2009-05-14

juushika: Screen capture of the Farplane from Final Fantasy X: a surreal landscape of waterfalls and flowers. (Anime/Game)
2009-05-14 11:23 am

Book Review: Tattoo Girl by Brooke Stevens

Title: Tattoo Girl
Author: Brooke Stevens
Published: New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2001
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 322
Total Page Count: 75,476
Text Number: 222
Read For: recommended by Terri Windling in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection, borrowed from the library
Short Review: A young girl, named Emma, is discovered in a mall after hours, mute, covered in blood, and tattooed with fish scales. Former circus fat lady Lucy adopts her, and the two begin a quest to discover Emma's past. A dark, gritty story with glints of magical realism, Tattoo Girl is primarily a journey of strength through self-acceptance, a strong theme which makes for an equally strong ending. But both characters and antagonists are over-exaggerated, making their struggles unbelievable. Tattoo Girl is still an enjoyable, worthwhile read—but it could have been better. Recommended.

Long review. )

Review posted here on Amazon.com.