An engrossing epic tale with a cast of characters that will hijack your heart.
Cam Attling, having lost an arm, is the only one from his to... read full description
Cam Attling, having lost an arm, is the only one from his to... read full description
reviews
Sep 25, 2011
oliviasbooks
rated it: 
Although the average rating of 3.25 stars strongly indicated „Beware, this book is not for everyone”, I never would have guessed that I might be one of those unlucky specimen the book prefers not to talk to. My conviction (which even resulted in my ordering the book in spite of my friend Arlene’s offer to include me in her book tour) that Bloodflower and I would be very compatible had been sustained by several powerful factors:
A) The cover is so very beautiful – but in a different way More...
A) The cover is so very beautiful – but in a different way More...
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Dec 29, 2011
Laura
rated it:
It took nearly half the book for me to figure out what direction the author was taking: was it a book about class? about returning from war? about life in the vaguely Middle Ages? about love (both heterosexual and implied homosexual)? about culture clashes? That it took that long doesn't usually bode well for the ending. There were too many characters introduced, with chapters all from their different points of view - this added to the confusion. A couple of the characters at first appeared i
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Feb 11, 2012
Jillian -always aspiring-
rated it: 
(Actual Rating: 3.5 stars)
I've had my eye on Christine Hinwood's debut novel The Returning (or, as it's known in Australia, Bloodflower) for a while now. Of course, it also helped that my interest rose when I read the blurbs from two of my favorite authors:
I've had my eye on Christine Hinwood's debut novel The Returning (or, as it's known in Australia, Bloodflower) for a while now. Of course, it also helped that my interest rose when I read the blurbs from two of my favorite authors:
"I loved this novel. I cried through the whole last chapter from the sheer beauty of these characters and their world." -Melina Marchetta, author of Jellicoe Road, Printz Medal winner
"A beautiful examination ofMore...
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Apr 12, 2011
Adele
rated it: 
Bloodflower ... is difficult to put into words. It's a beautiful read, full of complexity, meaningful themes and natural character development. Set in a country recovering from war, turmoil and grief still aplenty with citizens displaced and a new ruler on the throne. Cam returns to his family psychologically and physically scarred from his wartime adventures and the town of Kayforl is wracked with tall tales of his supposed betrayal.
There are many characters, including Cam, that are More...
There are many characters, including Cam, that are More...
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Jan 07, 2012
Yune
rated it:
I didn't start liking this one until the last fifth or so: I got bogged down in the opacity of the author's style, where speech is in the style of "Do you chop that wood" (as an imperative, not an interrogative) and POVs flutter past you like confused moths. And every action is given a deliberate gravity that never let me sink into even the characters who kept emerging on top. If I flexed my literary analysis muscles, I'm sure I could come up with a good reason for this, but as a reade
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Sep 18, 2011
Emily
rated it:
This is an odd little book. It started out very slowly, and for the first hundred pages or so, I kept thinking “yeah, I’m going to go read something else...after the next few pages.” But I didn’t; I kept reading and suddenly I looked down to find that there were only twenty pages yet, but I really didn’t want the book to end. The last chapter is absolutely beautiful.
I’ve seen the words ‘heartbreakingly beautiful” applied to The Returning. It’d be nice if I hadn’t seen them because More...
I’ve seen the words ‘heartbreakingly beautiful” applied to The Returning. It’d be nice if I hadn’t seen them because More...
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Jul 24, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Sometimes I read a book and think, hmmm, I wonder if this will show up on the Printz list. And I think this Junior Library Guild selection might. As I was reading it, I got a little confused. It's a medieval-ish world, but there aren't any magical elements. It seems British, but I may be way off with that one.
Cam comes home from the arm missing an arm, but he also just doesn't fit back into his old life. He can't stop thinking about the Uplander lord who sliced off his arm and then s More...
Cam comes home from the arm missing an arm, but he also just doesn't fit back into his old life. He can't stop thinking about the Uplander lord who sliced off his arm and then s More...
May 02, 2011
Joy
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 04, 2012
Jan
rated it:
Hinwood has created a fascinating world in this fantasy that won a Printz Honor.
From Amazon... "Cam Attling, having lost an arm, is the only one from his town of Kayforl to return after twelve years of war. All his fellow soldiers were slain, and suspicion surrounds him. When his betrothal to Graceful Fenister is called off and his role in the community questioned, Cam leaves to find the Uplander lord who maimed him but spared his life, seeking answers and a new place in the wo More...
From Amazon... "Cam Attling, having lost an arm, is the only one from his town of Kayforl to return after twelve years of war. All his fellow soldiers were slain, and suspicion surrounds him. When his betrothal to Graceful Fenister is called off and his role in the community questioned, Cam leaves to find the Uplander lord who maimed him but spared his life, seeking answers and a new place in the wo More...
Dec 04, 2011
Robyn
rated it:
Really, I would give The Returning 3.5 or 4 stars,because it is a lovely, lovely story. The challenge for me was becoming part of the world Hinwood creates, particularly the language of the characters. My brain worked diligently trying to find the patterns and meaning to the 'do's' and 'huh's'. (Perhaps this is partly a cultural gap I've stumbled into with Hinwood being Australian and English.) There were many times I finished reading a paragraph and just stared at the words thinking, "what
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Feb 07, 2012
Ellen
rated it:
I'm not really sure how to describe this book. It is not a book that will appeal to everyone. The language makes it a little challenging to "get in the flow" and the author leaves much for the reader to extrapolate/decide, and unlike so many books, the reader really doesn't know where the story is going (low-predictability), and some readers find predictability comforting. Once I stopping trying to fight with the words on the page, I fell into the flow of the story - it's not fast p
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May 18, 2011
Mariel
rated it: 
I pickedit up from the library thinking it might be vaguely interesting, as no one has ever really written about the aftermath of war, but I was highly disappointed. I couldn't find a plot after getting 80 pages into this 300 page novel. The point of view is always switching to the point I'm rereading pages going 'Wait- who is thinking this again?!'. The characters didn't have enough background at all from those 80 pages I did read, and personally, the main character shouldn't be so vague and ha
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May 15, 2011
Mary
rated it:
What happens after a war to a mythical medieval land when the soldiers come home and everyone must adjust to a new lord. After six years of fighting, the war between the Uplanders and the Downlanders is over. How will everyone adjust to their new lives and aliiances.
I believe Graceling fans will relate to this book since it centers on a strong female character, Graceful, and an interesting male character, Cam Attling. At first it was tough going trying to figure out the characters since t More...
I believe Graceling fans will relate to this book since it centers on a strong female character, Graceful, and an interesting male character, Cam Attling. At first it was tough going trying to figure out the characters since t More...
Oct 12, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
Promising start but ultimately unsatisfying tale of war. Cam returns to his hometown without an arm and the other soldiers with whom he fought. As the sole survivor, Cam rarely talks about the war which leads some townsfolk to gossip about his true devotion.
The book contains too many characters that don't get their stories fully flushed out. Once such character is Ban, a local boy with a crush on Cam. His story was the most interesting of all, yet I feel it just got dropped.
T More...
The book contains too many characters that don't get their stories fully flushed out. Once such character is Ban, a local boy with a crush on Cam. His story was the most interesting of all, yet I feel it just got dropped.
T More...
Oct 31, 2011
Maureen
rated it:
I picked this one up without knowing much about it because the blurb on the front was from Megan Whalen Turner, and the one on the back was from Melina Marchetta. Normally I don’t pay much attention to blurbs, but TWO of my favorite authors? I clearly needed to read this. I really liked it, the slow deepening of relationships and complexity. The style reminds me a bit of the Earthsea books, in that it is very removed. One note–I was surprised by a particular scene at the end, which was suddenly
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Jul 31, 2011
Jen
rated it:
Teen novel about a village and its inhabitants who have to come to terms with the new lord Ryuu from the north. The village folk are going through many changes as a result of the war - Cam has returned without an arm, Uplander refugees have settled on the outskirts of the village, Graceful's family have broken her long term engagement to betroth her to the new lord.
Told in a very simple style almost like a fable. Took a bit for all the strands to come together, but the end product is More...
Told in a very simple style almost like a fable. Took a bit for all the strands to come together, but the end product is More...
Nov 25, 2011
Crowinator
rated it:
This is one of those books that is deceptively simple on the surface, but is actually quite complex when it comes time to describe or classify it. I put it on the "historical" and "fantasy" shelf, though it doesn't really fit on either of those shelves. It doesn't fit on any of my genre shelves, actually, and it reminds me quite strongly of Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now in many ways; not in its language, of course, but in its themes of war, loss, and family, as well as its time
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Apr 20, 2011
Brandy
rated it:
Review originally posted here.
I did something with The Returning by Christine Hinwood that I never do with debut novels. I preodered it. Why? Well, if you look at the back of the US hardcover you will find quotes by two authors who praise highly the characters and themes of the story. Those two authors are Megan Whalen Turner and Melina Marchetta. Little wonder I wanted to read it. I can see why the book would appeal to these two. Hinwood has the same ability to convey much w More...
I did something with The Returning by Christine Hinwood that I never do with debut novels. I preodered it. Why? Well, if you look at the back of the US hardcover you will find quotes by two authors who praise highly the characters and themes of the story. Those two authors are Megan Whalen Turner and Melina Marchetta. Little wonder I wanted to read it. I can see why the book would appeal to these two. Hinwood has the same ability to convey much w More...
Sep 24, 2011
Trisha
rated it:
Slow narrative building, detailed character building, intricate world building. Have patience with this one. The pay off will happen. Cam & Graceful are on separate journeys, but their stories collide, and they beautifully reflect the choices their country has to make on the road to recovery after war has devastated it. The language will draw you in, the atmosphere will keep you going, and the strength of the two main characters will carry you through to the satisfying conclusion.
Jun 27, 2011
Emily
rated it:
I would actually say three and a half stars on this one. I picked it up because of glowing reviews from two of my favs, Meghan Whalen Turner and Melina Marchetta. But I struggled with it throughout. It is beautifully written and the world is very convincing, I just couldn't quite get into it. There were chapters that were gorgeous and emotional, and then some I had to force myself through. When they introduced a new character (the chapters are all told from different perspectives) on page 125 I
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Feb 11, 2012
Shelley
rated it:
Three hundred pages of reading I'll never get back.
This book was like walking on a path that keeps getting longer and longer; then when you finally see the end in sight, you discover the end is a sharp drop off a cliff and you wonder where the path went. I enjoyed the character development, except one, Ban. He seems to have been inserted into the story for no apparent reason other than having a token gay character (in a medieval story?).
I was so ambivalent about the book when I was More...
This book was like walking on a path that keeps getting longer and longer; then when you finally see the end in sight, you discover the end is a sharp drop off a cliff and you wonder where the path went. I enjoyed the character development, except one, Ban. He seems to have been inserted into the story for no apparent reason other than having a token gay character (in a medieval story?).
I was so ambivalent about the book when I was More...
Oct 10, 2011
MJ
rated it:
Book jacket says "for Cam Attling, the war is both an ending and a beginning." Good description. It's not exactly fantasy but takes place in what seems like someone's historical time.
Many likeable characters are introduced and lots of fill in over the course of 15 years. This books has an epic feel although it's only 300 pages long (oh, I thought it was only about 150 pages it read so quickly).
I look forward to the next installment.
Many likeable characters are introduced and lots of fill in over the course of 15 years. This books has an epic feel although it's only 300 pages long (oh, I thought it was only about 150 pages it read so quickly).
I look forward to the next installment.
Oct 25, 2011
Natoshia
rated it:
I did enjoy the book, but it was a bit difficult to get into because of the way it was written. The texture of the sentence structure was tricky to figure out. However, by the end of the book I didn't even notice it. I'm not sure if it is because I became used to the strange words and the out-of-order of them in the sentences or if she really did make it less unusual by the end?
Jul 06, 2011
Novia
rated it:
Something about this book rubs me the wrong way. Maybe because its been a while since I've read such books, but there was never this problem. Of me being so irritated with the language, and the style of writing. Even the title of each chapter is getting to me.
But feel free to read it and explain it to me, because the storyline IS somewhat interesting.
But feel free to read it and explain it to me, because the storyline IS somewhat interesting.
Feb 08, 2012
Paula
rated it:
This was not a book I warmed to instantly; I kept reading because it had been awarded the Printz honor. Once the storyline became focused and less fragmented it became much more compelling. The poetic language, while often beautiful, required careful attention in order to follow what was happening. While Cam remained an interesting character, I was most drawn to the women--Graceful and Pin.
May 30, 2011
I had to stop reading this book. It was way to confusing and the words and the way it was written just annoyed me. It just wasn't the right book for me but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it out for yourself.
Dec 18, 2011
Celine
rated it:
I found this quite hard to stick with at the beginning and probably wouldn't have kept reading had it not been recommended to me by someone I trust. (It was the writing style I think - it felt very distancing and it was hard for me to engage with the characters) HOWEVER if you do stick with this book ( and please do)you'll be treated to a very rich fare indeed. Unusual and moving, very subtle and in all ways unexpected. I'd even call it a wise book. Lovely.
****
Top marks to the Austra More...
****
Top marks to the Austra More...
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Jun 21, 2011
Kathleen
rated it:
gorgeous. the language and the blending of what seemed like 2 or three different medieval cultures made the story very elegant, but also enables the reader to interpret the harshness of his life. Cam is a strong character, very determined and seemingly at terms with the hand he is dealt (no pun intended), but I did wish for more of his truer emotions. I got more emotion out of secondary characters Pin, his little sister, and Graceful, the young lady to whom his is first betrothed at the start of
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Jun 01, 2011
Ellen
rated it:
I understand and applaud the concept - intersecting lives in the aftermath of war, but I was never able to warm up to any of the characters. Beautiful cover though.
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Oct 17, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
Found this in the young adult section. Had complimentary phrases about it by an author I enjoy. I was disappointed and didn't finish.
