my own, but this one just HAD to be posted because of how much I loved it. Now, months after I read 'Unspoken', I FINALLY had room in my blog schedule to post the review:

Release Date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Pages: 373
Series: The Lynburn Legacy
#1
Review Source: eBook from library


Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the Demon’s Lexicon books by Sarah Rees Brennan, so this one was always on my TBR list. Then I kept hearing such great things about ‘Unspoken’, and I was itching to get my hands on it. My library finally got the ebook, and I waited (im)patiently for my digital hold to come in. I dropped everything to read ‘Unspoken’, and I’m so glad I did. It rocketed to the top of my favourites of 2012 list, and also to the top of the “holy crap, nooo, why do we have to wait for the next book?!” list.

I think what is so fabulous about this book is that Sarah has taken so many elements that I usually loathe, and has made me love them. How does she do this?! First we have the ultra special magical connection between our heroine and hero. Then we have the makings of a love triangle. Then we have a hero who is incredibly codependent. It all sounds disastrous, and yet I adored it. The connection between Jared and Kami feels incredibly precious, and reading about the two of them and seeing how they’ve been connected all their lives explains a lot about why these two are the way they are. Jared is completely that tortured wannabe bad boy, and yet as we delve into his thoughts we see all the different angles of him. The “love triangle” isn’t wholly developed, but what exists of it really fits the book, and especially makes sense as you delve closer to the end of the book.

Beyond these elements that have been turned on their heads into something fabulous, ‘Unspoken’ has a lot of other things going for it as well. It’s a gothic mystery, with an amazing setting of Sorry-in-the-Vale in the Cotswolds, England. The setting is so incredibly atmospheric, it just works perfectly for the story. The book also has an amazing protagonist in Kami, a spunky journalist who is more than a little bit Veronica Mars-like (you can tell that Sarah is a fan of the show, which is awesome!). If you’ve read Sarah Rees Brennan before then you know that she’s an expert at angst that will make you flail around and cry, but she’s also fabulous at quirky humour. I loved the humourous tone that ‘Unspoken’ had, and the unique characters that filled the pages. There’s also an intensely romantic tone to the story, despite it not featuring any actual romantic relationships. What it does feature amazingly well is friendship and family. I love romance, but too often I think friends and family get the shaft when it comes to YA.

It’s hard to describe exactly what it so compelling about this book, but hopefully I’ve been able to explain just a little bit of why I loved it so much. All of these great aspects I’ve pointed out come together seamlessly in a book that will fill you with all kinds of emotion. I read a lot of books, but this is one of the best examples of a paranormal mystery I’ve read in a long time, and it also features one of the best relationships that I’ve read in a long time. I am anxiously awaiting the second book, 'Untold', which is set to release around September 2013.

The Cover:
I LOVE it, so I'm super disappointed that the covers will be changing.

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

16 comments:

  1. I so dislike when they change great covers! Although, this one maybe doesn't have the sinister, more YA feel they're going for? Hum. I wonder.

    Always a good thing when the author can take some rather annoying elements (insta-love, love triangle) and turn them on their heads. I love that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The inside is definitely more important than the cover, that's the good part at least.

      Yes, it's awesome!!

      Delete
  2. This whole changing covers things is becoming such a big joke. That sucks!

    It's always a good sign of how much you like a book when you read it months ago and still want to post the review. I haven't read this one but you make her sound like a fabulous writer. I'm intrigued.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! This was a last minute entry to my FAVOURITES from last year list, so I had to spread the love.

      Delete
  3. I love the cover for this one tons too! I would also enjoy reading reviews for books you buy or borrow from the library-I think it's cool to see how earlier reviews may have influenced your opinion or see how reading a book at just the right moment makes it work for us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the trouble for me is that unless I LOVE the book I don't tend to write full reviews for ones I read 'for fun'... it's kind of like a break from my review books. However I've been planning for FOREVER now to do a either a post or a feature about some favourites that I haven't blogged about before.

      Delete
  4. Oh, the covers are changing? Hm, we hadn't heard about that yet.

    But yay, we're glad you liked it! We saw SRB on tour when UNSPOKEN was almost out, and she was so smart and funny that we had to buy it. Haven't actually had time to read it yet... *halo* but we do love when tropes are turned on their heads! Good to know what to expect. Thanks. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that's awesome, I would LOVE to see her! She seems so completely cool.

      Delete
  5. I don't really deal well with angst, and I've been avoiding this one because of the vicious cliffhanger people kept complaining about, but I will definitely read it as soon as the second book comes out. So many of my friends simply adored it, and your review just conviced me further that I shouldn't miss it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That actually sounds like a pretty good idea, because the ending is honestly horrible (in the best way).

      Delete
  6. That's so disappointing that the covers are changing. I LOVE Unspoken's cover.

    Kami is definitely very spunky (although I haven't seen Veronica Mars) and the setting is absolutely perfect. Jared and Kami's relationship is so messed up and touching at the same time. So glad you liked Unspoken!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay, glad you like it too! I just completely adored it... even now I feel giddy about it.

      Delete
  7. I read the first paragraph of you review and went to my library and requested the ebook. I hope I love it as well. You totally sold me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I really want to read this now especially since I got a chance to meet Sarah earlier this week and got to see her sense of humor. Didnt kow the covers were changing...that's too bad cause I thought the original one fit the story well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She seems to have pretty good covers, so hopefully the PB will be even more amazing. *crosses fingers*

      Delete

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment; I appreciate each one!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...