Showing posts with label Maggie Stiefvater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maggie Stiefvater. Show all posts

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Mini-Review: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater is a young adult (YA) fantasy book. I don't usually read YA, however after reading Christine's review for this book at "The happily ever after..." I thought this would be a book I might recommend to my niece, but one I should read first. Later when Tracy posted her own review at "Tracy's Place," I remembered it was already on my list and that I should get to it. Tracy was also generous enough to send me the book and finally this month, I read it -- thank you Tracy!
Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. When a mysterious boy enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of nowhere, Deirdre finds herself infatuated. Trouble is, the enigmatic and conflicted Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin—and Deirdre is meant to be his next mark. Deirdre has to decide if Luke's feelings towards her are real, or only a way to lure her deeper into the world of Faerie.
In Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, Maggie Steifvater uses Celtic Faerie mythology to weave her fantasy world while keeping the setting strictly in contemporary times. Through Stiefvater's beautiful and engaging writing, the reader experiences this creative mythical atmosphere while enjoying contemporary characters, dialogue and events. I more than enjoyed the beautiful way she mixed and balanced both. I particularly loved the lyrical/poetic ballads she included as part of the story.

Deidre, a gifted but typical 16 year old teenager full of fears she must conquer, some overtime hormones coupled with romantic idealism and a certain rebellious streak, is the focus of the story with Luke, the dark hero, sharing that focus. Their adventure was a dark one as they battle the Faerie Queen and some rather cold and scary characters that are as fascinating as the atmosphere set by the writer. Being that this book is set in contemporary times, I did wonder how or why Deidre decided to go along with Luke while having reservations about him. I questioned her judgment during those times and had to suspend disbelief to continue reading their adventures. One of my favorite characters was James, Deidre's best friend, and I wish he'd had more page time.

In this fast paced, beautifully written story, Stiefvater keeps the reader turning the pages to see what happens next as the mystery builds. While this book felt different in many wonderful ways and I enjoyed it quite a bit, there were unanswered questions and some confusing answers by the time the abrupt ending came along. There are "cloudy" patches and open-ended threads in this story. An indication there's another book in the offing, and one that always leaves me wondering if the answers to those open threads will be in that second book. Having said that, I'll reiterate that this book was an enjoyable read for me. In my opinion, Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception is a book adults will enjoy and young adults will love. I'll personally recommend it to my niece. :) 

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: Faerie Series -- Lament (Book 1), Ballad (Book 2)
Released: October 1, 2008
Grade: B

Visit Maggie Stiefvater here