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Title: Cuckoo Song
Author: Frances Hardinge
Published: New York: Amulet Books, 2015 (2014)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 400
Total Page Count: 180,090
Text Number: 529
Read Because: reviewed by Lila Garrott at Strange Horizons, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Triss awakes from an accident not quite herself: her memories are fragmented, her appetite strange and insatiable, and she can't fit into her delicate place in her family's structure. Cuckoo Song has a meandering narrative structure reminiscent of Colin Meloy's Wildwood Chronicles, but, where Wildwood is whimsical, Cuckoo Song leans towards horror, especially in the first third. Triss's confusion and strangeness is deeply unsettling; as she gets answers, the tone lightens and the rambling adventure that follows is less compelling. But the thoughtful fantasy elements are pushed to their utmost, from Triss's captivating point of view to the satisfying resolution. Character growth is overly delineated (the perhaps inevitable drawback of middle grade), but sincere and rewarding. Hardinge has a lovely voice, analogy-heavy but also precise and evocative. I appreciate this novel more in pieces than as a whole—the promising intent is overwritten by transparent and rambling execution. But I would be happy to try another Hardinge novel in the future.
Author: Frances Hardinge
Published: New York: Amulet Books, 2015 (2014)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 400
Total Page Count: 180,090
Text Number: 529
Read Because: reviewed by Lila Garrott at Strange Horizons, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Triss awakes from an accident not quite herself: her memories are fragmented, her appetite strange and insatiable, and she can't fit into her delicate place in her family's structure. Cuckoo Song has a meandering narrative structure reminiscent of Colin Meloy's Wildwood Chronicles, but, where Wildwood is whimsical, Cuckoo Song leans towards horror, especially in the first third. Triss's confusion and strangeness is deeply unsettling; as she gets answers, the tone lightens and the rambling adventure that follows is less compelling. But the thoughtful fantasy elements are pushed to their utmost, from Triss's captivating point of view to the satisfying resolution. Character growth is overly delineated (the perhaps inevitable drawback of middle grade), but sincere and rewarding. Hardinge has a lovely voice, analogy-heavy but also precise and evocative. I appreciate this novel more in pieces than as a whole—the promising intent is overwritten by transparent and rambling execution. But I would be happy to try another Hardinge novel in the future.
