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A review by mynameismarines
Rosehead by Ksenia Anske
3.0
This is a hard star rating for me because it falls in that often cited category of, "I wanted to love this book more than I did." First, it is clear to me that Ksenia Anske is a talented author, and I'd definitely read more of her work. She's got an amazing imagination, and that is where this book never faltered. The world was vivid and the story had a very unique quality to it. I've seen comparisons to Tim Burton movies and that seems like the closest comparison.
I struggled with the characters. Lilith and Panther are both hard to swallow because of their quirks. There really wasn't anyone here for me to relate to or empathize with. Lilith does struggle with being believed, and part of me felt for her, but the other part of me doubted her as well. Was what we were reading real? I'll let you discover that for yourself.
Part of the problem with the characters, though, was the fault of some very repetitive writing. This story would've benefited greatly from being parsed down. They were so many long passages of Lilith trying to convince Panther to investigate with her, in nearly identical language. For being under the gun, these characters sure did stand around and talk a lot.
Another issue was that the action was quite literally in Lilith's backyard. It felt like Anske tried to trump up the tension, but what it produced was more of that repetition. We found Lilith trapped inside or with an adult or bound to some commitment, thus keeping her away from the action, over and over again. In that way, the pattern of Lilith sneaking out, being caught, facing off with her grandfather, and disturbing her parents developed early and kept on throughout the story. Within this work of great imagination, a formula developed and undermined the experience.
This problem of pacing made it hard to drag myself through the middle to end of this book. Even at the end, Lilith is surround on all sides and it's closing in around her... still closing in around her... no idea why it's closing in this slow but here it comes... etc.
It was an interesting read, and I don't regret dedicating time to it, but I felt it definitely could've benefited from some tightening up. I can't wait to read what Anske comes up with next.
I struggled with the characters. Lilith and Panther are both hard to swallow because of their quirks. There really wasn't anyone here for me to relate to or empathize with. Lilith does struggle with being believed, and part of me felt for her, but the other part of me doubted her as well. Was what we were reading real? I'll let you discover that for yourself.
Part of the problem with the characters, though, was the fault of some very repetitive writing. This story would've benefited greatly from being parsed down. They were so many long passages of Lilith trying to convince Panther to investigate with her, in nearly identical language. For being under the gun, these characters sure did stand around and talk a lot.
Another issue was that the action was quite literally in Lilith's backyard. It felt like Anske tried to trump up the tension, but what it produced was more of that repetition. We found Lilith trapped inside or with an adult or bound to some commitment, thus keeping her away from the action, over and over again. In that way, the pattern of Lilith sneaking out, being caught, facing off with her grandfather, and disturbing her parents developed early and kept on throughout the story. Within this work of great imagination, a formula developed and undermined the experience.
This problem of pacing made it hard to drag myself through the middle to end of this book. Even at the end, Lilith is surround on all sides and it's closing in around her... still closing in around her... no idea why it's closing in this slow but here it comes... etc.
It was an interesting read, and I don't regret dedicating time to it, but I felt it definitely could've benefited from some tightening up. I can't wait to read what Anske comes up with next.