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Lament The Faerie Queen Deception Maggie Stiefvater 9780738713700 Books

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Lament The Faerie Queen Deception Maggie Stiefvater 9780738713700 Books

I'm a seventy-two year old man. I've always liked children's literature but I wasn't sure I'd like young adult literature, but I was very surprised by how well Maggie Stiefvater conceived the characters in this novel, how believable I found them and how easy it was for me to suspend disbelief. The dialogue and the thoughts and motives of the characters rang true for me and I was drawn to the chemistry between the protagonists. I've always been able to suspend disbelief as long as the author adheres to her/his own internal logic and Stiefvater did that extremely well almost to the very end of her story. In fact I would've given the book four stars but for the ending which seemed almost like the ending of TV program where it becomes obvious that the writers, having created a mesmerizing story, must bring it to a hasty and not very believable end within the 40 minutes to and hour that a TV schedule has allowed. It seems more excusable when there is a give time allotment on TV. To put it another way, in light of the tensions and mystical/magical rules that were implied up until the very end of this novel the ending make no sense to me.


Tags : Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception [Maggie Stiefvater] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <p ><strong>FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE <em>NEW YORK TIMES</em> BESTSELLING NOVEL <em>SHIVER</em></strong> <p ><img title= Starred Review src= http://www.llewellyn.com/_theme/llewellyn/ads/tstar.gif alt= Starred Review width= 12 height= 12 /><strong> </strong><strong>Vibrant and potent,Maggie Stiefvater,Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception,Flux,0738713708,JUV037000,Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),General,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction General

Lament The Faerie Queen Deception Maggie Stiefvater 9780738713700 Books Reviews

This is, as far as I can see, Maggie Stiefvater’s first published novel, and what a first book. Like many of her books, magic—both good and evil—revolves as a central theme, with a difficult, quite interesting romance is simultaneously developing. I particularly appreciate her ability to write books that simultaneously have one foot in the real world, while the supernatural realm intertwines almost everywhere. These characters evolve nicely over the story, and seem both believable and (of course) unbelievable.
I think you’ll enjoy this book. I know I did.
More of a YA book than I expected, best for tweens and romantic teens. The music and Celtic myth references added interest, but the story line is mostly wish fulfillment a girl who sees herself as ordinary and unpopular but has great musical talent turns out to be beautiful, the love object of a gorgeous guy, and possessing magical talents far beyond her dreams. The story pulled me along, but near the end (small spoiler here), I was disturbed by how little attention she pays to her devoted best friend James after his life is saved.

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I spent the first half or so of the book trying to figure out exactly what was going on. There was something about the book that felt as if I'd already read it, and something about it that felt just out of my reach. Even when the book concluded, I still felt there was something missing. Stiefvater is clearly drawing on some traditional legends of faerie, but unless you're already familiar with the legends, it's hard to catch up to the story. I wish there had been a companion guide with the original legend, although the ballads sung by the protagonist throughout the story give some of it. I just felt that it came in too many tattered pieces for my mind to sew up a complete story quilt. I also felt that she relied too heavily on stock characters-- the doting and unrequited male best friend, the evil aunt, the mysterious lover, the clueless parents, etc.-- a little too much. It lacked the depth it made me want. However, it was a lovely and engaging story, and my time was not wasted in reading it. I will be picking up the sequel to see if it comes together in the end...
Dierdre Monaghan is a gifted young harpist. And as she learns during the summertime events of Lament, she's a cloverhand, one who can see faeries. It all begins when the equally musically inclined Luke Dillon begins pursuing her. Despite his good looks and charming nature, there's something mysterious - and perhaps dangerous - about him. Then, strange things start happening to Diedre's family and her best friend James. Even worse, a vicious faerie named Aodhan is after her, and only Luke seems capable of stopping him. Can Dierdre escape the pull of the faerie world? Or will she have to confront the Faerie Queen who wants her dead?

In some ways, I was torn by Lament because of the type of YA fantasy it is. I've struggled with high-school settings, dynamics, and character stereotypes before; and that was the case here. The first half of the story was uneventful, too. It focused mostly on Dierdre and Luke's "courtship," so most of the danger and revelations were postponed for the second half. And it didn't help that the romance felt too superficial for me to believe. Maybe I'm too rational, but "insta-love" or anything close to it just doesn't work for me.

Why did I give Lament 3 stars despite those criticisms? Firstly, because Maggie Stiefvater is a magician with words. Her writing style is smooth, carefully crafted, and vivid. This allows her narrative voice for Dierdre to pulse with life and the musical aspects of Lament to lilt and dance off the page - and stories about art or artistically inclined characters fascinate me, anyways. ) These highlights persuaded me to keep reading in spite of my hang-ups, and ultimately I was satisfied by the exciting, magic-filled second half and surprisingly dark, violent ending. I definitely want to read more of Stiefvater's work, because I see so much potential in her technique. It's just that the story of Lament didn't totally appeal to me.
I'm a seventy-two year old man. I've always liked children's literature but I wasn't sure I'd like young adult literature, but I was very surprised by how well Maggie Stiefvater conceived the characters in this novel, how believable I found them and how easy it was for me to suspend disbelief. The dialogue and the thoughts and motives of the characters rang true for me and I was drawn to the chemistry between the protagonists. I've always been able to suspend disbelief as long as the author adheres to her/his own internal logic and Stiefvater did that extremely well almost to the very end of her story. In fact I would've given the book four stars but for the ending which seemed almost like the ending of TV program where it becomes obvious that the writers, having created a mesmerizing story, must bring it to a hasty and not very believable end within the 40 minutes to and hour that a TV schedule has allowed. It seems more excusable when there is a give time allotment on TV. To put it another way, in light of the tensions and mystical/magical rules that were implied up until the very end of this novel the ending make no sense to me.