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A review by aoyenhi
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
i am so sad i loved this as much as i did… problematic age gap and all… i don’t know why dwj did that bc i can definitely see a way for this book to have been written without it entirely…
but ughghgh it was so wonderful! the vibes were so perfect!! this was such a good little autumn read… i loved all of the characters sooo much and so deeply and tbh the ending sequence escaped me somewhat as well as some other parts of the plot that revolves around the actual tam lin but everything else about growing up, about friends, about being left all alone—and disappointed so thoroughly by your parents! my goodness! everything abt adolescence felt so real, so true, and so autumnal too somehow… even minor characters like ivy, joanna, and david felt sketched out so vividly. i also wanted to see a bit more of mr. o’keefe…intruiging side character he was… thats diana wynne jones’ gift i think, making even side characters so extremely lifelike and vivid…
part 3 chapter 2 was so devastatingly sweet, so tender, genuinely! i loved every minute w this book…i wish that dwj could have written more books like this (even though her other books are wonderful too!!), everything about this was like all the best parts of a shoujo manga and well the bad parts too like the insane age gap relationship LOL ohhh this will sit in a special place in my heart nevertheless (
but ughghgh it was so wonderful! the vibes were so perfect!! this was such a good little autumn read… i loved all of the characters sooo much and so deeply and tbh the ending sequence escaped me somewhat as well as some other parts of the plot that revolves around the actual tam lin but everything else about growing up, about friends, about being left all alone—and disappointed so thoroughly by your parents! my goodness! everything abt adolescence felt so real, so true, and so autumnal too somehow… even minor characters like ivy, joanna, and david felt sketched out so vividly. i also wanted to see a bit more of mr. o’keefe…intruiging side character he was… thats diana wynne jones’ gift i think, making even side characters so extremely lifelike and vivid…
part 3 chapter 2 was so devastatingly sweet, so tender, genuinely! i loved every minute w this book…i wish that dwj could have written more books like this (even though her other books are wonderful too!!), everything about this was like all the best parts of a shoujo manga and well the bad parts too like the insane age gap relationship LOL ohhh this will sit in a special place in my heart nevertheless (
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse