Unwritten is a novel set in the world every reader dreams of
visiting one day: the world of stories or the Zweeshen. Beatrix, is a teenage
girl that, after her Grandpa’s death, doesn’t have a lot of reasons to stay with
her hateful father. Too good then that she practically gets kidnapped and
forced to join the Zweeshen. But what does a mortal girl have to do in a land
of taemlins, or characters?
I loved the premises of this book. It had the potential of
containing everything I want and like in a book: a fabulous, magical world, a
strong female protagonist and an intricate adventure to face. I was seriosuly
impressed by the writing skills the author showed in this debut novel , the
story was flowing and had the ability to catch your attention. The world the
author creates is certanly the result of a great imaginary effort and I liked
that it was well structured and had its systems and its history. The impact it
had on me during the first chapters was extremely positive and I was curious to
know how all the stories Beatrix grew up with would mingle with her everyday
life in the Zweeshen. Contrary to my expectations, though, the story did not
really revolve around exploring the worlds of well-knows stories, but more
around saving the Zweeshen from a dangerous threat, supposedly thanks to what
Beatrix’s dead mother left her. All the twists and turns that led to Beatrix
uncovering her Mom’s heritage though, were not always clear to me and this made
me detach a little from the story, let’s say halfway through the reading. Beatrix’s
principal mission being to solve her mother’s riddle, I would have expected
this journey to be a little more structured while at times I felt like too many
things were thrown in the way of the story and made me confused about the steps
that led to the solving.
Speaking of the characters, I liked Beatrix, even if I can’t
quite picture her as a teenager but always as a young girl - similar to Emma, who was my favorite character
in the story. The fact that I thought of her as this young, didn’t help me in
getting warm with the idea of her being in a relationship with William;
everyone knew from the beginning that they would become a thing even if they
seem to hate each other, but I just hoped that Beatrix’s change of mind wouldn’t
have been so abrupt. When they became a done deal though, I have to admit that
I liked them together way more than I thought and I appreciated their tender
and supportive relationship.Beatrix also managed to make a lot of friends in
the Zweeshen, and I loved how cared for she was, even though there are just a few
names that really stuck with me: Emma, Neradola and Jane, the others making a
brief appearance on the pages.
Overall, I feel like giving this book 3 stars because I
honestly liked the idea of the world Novo created, as it is something
completely original in my reading experience . I just think that, being the
Zweeshen a world full of narrative ideas, the author tried to bring too much
into the first volume, making it not really easy to follow at times.Let me be
clear: I loved the journey but I can’t tell you that I’m 100% sure about what
happened in the end or what the prologue meant, too many elements and
characters taking my mind off the important aspects of the story, probably. I’m
sure that all the things that left me a little doubtful in Unwritten though,
will certainly find answers in the following installments of this series, where
a skillfull author and such a rich world make for an infinity of possibilities.
An eclectic reader, she grew up on a diet ranging from Lucy M. Montgomery and Jane Austen to Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Raymond Chandler, Hermann Hesse, Jorge Luis Borges, and many classics. She's never been cured of reading a bit of everything and is as likely to geek out about Mr. Darcy as Dr. Who.
She is a history and astronomy aficionado, who walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, completed her Masters in the Netherlands and worked for Google in Ireland. She decided to become a writer at six but took a full, winding road here. Along the way, she learned if there’s one thing that cuts across cultures, one unifying thread that pulls everyone together, it's a good story.
A big-city girl, she now lives in the Midwest, where she occasionally picks apples and pretends witches exist.
Thanks for being on the tour! :)
RispondiEliminaThank you Giselle! xx
Elimina