Hm... I daresay that after reading this ARC copy of "Jinx" by Sage Blackwood, I have a feeling what the next big hype for younger readers will be about. Formal review:
This novel was a phenomenal debut novel by author Sage
Blackwood that reminded me of my favourite books as a child. Filled with
twists, turns and wonderful characters, this is one novel that you won't want
to miss no matter what age you are.
To begin, I’d like to comment on the writing style; it
was amazing. Simple enough for a child to understand yet elegant enough for an
adult to love. Readers of all ages and reading levels can find delight in the
pages of “Jinx,” especially with Jinx’s sharp intelligence and surprising
humour. He has to be one of my favourite third person point of view characters
I’ve read for a long time.
The characters are all absolutely wonderful. From the
mysterious, cruel Bonemaster to the grumpy, hilarious Simon, I loved each and
every one of them. It was hard to choose a favourite among them all be they a
villain or one of Jinx’s many awesome friends. It was great fun to watch them
all grow and to watch the bonds grow between them, and this is one of the few
novels I’ve read where I really care about what happens to every one of the
characters because they’re all so loveable.
The plot was fantastic with some twists and turns that I
did expect and even more twists and turns that I didn’t. It was easy to
understand and wasn’t too complex but it still wasn’t so straightforward that I
knew every single thing that would happen. The whole thing, while using some
elements from well-known fairy tales, was so very original that I had the
largest grin on my face while I was reading it because I was so pleasantly surprised
to find that authors can still come up with completely original ideas. That in
itself was magical.
And oh, the setting was lovely! Absolutely wonderful new
worlds and places to immerse yourself in with radiant descriptions. Sage
Blackwood really managed to breathe life into this new world so that I find I
just may go back and reread the novel to revisit it. I’d love to see another
novel or two (or three or four or more!) that go beyond Urwald to the places
briefly mentioned, though I certainly wouldn’t mind reading many more novels
that explore Urwald itself. The setting goes beyond a simple extension of the
real world into a whole new world that’s really found a place in my heart.
Really, I have nothing but good things to say about this
book. I read it in a day and I think I’ll even go back and reread it because
that’s how much I enjoyed it. It’s hard to find any fault whatsoever with this
book and I think it’s absolutely amazing that this is the first novel of this
author. It certainly reads like a novel of an author with a great deal of
experience and I think it might just be one of my favourite books of all time. One
thing I will say is that, though it can be read as a standalone novel, this has
the potential to become a ground-breaking beginning of a series of novels.
Really, there isn't words to describe the depth of love I have for this book that took me back to my childhood reading days. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone no matter how old you are, what genre you like or how much you like reading. I won this on Goodreads and it has to be one of the best things that's happened to me on the reading level for the year of 2012. Highly, highly recommended.
Final Verdict: 9.0/10
Happy Reading!
~Amber
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