Merle

This book is not awful, but it’s a forgettable little urban fairy tale with some significant weaknesses that make it hard for me to recommend.

The two protagonists, Serana and Meteora, are fae sisters exiled to the human world after offending their queen. The premise is a good one, and the book is at its best when dealing with the challenges the sisters face in ordinary life: they lose their eternal youth and are forced to come to terms with suddenly old bodies and drastic changes in the way others view them as a result. Meanwhile, the contemporary world proves an endless source of confusion: "eagle mail” (the U.S. Postal Service) is difficult enough; cell phones blow their minds. Mixed in with all this is a standard good-vs-evil (Seelie vs Unseelie) plotline, which works well enough once it finally gets going toward the end, but the middle section feels overlong and draggy.

The authors clearly had fun writing the book, which is told from the point-of-view of eight characters, some in first person, some in third, one even in second (fortunately this character doesn’t get much page time). I don’t know whether I should be impressed or depressed by the fact that the sisters’ voices and personalities are indistinguishable despite the fact that they were written by two different authors (per Yolen’s website, each took one of the sisters as well as a handful of secondary characters). Unfortunately, the character development is less than impressive--both appear to be frivolous and hedonistic as faeries, but once transformed into older women without magic, they almost immediately become fretful and kindhearted, taking a benevolent interest in the lives of the humans they so recently disregarded. And while the relationship between the two is meant to be the cornerstone of the book, it fell flat for me; the sisters spend almost the entire story physically separated and there’s no real conflict between them. I don’t mean I didn’t want them to have a positive relationship, but fiction requires some sort of tension to stay interesting.

Meanwhile, there’s the writing. Most of the time it’s adequate, but there are some truly cringeworthy sentences: “Standing outside the tattoo parlor, Sparrow hesitated before she went in” or “Marti blushed, and tried to wave away the compliments with a perfect berry-colored-nailed hand.” That’s not to mention the astonishing bit of authorial laziness that has the Latino grocer speaking Babelfish. A professional should know better than to include a language she doesn’t speak without having someone who does check over it first.

Overall, this book was a disappointment, neither as entertaining as I’d hoped nor as well-written as I’d expected. Making the mysterious older women the protagonists is an interesting departure from the typical fantasy tale, but this book went on too long without bringing the depth of characterization that would have made that story stand out. Sort of cute, probably fine for younger readers, but not one I’ll be recommending.