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A review by theladydoor
The Secret Country by Pamela Dean
3.0
I used to think I was quite a prolific reader as a child, but now, looking back, I realize that I spent a great deal of time rereading books. Even with the wealth of my local library at my fingertips, I would often check out the same books over and over again. I think this may have had to do with the fact that my family could not afford to buy me all the books I wanted, so I had no way of revisiting my favorites. The point of this is, I do think I missed out on a quite a few treasures in favor of searching out familiarity.
I'm fairly certain I would have loved this book as a kid. The main characters are four children who have been separated by a move to Australia. They have such a strong bond though, through their game of inventing a "secret country" that they somehow bring themselves into it, and begin experiencing the stories they have been creating for their entire lives. A twist in this book that sets it apart from other "children falling into magical worlds" stories is that these kids mostly know exactly what is going to happen. But then, their presence in the secret country begins to alter and muddle events.
As an adult, I found it rather dissatisfying to read about kids who already knew everything about where they were going. I didn't feel like there was a great sense of magic or mystery. In addition, the flow of the plotline didn't really appeal to me; too little happened within the space of the pages to keep me interested. Dean does manage some interesting concepts, like nightmare grass, in a chilling sequence. But those moments are few and fleeting.
I actually only picked up this novel because of its involvement in the Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle, in which it was revealed that now famous author [a:Cassandra Clare|150038|Cassandra Clare|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270502031p2/150038.jpg] included large portions of Dean's writing in her fan fiction. Having read this book, it's easy to see why Clare might have wanted to steal Dean's words. Dean writes with a clear and eloquent voice. It is obvious that she deliberately chose each word, and chose them well. I think it's unfair and unethical that Clare has achieved fame and fortune on the back of plagiarism, but am glad that her actions have led to me discovering this author. I plan to read Dean's other works, including the highly-acclaimed [b:Tam Lin|51106|Tam Lin|Pamela Dean|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309198667s/51106.jpg|49879].
I'm fairly certain I would have loved this book as a kid. The main characters are four children who have been separated by a move to Australia. They have such a strong bond though, through their game of inventing a "secret country" that they somehow bring themselves into it, and begin experiencing the stories they have been creating for their entire lives. A twist in this book that sets it apart from other "children falling into magical worlds" stories is that these kids mostly know exactly what is going to happen. But then, their presence in the secret country begins to alter and muddle events.
As an adult, I found it rather dissatisfying to read about kids who already knew everything about where they were going. I didn't feel like there was a great sense of magic or mystery. In addition, the flow of the plotline didn't really appeal to me; too little happened within the space of the pages to keep me interested. Dean does manage some interesting concepts, like nightmare grass, in a chilling sequence. But those moments are few and fleeting.
I actually only picked up this novel because of its involvement in the Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle, in which it was revealed that now famous author [a:Cassandra Clare|150038|Cassandra Clare|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270502031p2/150038.jpg] included large portions of Dean's writing in her fan fiction. Having read this book, it's easy to see why Clare might have wanted to steal Dean's words. Dean writes with a clear and eloquent voice. It is obvious that she deliberately chose each word, and chose them well. I think it's unfair and unethical that Clare has achieved fame and fortune on the back of plagiarism, but am glad that her actions have led to me discovering this author. I plan to read Dean's other works, including the highly-acclaimed [b:Tam Lin|51106|Tam Lin|Pamela Dean|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309198667s/51106.jpg|49879].