Review: Wondrous Strange

Book: Wondrous Strange
Author: Lesley Livingston
Pages: 336
Published: December 23rd, 2008
Source: Bought

17 year-old Kelly Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what she thinks... In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelly's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.

General Overview: I was amazed by this book. I am a huge fan of faerie lore and Shakespeare too, and Midsummer's is one of my favorite plays. So, a mixing of these two things? No duh I was going to read this book. And I ended up loving it more than I thought I would.

Characters: Kelley is the type of girl most anyone can identify with. She was defiant, and unafraid to speak her mind and stand up for herself. She was strong and brave, and that's a good trait in any heroine. Sonny was chivalrous, maybe a little too much so for his own good, but I loved that about him. I found it so sweet how willing he was to protect Kelley even though he didn't really know her. And Tyff, of course, made me crack up cos she reminds me so much of one of my friends! She was so much fun to read about.

Plot: Some crazy stuff goes down in Wondrous Strange. The events and the creatures might not be things that came straight out of Lesley Livingston's mind, but she puts her own twist on these things and tells her own version of the stories. The plot kept me guessing and even though some things were kinda easy to predict, the rest was so unexpected that it totally made up for it (not that there was anything to make up for, anyway).

Writing: Okay, so Lesley Livingston is a fantastic writer! This book was so well written it was hard to believe it was her debut book (yeah, I read a lot of debuts, get over it) but it was! Her writing is impeccable and has such a musical, ethereal quality to it. She knew all the right words to use and the right time to use them.

Cover: This cover is beautiful! I love the girl on the cover, she looks really close to how I imagined Kelley! Her dress is gorgeous too, and I love the font used.

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars