I know I read a ton of YA, but it feels like it’s been a while since I read one that really felt like it was young adult and not young adult as written for an adult audience. But I find I have a lot better luck in that regard when it comes to the random library book finds, and at last I found something!
This book follows Silva, a young woman whose age I never caught, as she returns to her grandfather’s house at a most unfortunate time. He’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and his days are numbered. At this time, Silva starts to spot a magpie and a door that leads to a library where the words come out of the books and pull you into the story. Slowly, Silva finds herself falling into these stories and realize that they are not all they appear, and she has been leaving more and more of herself behind at the library with every visit.
I really liked this one! I’m in a bit of a dour mood from the general life I’m having at the moment and that is probably what made this a good thing for me in this moment. Silva slowly coming to understand that her escape isn’t helping and realizing what the magpie is trying to do creates a really effective mood for the narrative, and nothing feels overly forced. There are some mysteries remaining at the end, but nothing that really bothered me.
I do think I’m starting to pinpoint the thing that is bothering me with modern YA and how they discuss issues, though. Silva at one point identifies her brother as having depression and there’s just something about how issues are discussed in YA that feels off.
Overall, though, it is a lot of fun! I mean, it’s a depressing story about acceptance and loss, but it’s done well and I really enjoyed watching as each of the characters learned to come to terms with the circumstances that they really shouldn’t try to control. Definitely check it out.