Title: Blackwood
Author: Gwenda Bond
Publisher: AudioGo.com
Published: September 2012
Reader: Stephanie Cannon
Rating: 4.5/5
This review is based on
the AudioGo MP3 – I haven’t had the chance to listen to many mp3s, so when a
review of this was requested I tentatively agreed. I wasn’t sure what to expect, the book blurb
indicated that two teens join forces to work out what is happening on Roanoke Island, their home.
I found the narrator’s voice (Stephanie Cannon) very easy to listen
to. I found her voice lyrical and well
spaced, as well as multi faceted and light when speaking as different
characters. I looked forward to
listening to this whenever I got the chance, more often than not it was in between
chores, and right up until I finished it I was listening to this before sleeping,
trying to stay awake long enough to hear just a bit more!
Miranda is the freak of
the Island. Her surname
brands her as a misfit from the start, her father is the town drunk and her
mother is deceased. Philips has a bad
boy image and is misunderstood. He hears
voices of the dead and did everything he could to escape from Roanoke Island; he didn’t expect or wish to come back, but when
his Dad, the Chief of Police calls, to say he needs him home, he knows
something unprecedented has happened.
This book has a whole lot
of issues it covers – loss, letting go, trust, relationships, paranormal and
alchemy. I thought the two main characters
complemented each other really well.
Miranda with her acceptance of her family name and all that comes with
it, and Philips who at times was walking on eggshells trying to not listen to
the voices and working with Miranda to track down exactly what is happening.
Roswell comes across as an obsessive scholar type the
first time we meet him, and my opinion of him didn’t get any better the more I
heard of him!
I loved Sidekick, Miranda's faithful dog, although he has a small part to play in the book, he really is a sweetie, and a really nice touch to the storyline.
I liked Blackwood, it was
very entertaining and had a variety of characters with their own sets of
motives for their actions. I liked
Philips and Miranda’s tentative relationship; I think they bonded really well
during the course of the story. I also
like the way Philips Dad seemed to be more accepting of his gifts and gave him
a chance to help.
Book synopsis:
On Roanoke Island, the
legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony
hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people
tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an
unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.
Miranda, a misfit girl from the island's most infamous family, and Phillips, an
exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from
federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of
the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can't dodge is each other…
Source – Many thanks to
AudioGo, an MP3 of the book was received in return for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment