Anne Spollen

This book was an interesting find for me. I was wandering the library, and I don't know what compelled me to pull this random black spine from the shelf, but when I did the cover just captivated me. Seriously, take a good look at that cover. It's freaking gorgeous (although, I have to admit what made me take this lovely home was the fact that the protagonist's name is Magda . . .).

Okay, so firstly, there's no mistaking that this book deals with water themes. Every other sentence has some show more simile or metaphor relating to water. Which is beautiful for a while, and then starts to get tedious. But don't get me wrong, Spollen's writing is lyrical, gorgeous, and can create some fantastical images. I don't think I've read anything that has so many beautiful lines. Just . . . the water thing can get a little overused.

This book, though, was beautiful. It got me sympathizing with an arsonist, of all people (with such great symbolism, too). The book bordered on surrealistic at times, too--with the fish family moving into Magda's head--, but never fully went over-the-top. Three-fourths of the way through, though, things started to drag, what with Magda's character seemingly not developing and her trudging through the same ruts where she didn't care about anybody or anything that I almost didn't want to continue reading. I'm really glad I did. The ending really wrapped things up in a wonderful, almost sad way. It was in the last few pages, and I wished it had started earlier on in the book, but there was closure with her decision to move forward with her life, and I was satisfied.

It's really like nothing that I've personally read before, so it was really refreshing, to be honest, although I'm not sure that I'd read it again . . . show less

I picked this one up over the summer due to its cover -- very cool artwork. At first, the book drew me in only slightly as the character seemed so dreamy - I thought she might be an imaginary character. As I read, I got hooked on the language, the images, the story of how she overcomes grief. At times, this book is darkly funny with a kind of wry humor that you think about later on and you get the full meaning.
What's really cool about this story is the setting: the beach, the ocean, the show more marshes, the fires. I remember learning how Thomas Hardy's heath was considered an actual character in his books - it's the same here. This setting of the story gave the background a richness that I really liked.
It's not fantasy, but maybe a touch of magical realism here and there that will appeal to imaginative readers. The writing reminds me of poetry.
This one is a keeper (and I don't even read that much contemporary YA). show less

This novel helped me let go of some painful and shameful things I had a difficult time with in my own life that I had, including being able to confront my ex-husband who abandoned me with a letter that was difficult to write, since he avoided all of the important matters essential to ending a marriage and I was able to finally speak up to my father about anger that I had never been listened to without him cutting me off mid-sentence and that was the one main thing I was angry about. This show more novel changed my being able to speak up for myself, by persisting and clarifying what I meant to him. I have never been able to say that before about a book. I really love this book. As a result of reading this book, I dealt with tying up some loose ends in my own life. TERRIFIC!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND. show less

14-year-old Elizah and her mother have just moved to the small town of Wenspaugh, New York to get away from her gambling addict father. In Wenspaugh, Elizah, who has always been different from other girls—quiet, preferring to spend time alone in the graveyard beside her new home—is forced to interact with various adults who think they know what’s best for her. Then falls for Nathaniel, a strange boy she met in the woods, who speaks cryptically and shows her things that, at second show more glance, don’t appear to be what they seem. Who is Nathaniel and what does he want from Elizah?

LIGHT BENEATH FERNS is a beautifully written book that will chill you to your bones. If you appreciate poetic language and want to be spooked, this book is the one for you.

The strongest part of this book is its language. Anne Spollen strings words and descriptive language together in chains that I would never have thought possible—until I read it from her. The dreamy language transports you into half-mystical Wenspaugh and sets you right in the middle of Elizah’s tiny high school, the graveyard, and the mysterious woods.

Elizah is not the protagonist for everyone. She’s cynical to the point of being a little depressing, sarcastic to the point of being rude, and seems to change very little throughout the course of the novel. While I love and admire snarky, well-written dialogue, the number of times that Elizah clashed verbally with other characters quickly grew tiring for me.

Elizah is essentially a strong and well-developed protagonist, and may not have developed throughout the novel, but I was still surprised at the inconsistency of her character when it came to her interactions with Nathaniel. Many times I felt that the story was trying to force Nathaniel and Elizah upon one another, eschewing typical relationship development and trying to make it out that they had a connection before they even met. As a result, the romance was disappointing to me, their interactions based upon sensation but little substance.

LIGHT BENEATH FERNS is a story that revolves, surprisingly, not around the strong, albeit unchanging, characters, but rather the creepy element. It’s an interesting mix of snarky dialogue, poetic language, and the paranormal. That unconventional combination of genre and stylistic techniques may be its selling point for some people. It could also be its downfall: many times I found myself struggling to fit the book’s many parts together into one cohesive whole. Check it out, and see what it is for you. show less