Take One Off My Shelf

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.

Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America’s oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.

My favourite character in this book was Phillips – Miranda’s love interest. He was a bit different from other male lead characters in books I’ve read previously. Although he was similar in the fact that he would do absolutely anything to make sure Miranda was safe. I liked the fact that he has a gift that scares him and that he has no idea how to use. Most other male characters with gifts/powers are normally very had strong and confident in what they can do. This gave a much more realness to Phillips.

In terms of how I connected with the characters, being honest, I didn’t really connect with them at all. I feel had I connected with them a little more then I would have been more gripped by the story. Don’t get me wrong, Miranda and Phillips were both very likable characters but as a reader, I didn’t feel like I knew them well enough to care if they got through the bad times.

In terms of the actual story, I did like it and there were parts where I was sitting wondering what the hell was going on because I totally didn’t see that part coming. There were a few little twists and turns but nothing too major. Most times, I’d guess what was going to happen before it happened because one of the characters said or did something that gave it away – which is little disappointing.

My favourite part of the story would be when Miranda looked in the mirror and found the snake “birthmark” on her face. The same “birthmark” that belonged to her murdered father. This part totally freaked me out and Miranda’s reaction to it was very gripping. I also really enjoyed the part where it would seem that Miranda had gone totally crazy. She is trying to prove to Phillips that her family is cursed and can’t leave Roanoke Island. She feels a lot of pain when she tries to pass over the boundary for the island. In the same scene, Phillips hears the voices of the spirits trapped on the island and Miranda has to fight through her own pain and fear to help Phillips.

Gwenda Bond wrote this scene amazingly well. There was so much going on. Both physically for these characters, and mentally. They are both fighting their own demons and it became very apparent in this scene that they needed each other to survive.

The book didn’t do much for me in terms of emotions, except at the end when I thought Sidekick, Miranda’s dog had died. I’m a sucker for the little balls of fluff and had Sidekick died, I would have been inconsolable. Having said that, there was enough going on to keep me interested through the whole 416 pages of this novel. It’s a page turner definitely.

The biggest thing that I didn’t like so much about this book was definitely how I didn’t connect with the characters. Whether that was due to Bond’s writing or just my own self rejecting them, I’m not sure. But whatever it was, I didn’t get it. I will say also, the ending was a bit predictable and I kind of wish it had ended differently.

I’d recommend this book to teenagers from age 14 up. It’s got a creepiness about it but it isn’t too much. I would say that maybe someone younger than myself might have enjoyed it a little more. The story was gripping but again, it’s that disconnect with the characters that’s holding me back from saying I really enjoyed this book. Therefore I give this book a 3/5. It was enjoyable but there was something missing.