A review by jmatkinson1
Runemarks by Joanne Harris
3.0
Maddy Smith lives in a remote northern valley in the village of Malbry. Her life is far from pleasant and her 'ruinmark' means that she is shunned by many and forced to work menially. However a traveller called One-Eye sees Maddy's mark differently, he calls it her Runemark and he teaches Maddy to use the special powers that she tries to keep hidden. When Maddy draws attention to herself by releasing goblins and more from the ground she escapes to Red Horse Hill and then the adventures really start because Maddy is no ordinary girl, her skills are inherited from the old gods. Five hundred years ago the gods were defeated and a new order came to power, now things are about to change.
Joanne Harris is a wonderful writer but for some reason this YA novel didn't really gel with me. I like what she has tried to do, to fuse Norse legend with a slight SF edge and a huge dose of humour, and I like the setting in a northern area that seems parallel to her world of Malbry in her adult fiction (although the village of Farnley Tyas does exist in real life). However I found the plot very confusing and too reminiscent of Phillip Pullman to feel truly original.
Joanne Harris is a wonderful writer but for some reason this YA novel didn't really gel with me. I like what she has tried to do, to fuse Norse legend with a slight SF edge and a huge dose of humour, and I like the setting in a northern area that seems parallel to her world of Malbry in her adult fiction (although the village of Farnley Tyas does exist in real life). However I found the plot very confusing and too reminiscent of Phillip Pullman to feel truly original.