Today, I’m part of the Charm & Strange tour hosted by Itching for Books. I was very lucky to receive this book early from Stephanie and I had the pleasure of talking with her. I’m very pleased to be part of this tour. My stop is an review, so I hope y’all enjoy it! But first here is a little more about the book…
*Also I would like to apologise for the quality of this review, I have been revising and I have an exam today so wish me luck everyone*
Title – Charm & Strange
Author – Stephanie Kuehn
Publisher – St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages – 224
Released – June 11th 2013
Source – eBook for Review via NetGalley
Order – Amazon
When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .
Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.
He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.
He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.
Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.
Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.
About the Author
Stephanie Kuehn is a YA writer who grew up in Berkeley, California, which is a quirky sort of a place with a ton of wonderful bookstores. Her very first job was working in one of those bookstores, and she’s been a freakishly avid reader for as long as she can remember.
Stephanie’s other passions include mental health advocacy, social justice, and sports of all kinds. She’s currently living in Northern California with her family and their wild menagerie of pets.
www.stephaniekuehn.com | twitter.com/stephkuehn
Review:
I’m a very anti-werewolf kind of girl so when I saw this book it definitely caught my eye. The book itself is split into ‘Matter’ and ‘Antimatter’ and intriguing idea based on the science of past events that forms the persona inside of someone and this is Win. At fist it was slightly disorientating going between two times when you don’t quite know what happening until the third chapter. The book as a whole is very short but just enough to get a very solid story about a character conflicted by his inner demons, more specifically a werewolf.
Stephanie tells two sides of one character.. Andrew and Win.
Matter: Win is a secluded lonely character, breached into his teenage years at a boarding school in Vermont after a tragic family accident…This is were it got interesting.
Anti-Matter: Andrew is 12 year old boy with a drunken father, non-existent mother, brother Keith and sister Siobhan. He doesn’t care for either of them, he’s very unsure, whiny kid with odd expectations of life. He begins his story with a very viscous attack at his tennis finals when he loses against him… he had no control just the adrenaline surging throughout his whole body. This event sparked the demons inside of his body. Andrew was an odd character to contend with. What was unexpected was that their was no need to connect with the character, it just weaved throughout his present character…Win.
Anti-Matter: Andrew was sent to a camp with his brother Keith, to stay with their grandparents. Alongside them their cousins which almost seemed strange. Keith was very charming to one of the cousins, but so Andrew is some disturbed. They all stayed together and Drew couldn’t quite place why… Until his father came to the lake house… A bit of fatherly bonding… in more ways than one. He and his siblings have a reputation and a purpose to nature and the moon phases that causes the event that traumatizes his life. This itself is only half the story when you go back to the present, but its life that fuels his fear and his current persona.
Matter: Lex and Jordan, the secondary characters of this novel were the more constant and supportive throughout the whole book. They were Win’s anchor and they were my anchor to the present. In essence the backwards and forwards between two times was repetitive but these characters balanced out that novel for me. The only thing that let the novel down a notch was the ending, it disappointed me as we didn’t really what the outcome of Win’s trauma would be. I was unresolved and slightly puzzled. I felt that, unfortunately, that each character didn’t really end
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this book. Is there going to be sequel to this book? I would like to think so so she could develop Wins character some more. I didn’t know what to expect from Stephanie’s work and I can say I will be indulging in many more of her novels to come.
Rating: 3.5/4
Also as part of the tour, I have a Giveaway, US only I’m afraid. To enter please complete the Raffelcopter form below, Good Luck.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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This book definitely sounds unique, though a bit strange. I think it'll probably take me a while to get used to the Matter and Anti-Matter thing. I'm glad you liked it overall, Emma! Also, good luck on your exam! <3
I've heard so many good things about this book. I want something strange!
It sounds quite confusing but exciting at the same time! Shame the ending let you down a bit but at least you enjoyed the rest! Good luck in your exam and great review 😀
Nice review. Glad you liked it 🙂
This sounds quite good. Different! Lovely review, Emma!
EMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I've missed youuuuuu! heheee
This book sounds a little confusing with the whole matter/anti-matter concept…but it does sound really interesting! I'm glad you enjoyed it 🙂
P.S Thanks for your uber lovely comment on my blog! You can tweet me anytime, I'll always reply :))
I have to say, this story sounds a bit confusing to me with all these different sides to Win. The mystery sounds intriguing, though. Glad to see you enjoyed it overall. Wonderful review, Emma. 🙂
I have seen some great reviews for this book, but I wasn't really sure whether it would be for me, but I'm glad that you were able to enjoy it, the concept sure does sound really interesting! Lovely review Emma! 🙂