Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery, and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends. The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa KeilIt's not what you think. 'But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.' I know what that sounds like. But take another moment and give it a chance. One thing I'll say for this book is that it is really not a love story. Well, not the type you're thinking. Not, 'the whole book is about his stupid dreamy eyes' romance. It does have a little at the end but...never mind. The point is, this book is absolutely worth a shot. You'll have to forgive me. I read this book a while ago and am only getting around to reviewing it now and am working of notes I made while it was still fresh in my mind. So if I do this book an injustice, I deeply apologise.
Firstly, I'd like to recognise the fact that it book is not only written by an Australian and set in rural Victoria, but also IS ACTUALLY GOOD!!! Quality local books that I actually like are a rare occurrence in my world (not that I really go looking for them but...eh). Secondly, let's get on to why I like it. The characterisation is brilliant- Alba (the main character), had a distinctive personality as a stubborn or 'oblivious' yet endearingly real girl from rural Australia trying to wrestle with what she wants to do in life. She perfectly portrays that feeling of wanting to stay in the moment and stop everything from falling apart. She and her friends have graduated High School and are beginning to move on and out of their little town. Thing start to get interesting as the detailed world fills in with colour, dimension and the plot starts rolling into town, or is it the millions of doomsday believers that start invading? The plot flows beautifully, with a 'not-too-fast-not-too-slow' vibe that keeps you engaged. I especially love the fact that Alba is a main character who can be taught! She's not stuck in the rut of bad character development, doomed to be forever making the same boring mistakes! Ah, the charms of good writing. The experience of someone going through the trials of change was refreshing coming from a 'used to change' perspective myself, and compared to other YA plot clichés. The great foreshadowing and pacing combined with magnificent plot and characters left me with a satisfied book feeling. The thing I will say about it is that at first it's hard to distinguish the individuals of Alba's friends (Eddie and Pete especially), therefore the characterisation of sub-characters is a little lacking but as the story's about Alba's development, it's not too big a problem. Alba as a person did mope a little too much and in retrospect there were one or two scenes which were a little unnecessary. The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl is an amazing coming of age book with an introspective (though not overwhelmingly so) tone. It's realistic take on the realities of change makes it stand out, especially to me as I have lived through a lot of transition stress. It's funny (not sure if it's trademark aussie or if everyone else would find it funny too so make your own judgement) and endearing and by the end I just sat there for a while hugging it (I've heard that's a sign of bibliophilic tendancies but it was late at night, ok?). I'm going to say 15+ because there was a fair bit of swearing ('feck', damns and Jesus's), and bit of sexual innuendos (the only acts were kissing though). But by the end I was feeling like it should be five stars so that's what I'll give it. I hope you'll enjoy this brilliant piece of local literature as much as I did, StoryGirl
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About MeI'm just a girl who loves to read (and also to listen to music, watch tv, and really anything that involves a story). Archives
December 2020
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