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wordsofclover 's review for:
A Crack in Everything
by Ruth Frances Long
4.5 Stars
I received a free copy of this book from O’Brien Press in exchange for an honest review.
Izzy Gregory is living a normal life with her normal family in Dublin, Ireland, when one day she sees a beautiful work of graffiti showing a fallen angel. From then on, Izzy’s life changes and she is introduced in quick succession by a tortured boy called Jinx to the secret side of ‘Dubh Linn’ where the fae live. Fae and angels are real and Izzy may have just been dropped into the middle of a war.
This was really good, surprisingly so. The first thing I got to say is how refreshing it was to read a YA book where the main character has such a wonderful family, with parents who love and support her and love and support each other. No missing parent syndrome here. I also loved the subtle way Irish culture and myths and legends were introduced to the story (side note: I really want a Salmon of Knowledge necklace now) and they were treated with the utmost respect. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - a similar series called Dark Fever eventually left a bad taste in my mouth in how it portrayed Dublin and Irish people and culture. A Crack In Everything doesn’t suffer from this or the over-exaggerated assumptions of what Irish people are like or the overuse of the word ‘craic’, all of which I’ve seen in books about Ireland written by non-Irish people. Ruth Frances is Irish and her writing reflected that.
I really loved the mentions of the Dublin streets such as Grafton Street and Westland Row which are places people living in Dublin and going to town would actually be (not Temple Bar, which is mainly tourists).There were some great descriptions of how Dublin is both the old and the new and the feel and magic of it that as a Dubliner, and someone who is in that area everyday, I really got.
Izzy herself was a strong main character and I really enjoyed her developing relationship with Jinx. The Fae in this book and the way they were organised reminded me a lot of the TV show Lost Girl (which is a good thing) and the rules and regulations around the Fae and how they have to honour their Matriarch and kith was very interesting. This book was well thought-out and really well written. I can’t wait to read the next one!
I received a free copy of this book from O’Brien Press in exchange for an honest review.
Izzy Gregory is living a normal life with her normal family in Dublin, Ireland, when one day she sees a beautiful work of graffiti showing a fallen angel. From then on, Izzy’s life changes and she is introduced in quick succession by a tortured boy called Jinx to the secret side of ‘Dubh Linn’ where the fae live. Fae and angels are real and Izzy may have just been dropped into the middle of a war.
This was really good, surprisingly so. The first thing I got to say is how refreshing it was to read a YA book where the main character has such a wonderful family, with parents who love and support her and love and support each other. No missing parent syndrome here. I also loved the subtle way Irish culture and myths and legends were introduced to the story (side note: I really want a Salmon of Knowledge necklace now) and they were treated with the utmost respect. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - a similar series called Dark Fever eventually left a bad taste in my mouth in how it portrayed Dublin and Irish people and culture. A Crack In Everything doesn’t suffer from this or the over-exaggerated assumptions of what Irish people are like or the overuse of the word ‘craic’, all of which I’ve seen in books about Ireland written by non-Irish people. Ruth Frances is Irish and her writing reflected that.
I really loved the mentions of the Dublin streets such as Grafton Street and Westland Row which are places people living in Dublin and going to town would actually be (not Temple Bar, which is mainly tourists).There were some great descriptions of how Dublin is both the old and the new and the feel and magic of it that as a Dubliner, and someone who is in that area everyday, I really got.
Izzy herself was a strong main character and I really enjoyed her developing relationship with Jinx. The Fae in this book and the way they were organised reminded me a lot of the TV show Lost Girl (which is a good thing) and the rules and regulations around the Fae and how they have to honour their Matriarch and kith was very interesting. This book was well thought-out and really well written. I can’t wait to read the next one!