A review by sirah
Megge of Bury Down by Rebecca Kightlinger

3.0

In this tale, we follow Megge as she grows from a 6 year old child who is afraid of ghostly whispers to a young woman who is prepared to stop at nothing to save the people she loves. Narrator Jen Cramer's voice skips along with a poetic rhythm through picturesque descriptions of the Cornish countryside and thoughtful tales of castles, sailors, medieval craftsmen and wise women. Along the entirety of the novel, one can feel the heavy weight of destiny that follows Megge in the secrets of her mother's magical book, which Megge is afraid to open. Tragic loss pierces the soft flow of a gentle childhood until Megge has no choice but to stand up and do something. What will she do? We don't know because apparently it happens in the second installment of this series.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half of it was nearly an idyllic bedtime story with soothing language and only the occasional discomfort as Megge's mother continued to push the child into a confusing and sometimes terrifying future. Somewhere around the middle of the book, things suddenly get a lot worse for the characters, and after the soft beginning, I felt that loss very acutely. This novel has a unique style that I found definitely worthy of thought but which I'm still struggling to make peace with. Rebecca Kightlinger definitely has a way with words, but I'm less confident in her way with parenting advice and plot formation. Although the main character is a child under 15, the themes of witchcraft, inquisition, parenting, crafting, loss and medical concerns plant this novel firmly in the adult category, mostly because even most teenagers wouldn't be comfortable grasping the subtleties in sensation that trickle through the pages.