Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

Paperback, 361 pages

Published May 2nd 2011 by Simon & Schuster Childrens Books (first published March 30th 2010)

ISBN

0857071394 (ISBN13: 9780857071392)

edition language

English

original title

Birthmarked

series

Birthmarked #1

characters

Gaia Stone

Now this was a book of difference. A story that had a lot to tell and yet this huge sense of mystery, taboo and edge to it. The characters were alive and witty and they seemed to have a lot of sense and depth to them that made them imaginary. I loved the fact that the characters were given personality. They were not just words on a piece of paper, but they were alive within my mind as I was reading it. You could sense the young girls determination and fiestyness. You could feel the young soilders loyalty to her and to just be normal. I just felt that in many ways that this book offered a lot. Now I would not commend it for being the best book in the world, but I would rank it within some of of my top favorite reads. I just felt that the author took this idea of adoption and moderfied it in a way that was engaging and interesting. The idea afterall of being a mother but having your child taken from you without choice, is something that I am sure is going to capture many readers heart.

I love the fact that there always seems to be another sort of mystery going on. However I do feel that certain things were left ignored. For example, what happened to the old woman who tride to help Gaia, and what is this whole dead forest thing all about. Does it exist or is it just a myth? Maybe this is something that will later on be elaborated if the author chooses to write a sequence novel. I loved the fact that the life crisis was evident and predictable in the book, and yet at the same time it was not the happyn ending that a lot of young adult books so colassically do. No, in this book the relationship was worked on. It had to grow and they had to earn one anothers trust whilst learning about each other. And I think that this is why my heart lunged out from the safety of my chest when the lover was killed, or at least hurt. You want to know what has happened to him, is he alive, has he been sentenced to death?

In many ways with this novel you feel yourself relating to the book and to the characters, becoming a part of them so that you can share their story. For me this is evident of a clear strong book because it shows that it has the potential to draw its readers in so that they can become one with the novel. There was a lot of sad parts within the novels and there was a lot of shocks as well. In some places, yes the book did feel rushed, and in other places not quite nearly detailed enough. But all in all I found this to be a very pleasent read.

My rating