Sparrow Hill Road
This is a sweet little ghost story about the things you can't outrun, the things you can't leave behind, the things that refuse to let you go. It follows Rose, who was killed on prom night and now spends her time hitchhiking across the country. Sometimes she accompanies people to their death, sometimes she's able to save them, sometimes she's just along for the ride for a time. It's an urban legend you've probably heard of, and it's a lot of fun to see it from the other perspective.
In the beginning, the story jumps back and forth through time a lot. But as it approaches the present, it becomes more linear. Which makes a lot of sense, as this is when Rose, who is telling her own story, starts to gain a sense of purpose and to care about how events follow one after another. Early on, she's just going through the motions and it hardly matters if it's the 1960s or the 1990s. But as she grows, that timeline does start mattering. It's a lot of fun to watch her go from aimless hitchhiking ghost to someone with a goal and a plan of action for achieving said goal.
I'd been meaning to give Seanan McGuire another chance for a while, and I'm glad I picked up this book. I enjoy her blog, and I've perhaps been too harsh on her writing in the past. Her books always seem to have an inconsistency or two that my brain latches on to and cannot shake. But outside of those, she tells enjoyable, dark stories. In this book, the inconsistencies can at least be attributed to a character who grows and learns about her world over the course of decades, which helped prevent me from focusing on them. Also, this is a more recent book, and McGuire has definitely grown as an author. It may be time to pick up one of her longer series. Especially since I'm feeling a little starved for fun urban fantasy lately.
In the beginning, the story jumps back and forth through time a lot. But as it approaches the present, it becomes more linear. Which makes a lot of sense, as this is when Rose, who is telling her own story, starts to gain a sense of purpose and to care about how events follow one after another. Early on, she's just going through the motions and it hardly matters if it's the 1960s or the 1990s. But as she grows, that timeline does start mattering. It's a lot of fun to watch her go from aimless hitchhiking ghost to someone with a goal and a plan of action for achieving said goal.
I'd been meaning to give Seanan McGuire another chance for a while, and I'm glad I picked up this book. I enjoy her blog, and I've perhaps been too harsh on her writing in the past. Her books always seem to have an inconsistency or two that my brain latches on to and cannot shake. But outside of those, she tells enjoyable, dark stories. In this book, the inconsistencies can at least be attributed to a character who grows and learns about her world over the course of decades, which helped prevent me from focusing on them. Also, this is a more recent book, and McGuire has definitely grown as an author. It may be time to pick up one of her longer series. Especially since I'm feeling a little starved for fun urban fantasy lately.
Comments
Post a Comment