Illyria

Jan 11, 2011 Caitlings rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, read-in-2011, contemporary

This was so….I don’t even know if there is a word for it. Parts of it were beautiful, parts of it were ugly, and parts of it were uncomfortable. I’m not even sure I would classify it as YA. I got it from the YA section, and it is about two teenagers, but the style of the writing is more akin to adult fiction I’ve read. Plus it was very much a book that took place in reality, yet there was a fantasy element to it.

Was it real? Was it all in the characters head? What did it mean?

I don’t have the an...more This was so….I don’t even know if there is a word for it. Parts of it were beautiful, parts of it were ugly, and parts of it were uncomfortable. I’m not even sure I would classify it as YA. I got it from the YA section, and it is about two teenagers, but the style of the writing is more akin to adult fiction I’ve read. Plus it was very much a book that took place in reality, yet there was a fantasy element to it.

Was it real? Was it all in the characters head? What did it mean?

I don’t have the answers to these questions and that is what I loved most about this book. It wasn’t bothered with explaining things, or making things obvious. It told the story and left the fine points up to the reader.

The book is about a pair of first cousins, Madeleine and Rogan, who are “twinned souls.” They don’t care about the way their family looks at them, they don’t care that some people consider it wrong, they don’t care that their fathers are twin brothers. They’re just teenagers in love. They can’t remember a time without one another and they don’t want there to be a time when they should have to be apart.

But with their family manupilating things in the background, and their own discovery of how they differ, it doesn’t look as if they will be able to stay the way are.

This book could be both beautiful and uncomfortable at the same time. But the author did such a good job of making Rogan and Madeleine feel like love interests and not family that I usually had to be reminded they were cousins. All the sneaking around and hiding they had to do, could’ve been something any teenage couple had to do.

I don’t really know what to say about this book, I was engrossed in reading it, but I’m not sure if I can describe the experience as enjoyable. The style of the book, and thus of the feel of reading it, was very surreal. Even now, a week after finishing it, I can’t quite put my finger on how I felt about it. Or what I thought of the ending.

I am glad I read it, and I do recommend it. And I wish I could remember what author I saw blog about this book so I could thank them.

There is a small fantasy element to the book, but I don’t want to say anything about it because it was so beautiful the way you discover along with Rogan and Madeleine that I want to leave the experience to you.
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Feb 23, 2013 Odette rated it 5 of 5 stars

It took me a while to realize I loved this book - a few years of being haunted by it.

It is not a young adult novel & shouldn't have been marketed as such - it's an adult novella (obviously not as desirable a marketing category).

Illyria deals with a deep love between two cousins, with the idea of artistic gifts vs. artistic skill, with the question of what is left when the enchanted theater of all your expectations for the future is destroyed by people who don't understand and don't care, or...more It took me a while to realize I loved this book - a few years of being haunted by it.

It is not a young adult novel & shouldn't have been marketed as such - it's an adult novella (obviously not as desirable a marketing category).

Illyria deals with a deep love between two cousins, with the idea of artistic gifts vs. artistic skill, with the question of what is left when the enchanted theater of all your expectations for the future is destroyed by people who don't understand and don't care, or simply by the ordinary unfolding of life itself. And the idea of damage, as well as talent, being a family inheritance.

The book didn't go where I expected it to - there was no easy moral about hard work triumphing over genius, no triumphant theater performance by the narrator, no closure for Maddy and Rogan's relationship. The characters seemed very real to me at the end - threadbare and weary, but still standing. The last image (Hand's writing is always very visual) is so vivid to me, it's hard to believe I didn't see it in a movie. (It would make a great movie, with the right director.)

I loved the use of the Shakespeare song from Twelfth Night (A great while ago the world begun, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain). I wasn't bothered by the cousin-love issue, although I was never sure what the point of it was, aside from the drama of thwarted romance. (A reread of Twelfth Night might make that theme clearer.) As with all Hand's novels, I loved the vivid sense of place - in this case, North Yonkers, NY circa 1960s/70s. I liked the descriptions of attics and half-attics packed with tinsely clutter and theater discards. Hand's old houses always have secrets.

The theater in the wall had that wonderful quality that is one of my favorite things about Hand's writing - her evocations of the places where the universe fractures and passages open into other worlds. Hand's inter-dimensional doors rarely open with much pomp - they appear suddenly in a kind of peripheral vision flash, and then the characters spend the rest of the stories trying to recapture this gift their lives can barely contain.

The miniature theater appeared so strangely, and threaded so delicately through Illyria story, it had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it quality that made it more believable for me, and the painstaking recreation of it at the end so moving. Can you rebuild lost, destroyed magic? Maybe you can - maybe that's the final message. Or the message is that things do not turn out the way you plan and what you're left with are the torn bits and what you make of them. Whether that is a hopeful or hopeless ending is between you and your life.(less)

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Nov 09, 2010 Lyndsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-2010, reviewed-3-stars, novellas

If you can get past the ick factor, the story itself is captivating. With just a touch of fantasy (a really really slight touch), the author conveys so much with very little. She weaves words in such a way that you get what she is saying without her actually ever saying it. It makes for a fascinating read, but I did feel that something was lacking.

However, I liked that fact that it was slimmed down from your usual fantasy or romance. It only took about an hour and a half to read all the way thro...more

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May 16, 2011 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who like the works of Madeleine L'Engle

Shelves: novellas, writing-to-which-i-aspire, 2011-reads, could-have-been-better, left-me-feeling-conflicted, should-have-loved-it-but-didn-t, disappointing-books, prose-envy, reviewed

I am so very confused right now. Illyria was only 135 pages long, and it left me feeling quite a bit like how I feel after reading something by Madeleine L'Engle. I get that I just read something deep and profound, but I don't understand what the point was. It's very frustrating. What is the point of reading a book if, in the end, you just don't get it?

At first, I thought that Illyria was offering me the kind of "I don't get it" feeling that I had for a while as I was reading Madapple, a thought...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Janet rated it 1 of 5 stars

What did I learn from this book? I learned that parents and educators need to read more young adult literature because there's a lot of crap out there, and this book is the top of that list. After about 40 pages, I knew the book was awful, but I was hoping it would have something redeeming--it didn't. For the record, I am not an advocate for censorship, but I do believe that some stuff just shouldn't get published. The book's whole plot line revolves around two fourteen-year-old cousins and thei...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction, icky-subjects, young-adult, read-2011

Well. A lot of reviews are describing this book as "gorgeous," and while I concede that it is well-written, I wasn't swept up enough in the writing that I was transported by this very slight, strange book. Both style and subject are odd for YA literature, and regardless of where it's shelved, I have a hard time getting over the "what's the point" factor. It's weird that the first cousins thing doesn't bother me but the writing does, hmm?

Updated 5/15/11: Readers who are looking for a well-written...more

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Mar 09, 2013 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

This one would have gotten the 5 stars if only it hadn't felt so summarized (especially at the end) and if only we could have had a bit more emotional resolution from Maddy.....

Madeline and Rogan are "kissing cousins"; their fathers are identical twins and they have known each other their entire lives. They grew up in each other's houses and helped fend off the 5 older brothers and sisters that loved to torment.

Only, now they're 15, and their closeness has evolved into something else; something...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Melanie Lamaga rated it 5 of 5 stars

An Elegant Explosion of Repressed Creativity and Desire

This is a beautifully written, Romantic (in the 18th century sense, not the Danielle Steele sense) novella about soul mates, forbidden love, and being a magical child in a family that’s lost its mojo. It’s also about talent, both the kind that emerges full-blown and the kind that must be cultivated.

Maddie and her first cousin Rogan have been in love since they were children. Their connection, though sexual, seems to be less about incest and...more

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Dec 10, 2011 El rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 21st-centurylit, i-hate-ya

Reading YA novels only reminds me just how out of touch I am sometimes.

I read this because my friend had it and I recognized the author's name. Back in the early 90s I read a book by Elizabeth Hand called Waking the Moon; I might have read it more than once or twice. I might have really been into that book. Now as an adult I don't remember much about that book other than the impression it left behind, and it remains one of those books I wonder if I should re-read or if I should just let the happ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Karen's Books Beside My Bed rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is not something I would normally read but I am on a theater kick and this one had starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. I guess I should have really read the reviews instead of skimmed them because it was... different? I thought I was getting a YA coming of age story but instead I got an adult novella. While the prose was hauntingly beautiful, the actual story was a bit graphic in it's approach. Maddy and Rogan are first cousins, best friends, and lovers. This is probably where...more

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May 08, 2011 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed-from-library, faerie-magic, fantasy, historical-recent, incest-is-best, my-lesbianism-let-me-show-you-it, tab-a-in-slot-b, tampon-theatre, ya

This book reminds me a lot of Francesca Lia Block. I wasn't surprised when I found a review by her on the front inside cover.

I'm going to split this review into two parts- the relationship between Madeline and Rogan, and the fantasy elements.

So Madeline and Rogan are related. Legally they're first cousins, genetically they're half-siblings. I know the reader is meant to respond with an ick factor, but given how Elizabeth Hand wrote their relationship, while it is meant to be confronting, I think...more This book reminds me a lot of Francesca Lia Block. I wasn't surprised when I found a review by her on the front inside cover.

I'm going to split this review into two parts- the relationship between Madeline and Rogan, and the fantasy elements.

So Madeline and Rogan are related. Legally they're first cousins, genetically they're half-siblings. I know the reader is meant to respond with an ick factor, but given how Elizabeth Hand wrote their relationship, while it is meant to be confronting, I think it was also meant to be romantic. Parts of it were whimsical and magical (and reminded me of Francesca Lia Block), and parts of it were also... well, if they weren't related, I'd buy that they were in a true relationship. They loved each other very deeply (and I liked the sex scenes, although brought up, were never explicit), but they were also heading in different directions. In a way, Madeline realised that. She got away before she was dragged too deeply in. That romance is still there, years later, but both have started to settle down. I'm uncertain if Hand intended to imply that their relationship would be rekindled. I think it's left ambiguous and for the reader to decide.

Then there's the fantasy part. Did Hand intend for that to be a separate subplot? I couldn't figure it out. Here are some theories:

- Rogan is fey. Maybe genetically, with it being a dormant, recessive gene (look at how he enraptured the crowd).
- Aunt Kate is fey. She knows how being fey can ruin one's life- impulsiveness, unable to settle down. She knows Rogan, although talented, will go off the tracks and doesn't want Madeline to watch the process.
- Great-grandmother Madeline was also fey.
- The magical theatre in the attic is linked to a fey's moods somehow, and is representative of their life.

Just some ideas. I can't help but feel Hand wanted to walk along the magical reality/urban fantasy line but didn't want to push it. I did really enjoy this novella, though, despite its somewhat 'unfinished' feeling.

Although listed as young adult, and does have some of the markers of one, it's really for the latter teens/young twenties age range. Younger to mid-teens could definitely read and understand the implications if they were mature enough.(less)

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Apr 06, 2011 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'd like to start this off by saying that there is a lot of yuckiness in this book - as far as cousin lovin' goes. While, apparently, marrying your cousin is not unheard of, or even illegal in many states, it still lends an air of the forbidden to the entire novel. Now, obviously I read a lot. And I've read some things about young people and getting married and such. From what I understand, young people who've grown up together and lived near each other are much less likely to marry each other....more

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Mar 31, 2011 Whatchyareading added it

Shelves: caitlin, fantasy, young-adult

This was so….I don’t even know if there is a word for it. Parts of it were beautiful, parts of it were ugly, and parts of it were uncomfortable. I’m not even sure I would classify it as YA. I got it from the YA section, and it is about two teenagers, but the style of the writing is more akin to adult fiction I’ve read. Plus it was very much a book that took place in reality, yet there was a fantasy element to it.

Was it real? Was it all in the characters head? What did it mean?

I don’t have the an...more This was so….I don’t even know if there is a word for it. Parts of it were beautiful, parts of it were ugly, and parts of it were uncomfortable. I’m not even sure I would classify it as YA. I got it from the YA section, and it is about two teenagers, but the style of the writing is more akin to adult fiction I’ve read. Plus it was very much a book that took place in reality, yet there was a fantasy element to it.

Was it real? Was it all in the characters head? What did it mean?

I don’t have the answers to these questions and that is what I loved most about this book. It wasn’t bothered with explaining things, or making things obvious. It told the story and left the fine points up to the reader.

The book is about a pair of first cousins, Madeleine and Rogan, who are “twinned souls.” They don’t care about the way their family looks at them, they don’t care that some people consider it wrong, they don’t care that their fathers are twin brothers. They’re just teenagers in love. They can’t remember a time without one another and they don’t want there to be a time when they should have to be apart.

But with their family manupilating things in the background, and their own discovery of how they differ, it doesn’t look as if they will be able to stay the way are.

This book could be both beautiful and uncomfortable at the same time. But the author did such a good job of making Rogan and Madeleine feel like love interests and not family that I usually had to be reminded they were cousins. All the sneaking around and hiding they had to do, could’ve been something any teenage couple had to do.

I don’t really know what to say about this book, I was engrossed in reading it, but I’m not sure if I can describe the experience as enjoyable. The style of the book, and thus of the feel of reading it, was very surreal. Even now, a week after finishing it, I can’t quite put my finger on how I felt about it. Or what I thought of the ending.

I am glad I read it, and I do recommend it. And I wish I could remember what author I saw blog about this book so I could thank them.

There is a small fantasy element to the book, but I don’t want to say anything about it because it was so beautiful the way you discover along with Rogan and Madeleine that I want to leave the experience to you.

Reviewed on WhatchYAreading on January 19, 2011.(less)

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Mar 18, 2011 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, young-adult

Maddy and Rogan are first cousins; actually their fathers are identical twins so genetically they're half-siblings. They share the same birthday, are each the youngest of six children and grew up together on the same street. They are also passionately and hopelessly in love with each other. They steal time together hidden away in Rogan's attic where they find an enchanted toy theater.

Maddy and Rogan's great-grandmother was a famous stage actress. When Maddy and Rogan are both cast in their schoo...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Maureen E rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

by Elizabeth Hand

Opening line: "Rogan and I were cousins; our fathers were identical twins."

Growing up in the sprawling Tierney clan, Rogan and Maddy are unusually close. Not only are their fathers identical twins, they themselves were born on the same day. And in all of the respectable stockbrokers and businessmen, it's Rogan and Maddy who hanker after their family's illicit theatrical past.

Hand's prose is gorgeous--understated and lovely. The story and characters are haunting and beautiful. A...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teenbooks, fantasy

This book is magical. I suspect that it threw fairy dust in my eyes. In fact, it cast such a spell on me that I just let the story wash over me on my initial reading, without giving it much critical thought. But now I’ve given it some distance, so here goes.

Summary: Set in the 1970’s in Yonkers, teen cousins Maddy and Rogan are drawn together like a moth to the flame. Maddy is the moth to Rogan’s flame. Rogan is considered “fey” by some members of his family, with his effortless charisma, unnat...more This book is magical. I suspect that it threw fairy dust in my eyes. In fact, it cast such a spell on me that I just let the story wash over me on my initial reading, without giving it much critical thought. But now I’ve given it some distance, so here goes.

Summary: Set in the 1970’s in Yonkers, teen cousins Maddy and Rogan are drawn together like a moth to the flame. Maddy is the moth to Rogan’s flame. Rogan is considered “fey” by some members of his family, with his effortless charisma, unnatural good looks and charmed singing voice. He exemplifies “glamour” in the original sense of the word—an alluring charisma that has magic at its roots. Although warned against a relationship, Maddy and Rogan do become “kissing cousins.” They discover a secret attic space where they can be together, a space which has a miniature toy theater that can produce magical effects like snow and thunder, but with no actors or audience. Rogan and Maddy audition for a role in their school’s production of Twelfth Night and Rogan is brilliant. He steals the show. Maddy is therefore shocked when her Aunt Kate decides to send her to London for acting training, instead of Rogan. That decision splits them apart and leads to consequences that seem somehow pre-destined.

Writing: Lyrical, sensual and emotional prose that has that quality of “glamour” that holds the reader and doesn’t let go.

Characters: Vividly drawn. Like the doomed lovers of a play or a novel by Thomas Hardy, Rogan and Maddy can never find happiness, especially when their Aunt Kate intervenes and separates them by choosing to send Maddy off to London. Rogan, although brilliantly talented, is also mercurial and unstable. Maddy lacks his magic, but is methodical in her pursuit of her career, a career that never leads to the sort of fame Rogan might have achieved. Enigmatic Aunt Kate, who encourages Rogan in theater and then shuts him down.

Themes: decaying and dysfunctional family that hovers oppressively over the two main characters. Fate. Forbidden romance. Regret.

Other thoughts: Motives for behavior are elusive and only hinted at, which pulls the reader deeper into the story. In fact, I’m still pondering some of the actions of the characters, wondering what their motives might have been.
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Dec 30, 2010 Stacey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-on-the-blog, own

I sometimes think there are books that the more is said the more injustice is done. Illyria is one
of those books for me.

Illyria brings the term kissing-cousin to a new level though not based purely on love but a shared passion
only found within those who are true twinned souls.Both of our main characters, Maddy and Rogan, lead lives that were tragic in their own right and both seemed to understand each other in a way no other was able to or even attempted to.

I can't even explain how roped in I wa...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Karissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just read another Hand book earlier this month called Generation Loss. I was intrigued to read Hand's take at a young adult novel. This book is nothing like Generation Loss (which was an adult thriller, but the writing style does have many similarities). Like with all of her books Hand weaves a beautiful and dark atmosphere and creates magic that is subtle and mesmorizing.

Maddy and Rogan are cousins born on the same day. They see themselves as twins, soulmates, and maybe, eventually, lovers. T...more I just read another Hand book earlier this month called Generation Loss. I was intrigued to read Hand's take at a young adult novel. This book is nothing like Generation Loss (which was an adult thriller, but the writing style does have many similarities). Like with all of her books Hand weaves a beautiful and dark atmosphere and creates magic that is subtle and mesmorizing.

Maddy and Rogan are cousins born on the same day. They see themselves as twins, soulmates, and maybe, eventually, lovers. They struggle against their families' teasing and with how they are teased by those around them. Then one day in a secret room in an attic they find a miniature magical stage. The stage makes them want to create and Maddy and Rogan try out for the school play. Maddy with her determination and Rogan with his magical presence and angelic voice will definitely turn the heads of their audience. But, their passion and beauty make those around them uncomfortable and perhaps this star-crossed couple was never meant to be.

I love Hand's writing style. She makes the surroundings come alive, doesn't spell everything out for you, and fills her story with dark atmospheric magic. In many ways this book is similar to her others in that it does those same things. This book is more about magical realism than straight up magic. The story and magic are a bit ambiguous, but more beautiful because they let the reader make what they will out of some of the scenes.

All of the characters presented are delightfully complicated. Maddy with her devotion to Rogan, the way she works so hard, yet excels only at being a little better than the norm. Rogan with his wildness and feyness; the way he cares so much but hides behind a veneer of casualness. Even Aunt Kate, who wants Maddy and Rogan to become something exceptional, has many layers of secrets and mysteries to her character. This is a love story of star-crossed couple, but as is always the case with Hand's book, it talks about so much more.

The cover is very apt, in that most of the book seems shrouded in a bit of mysterious fog. As I mentioned the story is a bit vauge at points. Given what a slender read this is though, Hand sure packed a lot of story in here. We are subject to Maddy and Rogan's past, the events of their teenage years, the school play, and then finally the results of their lives.

It was a beautiful and bittersweet story. I would recommend for an older young adult audience. It touches a lot on sexuality, incest (they are cousins after all), there is some swearing, and there is a lot of casual drug use.

Overall I loved this story. It is beautifully and intelligently written. The reader is whisked off to a place with a magical atmosphere with darkly magical characters. I found it to be very engaging and just...well...darkly beautiful.(less)

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Oct 12, 2010 Katie M. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: couldn-t-finish

After 31 pages, I am done.
When I started reading this book, despite the fact that it is a gross romance novel, filled with faerie incest ( or so I've come to believe after 31 pages) I had gone in with the intent of finishing it.
Yes, the writing is good, but the first six or so pages are all about the families history and it was extremely boring (though it probably doesn't help that I was reading it at 2:00 AM)
After that, it got a lot better, and like I said, I like the authors writing, but...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Angela rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have nothing to do with the World Fantasy Award (which is a good thing, considered my general apathy towards fantasy as a genre), but looking at other winners, this one doesn't quite seem to fit. This isn't really a fantasy - it's more like what one of my college professors called magical realism (and generally associated with post-colonialism, but that's a story for another time). This is a rather straightforward story about two extraordinarily close cousins who must face the realities of the...more

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Jul 16, 2010 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, sexual-situations, ya, adult, fiction, friendship, drama

I tried, I really tried to love this book as it so richly deserved. Beautifully written prose: check. Two doomed teen lovers: check. Life changing moment: check. Flashback to "simpler" time: check. So what the heck happened with this book?

SPOILER ALERT!!!

For starters, this novella was marketed as a YA title. Other than there are two teenagers in an illicit love affair, that's where the YA connection ends. This reads like an adult book, semiautobiographical in nature, with tenuous appeal for teen...more I tried, I really tried to love this book as it so richly deserved. Beautifully written prose: check. Two doomed teen lovers: check. Life changing moment: check. Flashback to "simpler" time: check. So what the heck happened with this book?

SPOILER ALERT!!!

For starters, this novella was marketed as a YA title. Other than there are two teenagers in an illicit love affair, that's where the YA connection ends. This reads like an adult book, semiautobiographical in nature, with tenuous appeal for teens who will have a difficult time wrapping their minds around this slim narrative. First, it's vaguely set in the seventies, with Yonkers as the backdrop for a by-gone era when siblings lived in the same town, on the same block, on the same street, with their homes clustered together. One big happy amalgamation of extended family - or so you think. But let's cut to the heart of the matter, the elephant in the room: we have two first cousins engaged in incest. And not just kissing cousins; they are born on the same day, and their dads are identical twins. Genetically, they are half-siblings. Maddy and Rogen have been inseparable ever since, but they take their love for each other to new heights by having sex on a regular basis in a hidden attic. The strange thing is, everyone in the Tierney clan know or have a sickening suspicion that these kids are intimately involved, yet no one is stepping in to stop this tragedy. Only during a showdown when Maddy is about to be shipped off to London do Rogen's parents decide to finally do an intervention, but it's violent and ends all ties between the damaged Rogen and Maddy.

You get to know this clan through Maddy, their 100+ year history that dates back to their great-grandmother, an ingenue of the theater, a gift that died with her. You think that Maddy and Rogen will break free from their suburban stranglehold, will be Broadway bound and will never return home, and be together, encouraging their artistic talents. Even though it's wrong, you want them to prevail as a couple. But it never happens. You get the feeling the wrong kid was sent to London to become a great actor, and the one with promise and skills was purposefully left behind to rot as punishment for his sins. They meet up 31 years later, both with varying degrees of a failed life in show business, with only the faint memories of their love that lives on in the attic.

I dunno. Like I said, I wanted to really like this book. If you are a fan of Elizabeth Hand, perhaps this is the story for you. Otherwise, I recommend this books for adults.(less)

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Jun 02, 2010 Abby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, romantic, fantasy

I've been meaing to read Elizabeth Hand's work forever so when this slim novella showed up in my teen collection, I snatched it right up. Apparently it won the World Fantasy Award for best novella or something like that. The story concerns Maddy and Rogan, teenage cousins who have carved out a tiny secret space to hid their forbidden, passionate love from their disapproving families. Their great-grandmother, who is also Maddy's namesake, was a renowned actress of remarkable talent, but none of h...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teenfiction

Definitely not squeakly-clean! And although I should be angry with the author stealing my idea to modernize and novelize Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for teens, I guess she did an all right job!

Maddy and Rogan are the last children born of two identical brothers. They were born on the same day at nearly the same time. Although they've sort of considered themselves twins, the consider themselves more as soul-mates and true loves.

As awkward as it may be to be sneaking away to spend some "time" wi...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: age-high-school, if-you-like-twilight, magical-realism

Romantic, creepy, and vivid novella about the forbidden love between two cousins in a large, falling-apart family. The title refers to the island where Viola washes up in "Twelfth Night." Cousins Maddy and Rogan are cast together in their high school production, and I've never read such a good description of the "drug" that theatre can become. I gobbled this one up and still find myself thinking about its many layers (family, talent, art, love, guilt, secrets, acting, and that magical discovery...more

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Nov 27, 2009 Amy Wilder rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who liked Twilight, people who couldn't stand Twilight

Shelves: favorites

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
A forbidden romance, you say? Shakespeare references galore, you say? Spooky old houses that might be enchanted, you say? Why, yes thank you I'll take one of those.

REVIEW:
A bittersweet story of a forbidden romance between first cousins and best friends Maddy and Rogan. The story follows them through a year of high school when they perform together in a school production of Twelfth Night, an experience which both intensifies and changes their feelings for one another.

Hand writ...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Sienna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This magical novella inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was recently reprinted, fortunately for anyone who missed out on the original limited run. I've been a Liz Hand devotee since my freshman year of college, entranced by her lush, evocative prose — not to mention her skill at conjuring the fantastic out of the (seemingly) ordinary — and this all-too-brief story puts her talents on display. Moving, otherworldly and unexpected. Read more about Illyria at Hand's website (complete with journ...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Abbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oh, how I love this. Now, I'll be honest. I am way more likely to love a book about theater. Dramarama, loved it; Drama! loved it; Eyes Like Stars, a little weird for me but I liked it all the same. Illyria was no exception in the love department.

Now, this book was not perfect. I didn't love the huge gaps of time, after she went to London, and the ending left me feeling unsatisfied. But I love incest - God it's so deliciously scandalous - and I love theater. And this book references theater a lo...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Cassy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was one of those abstract, magical books, yet has some deeper meaning. I was actually surprised at the overall rating of this book. I feel that it deserves a higher one and i seriously don't understand why a lot of people didn't like it. What I liked about this book, was that although it didn't have a "happily ever after" exactly, things did come together in bits and pieces in the end, kind of like the magical stage (I never really got that part, btw, but t...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Lindsaygail rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, ya, fantasy

I really loved this. A friend of mine spoke so highly of this one that when it crossed my desk at work I had to grab it. I ended up loving it as much as she did, but we both agreed that we didn't really know what to say about it afterward. It's a quick read, but beautifully written. There's forbidden romance, grand old houses in 1970s Yonkers, Shakespeare, a secret attic, a mysterious Aunt and a bit of magic realism.

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Oct 30, 2012 Sesana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, romance, fantasy

I think that I'm supposed to have a very Flowers in the Attic reaction to this book. It is about a romantic and sexual relationship between first cousins, after all, and they do carry on their trysts in an attic. (That's... blatant.) I think this is where I show how much historical fiction I've read: I just can't get too worked up about first cousin romance. Maybe I've read far too many 19th century (and earlier) books where a first cousin was a perfectly reasonable marriage option. (In real lif...more

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