What do you think?
Rate this book
Inland
The psychological labyrinth of a young woman’s insidious connection to the sea, from the Edgar Award nominated author of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone.
Callie Morgan has long lived choked by the failure of her own lungs, the result of an elusive pulmonary illness that has plagued her since childhood. A childhood marked early by the drowning death of her mother—a death to which Callie was the sole witness. Her father has moved them inland, away from the memories of the California coast her mother loved so much and toward promises of recovery—and the escape of denial—in arid, landlocked air.
But after years of running away, the promise of a life-changing job for her father brings Callie and him back to the coast, to Florida, where Callie’s symptoms miraculously disappear. For once, life seems delightfully normal. But the ocean’s edge offers more than healing air … it holds a magnetic pull, drawing Callie closer and closer to the chilly, watery embrace that claimed her mother. Returned to the ocean, Callie comes of age and comes into a family destiny that holds generations of secrets and very few happy endings.
Callie Morgan has long lived choked by the failure of her own lungs, the result of an elusive pulmonary illness that has plagued her since childhood. A childhood marked early by the drowning death of her mother—a death to which Callie was the sole witness. Her father has moved them inland, away from the memories of the California coast her mother loved so much and toward promises of recovery—and the escape of denial—in arid, landlocked air.
But after years of running away, the promise of a life-changing job for her father brings Callie and him back to the coast, to Florida, where Callie’s symptoms miraculously disappear. For once, life seems delightfully normal. But the ocean’s edge offers more than healing air … it holds a magnetic pull, drawing Callie closer and closer to the chilly, watery embrace that claimed her mother. Returned to the ocean, Callie comes of age and comes into a family destiny that holds generations of secrets and very few happy endings.
388 pages, Hardcover
First published June 12, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
May 23, 2014
Inland was a mixed bag for me. On one hand I love the cryptic nature of books like these where part of the fun is how it plays with our imagination, but for this to work I have to turn the last page with some kind of stunned wonderment, and that did not happen here. While the writing is great and the magical realism feel with its eerie mystique is initially intriguing, I ended up being quite bored for the most part, and eventually underwhelmed in the end. I was left disappointed with no more than what I felt after I read the synopsis. Also, that epilogue/ending kinda confused me - if anyone can shed a light on what the heck it meant that'd be great O_O
This is the story of Callie who has lost her mother to the sea, and feels an inexplicable attraction to it herself. At first this novel completely gripped me. I loved how cryptic everything was, I loved the narrator's voice, and I especially loved the mysterious allure of this plot with this enchanted vibe that was mermaid-like, so it's unfortunate that it dragged on too long without letting threads unravel and, thus, lost its spark. The first part of the book takes us into Callie's fight to breathe. Since she moved away from the ocean, she's been in hospital after hospital and it's a conscious effort just to take a breath. This has made her a sort of pariah in every school she's been in. No one wants to get too close to the girl who's sickly. This was a great way to get to know Callie at her core. There was definitely no problem in character building. I found her voice compelling and her situation heartbreaking.
The second part of the book is by the ocean, where things get bizarre and kind of messed up. This is also where we start seeing a new side of Callie. One that's happier and healthier - at least physically. My favourite part of this book is easily the writing. It's poetic, yet simple, and Kat's ability to bring the setting to life is impressive; I could feel the ocean's beckoning nature through the pages and even smell its salty breeze. It made it easy to understand Callie's strange behaviour towards it - the magnetic pull she felt becomes palpable. Unfortunately, even with the pretty writing and eventual potency of its plot, my boredom took over after this initial fascination as the answers are not freely given. There's no give or take, it's all wonder and mystery and bewilderment that goes on for a bit too long without any real progress other than digging up more questions. Then after reading for what felt like ages, I was left underwhelmed with the ending. Being a fan of magical realism novels, I was not expecting complete closure, but I felt like the payoff was not worth the journey.
Another aspect I liked is how the book introduces the topics of grief and mental illness in a very unique way. It's not even made apparent or obvious for the most part, it's just one of the many undertones this novel suggests. But, again, there isn't enough of a closure to give this much of a meaning in the end. I was left with nothing but confusion and frustrations, not the enlightenment and impressed awe I am usually left with in these kinds of books.
This novel does have a lot to offer, but also could have been much more powerful if it was more balanced. I was bored for too long without any sense of progress or reward for me to be able to give it a higher rating, regrettably.
--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
This is the story of Callie who has lost her mother to the sea, and feels an inexplicable attraction to it herself. At first this novel completely gripped me. I loved how cryptic everything was, I loved the narrator's voice, and I especially loved the mysterious allure of this plot with this enchanted vibe that was mermaid-like, so it's unfortunate that it dragged on too long without letting threads unravel and, thus, lost its spark. The first part of the book takes us into Callie's fight to breathe. Since she moved away from the ocean, she's been in hospital after hospital and it's a conscious effort just to take a breath. This has made her a sort of pariah in every school she's been in. No one wants to get too close to the girl who's sickly. This was a great way to get to know Callie at her core. There was definitely no problem in character building. I found her voice compelling and her situation heartbreaking.
The second part of the book is by the ocean, where things get bizarre and kind of messed up. This is also where we start seeing a new side of Callie. One that's happier and healthier - at least physically. My favourite part of this book is easily the writing. It's poetic, yet simple, and Kat's ability to bring the setting to life is impressive; I could feel the ocean's beckoning nature through the pages and even smell its salty breeze. It made it easy to understand Callie's strange behaviour towards it - the magnetic pull she felt becomes palpable. Unfortunately, even with the pretty writing and eventual potency of its plot, my boredom took over after this initial fascination as the answers are not freely given. There's no give or take, it's all wonder and mystery and bewilderment that goes on for a bit too long without any real progress other than digging up more questions. Then after reading for what felt like ages, I was left underwhelmed with the ending. Being a fan of magical realism novels, I was not expecting complete closure, but I felt like the payoff was not worth the journey.
Another aspect I liked is how the book introduces the topics of grief and mental illness in a very unique way. It's not even made apparent or obvious for the most part, it's just one of the many undertones this novel suggests. But, again, there isn't enough of a closure to give this much of a meaning in the end. I was left with nothing but confusion and frustrations, not the enlightenment and impressed awe I am usually left with in these kinds of books.
This novel does have a lot to offer, but also could have been much more powerful if it was more balanced. I was bored for too long without any sense of progress or reward for me to be able to give it a higher rating, regrettably.
--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
April 25, 2015
In books, in songs, in stories love is a floating thing.
A falling thing. A flying thing. A good bye to all your little earthbound worries, as you soar heart-first toward a pink sky and your dangling feet forget to feel the ground.
Only I know, now: it isn’t like that at all.
Love is a sense of place. It’s effortless, no stumbling, no stammering,. It’s your own voice, quite but strong, and the sense that you can open your mouth, speak your mind, and never feel afraid.
A known quantity, a perfect fit.
It’s the thing that holds you tight to earth, fast and solid and sure. You feel it, and feel that it’s right and true, and you know exactly where you are:
Here
Moody and quiet and thoughtful, Inland is not a happy story told; there’s a general sense of longing on all their parts with varying basis. Callie Morgan longs for something as yet unnamed; her father longs for what isn’t anymore- his perfect wife and their happy family. Nessa knows what she cannot have and sees the futility in the same, instead works with what she’s dealt with, makes do and almost (but not quite) flourishes.
It's all so beautifully written, and is told by a girl -whose perspective had me doubting a host of things- who initiates things with her experiences of being alone as well as being lonely; and then weaves with those first more memories of a mother- recollections that are cloaked, like everything else in this the story is cloaked - in the unsure; second, the novelty and uncertainty of her present.
Her mother is a memory and she doubts what she remembers. It’s an uncertainty that extends to almost everything here. The new things she’s allowed and how she’s not quite ready to claim any of it- pointing out how “unreal” all the “normal” was for her. All of it is couched in a sense that there are things that are deserved but there’s also a whole lot more that aren’t. It’s her and a general sense of, “Mine. But why?” And later, “until when?”
Thank you, Penguin FtR!
July 15, 2015
REVIEW OF SAMPLER
5 Words: Descriptive, tragic, sea, mystery, death.
How I wish I had the whole of this book.
This is just a sampler provided by the publisher, a sneak peek if you will, and I quite enjoyed it. I would like to read on and find out exactly what happened and what is going to happen.
This is perhaps a little over-descriptive and although I usually like that, it was a little too much for such a short amount of writing. The flowery style will definitely suit a longer piece so perhaps I'll rate higher in future.
I only wish that this sampler had included a proper introduction to the main character, as pretty much everything about her is a complete mystery. What does she even look like?!
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
5 Words: Descriptive, tragic, sea, mystery, death.
How I wish I had the whole of this book.
This is just a sampler provided by the publisher, a sneak peek if you will, and I quite enjoyed it. I would like to read on and find out exactly what happened and what is going to happen.
This is perhaps a little over-descriptive and although I usually like that, it was a little too much for such a short amount of writing. The flowery style will definitely suit a longer piece so perhaps I'll rate higher in future.
I only wish that this sampler had included a proper introduction to the main character, as pretty much everything about her is a complete mystery. What does she even look like?!
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
April 19, 2015
Before reading:
Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it.
--
When I read Kat Rosenfield’s debut, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, I knew she would be an author I needed to watch out for. I was mesmerized by the beautiful language and the poetic writing of Amelia Anne, and let me tell you, Inland did not disappoint. Filled to the brim with the lush, heady atmosphere of the shores and the coarse but gentle language of the sea, Inland will sweep you away to a place that might seem familiar on the surface, but holds something magical inside.
Calypso “Callie” Morgan is a daughter of the sea, for better or for worse. Her mother drowned at a young age, and Callie, a child, was there to see it happen. Ever since, her father, stricken with grief, has moved them further and further inland, away from the sea and it’s magnetic lure. But no matter how far away they traveled, Callie is still drowning. Her lungs are filled with fluid, the doctors can’t figure out why, and her life is that of a lonely, ill drifter, with no friends and no anchors to tether her to any home.
Callie’s loneliness of the first half of the book is harrowing. Rosenfield has captured perfectly what it means to have no one who knows you, no one to turn to. Callie’s father is protective, but cold. He’s even sometimes mean; when he looks at her he sees her mother and his bitterness and resentment pull up to the surface. Callie can’t help but see it. So she falls in on herself, to her laptop and her headphones and her books. Until finally they are called to the coast once more, via a job Callie’s father can’t turn down. Everything changes for Callie and her evolution is amazing. Her illness is suddenly gone, and it’s like a weight is lifted off her chest. You can see through each passage how happy she is, happier each day, how she doesn’t take a single breath for granted. She was hopeful and healthy and finally felt whole again, closer to the shore, with a briny river in her backyard calling to her. Callie’s change was gradual and because of that, realistic. She didn’t just turn around in one day; she had to earn every victory. These small triumphs really shaped Callie’s character. You can follow a line from each of them to the next and see how she became who she was meant to be.
I hardly have to explain how beautiful the writing was. Inland is all atmosphere, from the arid dry deserts of Callie’s previous homes, to the swampy riverbanks of this new town that brings her life. You can hear the current of the river, smells that salty sea scent in the air. You can feel the hot sand beneath your feet, and you can feel the suffocating deep of the ocean. It’s all there for you, in each and every page, and like Callie to the ocean, you can’t escape its grasp.
Inland asks a lot of questions, and I can’t discuss a single one without spoilers. But I can tell you I love the magical realism feel of Inland and the twists in its plot. Don’t expect any concrete answers, though. There is much left for the reader to interpret herself.
I couldn’t decide between four and five stars for this one, and I’ll explain why. I do love open endings. I have no problem imagining beyond the last page and coming to my own conclusions. But this ending didn’t satisfy me. The penultimate chapter was amazing, even beautiful. It would have been the perfect ending. I even liked the epilogue a lot, though I’m not usually one for epilogues. But then the final chapter came and raised more questions than answers, and I didn’t really like that. Like I said, I was fine with not knowing for certain, but to bring up one more uncertainty left me feeling cheated. Finally, the romance was a little off: I didn’t really feel like I got to know Ben, so when they professed their feelings I just didn’t, well, feel it. But I do understand why the romance was there, and I think it served the plot beautifully. I just wish Callie had more chemistry with her chosen love interest.
Fans of AS King, Nova Ren Suma, and Jodi Lynn Anderson will love Kat Rosenfield’s sophomore novel. Inland will transport the readers to the swampy south, the sandy coasts, and dark and deep of the sea. With gorgeous writing and a protagonist worth rooting for, you simply can’t go wrong.
Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it. Omg I need it.
--
When I read Kat Rosenfield’s debut, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, I knew she would be an author I needed to watch out for. I was mesmerized by the beautiful language and the poetic writing of Amelia Anne, and let me tell you, Inland did not disappoint. Filled to the brim with the lush, heady atmosphere of the shores and the coarse but gentle language of the sea, Inland will sweep you away to a place that might seem familiar on the surface, but holds something magical inside.
Calypso “Callie” Morgan is a daughter of the sea, for better or for worse. Her mother drowned at a young age, and Callie, a child, was there to see it happen. Ever since, her father, stricken with grief, has moved them further and further inland, away from the sea and it’s magnetic lure. But no matter how far away they traveled, Callie is still drowning. Her lungs are filled with fluid, the doctors can’t figure out why, and her life is that of a lonely, ill drifter, with no friends and no anchors to tether her to any home.
Callie’s loneliness of the first half of the book is harrowing. Rosenfield has captured perfectly what it means to have no one who knows you, no one to turn to. Callie’s father is protective, but cold. He’s even sometimes mean; when he looks at her he sees her mother and his bitterness and resentment pull up to the surface. Callie can’t help but see it. So she falls in on herself, to her laptop and her headphones and her books. Until finally they are called to the coast once more, via a job Callie’s father can’t turn down. Everything changes for Callie and her evolution is amazing. Her illness is suddenly gone, and it’s like a weight is lifted off her chest. You can see through each passage how happy she is, happier each day, how she doesn’t take a single breath for granted. She was hopeful and healthy and finally felt whole again, closer to the shore, with a briny river in her backyard calling to her. Callie’s change was gradual and because of that, realistic. She didn’t just turn around in one day; she had to earn every victory. These small triumphs really shaped Callie’s character. You can follow a line from each of them to the next and see how she became who she was meant to be.
I hardly have to explain how beautiful the writing was. Inland is all atmosphere, from the arid dry deserts of Callie’s previous homes, to the swampy riverbanks of this new town that brings her life. You can hear the current of the river, smells that salty sea scent in the air. You can feel the hot sand beneath your feet, and you can feel the suffocating deep of the ocean. It’s all there for you, in each and every page, and like Callie to the ocean, you can’t escape its grasp.
Inland asks a lot of questions, and I can’t discuss a single one without spoilers. But I can tell you I love the magical realism feel of Inland and the twists in its plot. Don’t expect any concrete answers, though. There is much left for the reader to interpret herself.
I couldn’t decide between four and five stars for this one, and I’ll explain why. I do love open endings. I have no problem imagining beyond the last page and coming to my own conclusions. But this ending didn’t satisfy me. The penultimate chapter was amazing, even beautiful. It would have been the perfect ending. I even liked the epilogue a lot, though I’m not usually one for epilogues. But then the final chapter came and raised more questions than answers, and I didn’t really like that. Like I said, I was fine with not knowing for certain, but to bring up one more uncertainty left me feeling cheated. Finally, the romance was a little off: I didn’t really feel like I got to know Ben, so when they professed their feelings I just didn’t, well, feel it. But I do understand why the romance was there, and I think it served the plot beautifully. I just wish Callie had more chemistry with her chosen love interest.
Fans of AS King, Nova Ren Suma, and Jodi Lynn Anderson will love Kat Rosenfield’s sophomore novel. Inland will transport the readers to the swampy south, the sandy coasts, and dark and deep of the sea. With gorgeous writing and a protagonist worth rooting for, you simply can’t go wrong.
February 9, 2017
"Just be careful, Callie," she'd whispered. "Be careful. This boy will want to keep you."
Sometimes a book is so good you can be speechless and actually struggle to write a review. That's me...right now.
I think this book is odd - it's definitely different. But that is NOT what kept me reading. It's not even why this is a 5 star book. The writing . The writing is very very very good. It's lyrical and long and windy when Callie is happy. It's short, abrupt and stunted when she can't breath.
It's beautiful in the way it can make you smell the salty air, feel the Florida sun and feel Callie's complete isolation. Amazing to be so affected by a story.
I hope Kat Rosenfield writes many many more stories. I will gobble them up.
Sometimes a book is so good you can be speechless and actually struggle to write a review. That's me...right now.
I think this book is odd - it's definitely different. But that is NOT what kept me reading. It's not even why this is a 5 star book. The writing . The writing is very very very good. It's lyrical and long and windy when Callie is happy. It's short, abrupt and stunted when she can't breath.
It's beautiful in the way it can make you smell the salty air, feel the Florida sun and feel Callie's complete isolation. Amazing to be so affected by a story.
I hope Kat Rosenfield writes many many more stories. I will gobble them up.
July 13, 2014
Calypso Morgan and the other members of her family are married to the sea. More to the point, they are in an abusive relationship with the sea, with a very skewed power dynamic. Navy men, surfers, marine biologists, everyone in her family is tied to the sea, and if they try to leave, bad things happen.
Her mother was reclaimed by the ocean when she was 6 - punished for greedily becoming too attached to her husband and family and making the ocean jealous. Her grieving father moved with Callie to New Mexico, Wyoming, and other boring inland places, where Callie, far from her life-giving parent/lover, became like a wheezing beached whale, drowning on land, in and out of the hospital with lung-related ailments. She is invisible or worse to the people at the schools she attends (but never for long).
Callie's father, a scientist and engineer, never wants to live near the ocean after it slurped away his beautiful young wife. But when some oil company bigwig drives a dump truck full of money up to his house to get him to help clean up the aftermath of a Gulf Coast oil spill (that sounds suspiciously like the one caused by BP), he reluctantly moves Callie to Florida, where they have a sweet house, a great school, and the best of hospital care for Callie. She doesn't need it for long, though, because the moist ocean air nourishes her in ways she desperately needed. Her lungs start behaving, her skin clears up, she loses weight, she becomes attractive and healthy and people at her new school like her right away. She even starts dating an handsome and nice classmate, Ben.
Her aunt Nessa, her mom's sister and a California surf instructor, cryptically tries to warn Callie that she can't get too attached to earth things because she wasn't meant to stay here. But she never spells it out explicitly, and Callie doesn't really understand the message. But she slowly starts to hear the call of the sea, and realizes that something is wrong with her. But what?
Just like Kat Rosenfield's last book, the spectacular Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, everything in this book can be read two different ways. Everything that happens is plausible and explainable with non-Tales From the Crypt explanations. Drownings, dreams, hallucinations, health problems, mental health issues, little girls with big imaginations and poor drawing skills. These things all happen. But the implication - the IMPLICATION, nudge nudge, is that Callie and her family are married to the sea in LITERAL way, and if they don't willingly return to it, it will punish them.
This book is supposed to be about mermaids. But when I read it, if I'm not just reading a book about a normal family of women who go crazy at some point in their adulthood, it's extremely reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft's story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but from the point of view of a person born in Innsmouth rather than an outsider. In that story, a man passing through a town discovers that the residents of this town have a bargain with The Deep Ones, a race of horrifying sea creatures, in which they receive prosperity in their fishing industry in exchange for participating in a gross interbreeding program. I'm not sure if Rosenfield has read this story or not, but I am a big Lovecraft fan, and I relished seeing this side of the story.
This book was lush and poetic without being annoyingly overwritten. I'm not sure a lot of teenagers would be into it: I remember being that age and being frustrated when a book teases you like this instead of spelling things out explicitly. And it's very creepy and disturbing, but not in the blood-and-guts way that a lot of kids are looking for. Nonetheless, I loved it, and I anxiously await more from Kat Rosenfield.
Her mother was reclaimed by the ocean when she was 6 - punished for greedily becoming too attached to her husband and family and making the ocean jealous. Her grieving father moved with Callie to New Mexico, Wyoming, and other boring inland places, where Callie, far from her life-giving parent/lover, became like a wheezing beached whale, drowning on land, in and out of the hospital with lung-related ailments. She is invisible or worse to the people at the schools she attends (but never for long).
Callie's father, a scientist and engineer, never wants to live near the ocean after it slurped away his beautiful young wife. But when some oil company bigwig drives a dump truck full of money up to his house to get him to help clean up the aftermath of a Gulf Coast oil spill (that sounds suspiciously like the one caused by BP), he reluctantly moves Callie to Florida, where they have a sweet house, a great school, and the best of hospital care for Callie. She doesn't need it for long, though, because the moist ocean air nourishes her in ways she desperately needed. Her lungs start behaving, her skin clears up, she loses weight, she becomes attractive and healthy and people at her new school like her right away. She even starts dating an handsome and nice classmate, Ben.
Her aunt Nessa, her mom's sister and a California surf instructor, cryptically tries to warn Callie that she can't get too attached to earth things because she wasn't meant to stay here. But she never spells it out explicitly, and Callie doesn't really understand the message. But she slowly starts to hear the call of the sea, and realizes that something is wrong with her. But what?
Just like Kat Rosenfield's last book, the spectacular Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, everything in this book can be read two different ways. Everything that happens is plausible and explainable with non-Tales From the Crypt explanations. Drownings, dreams, hallucinations, health problems, mental health issues, little girls with big imaginations and poor drawing skills. These things all happen. But the implication - the IMPLICATION, nudge nudge, is that Callie and her family are married to the sea in LITERAL way, and if they don't willingly return to it, it will punish them.
This book is supposed to be about mermaids. But when I read it, if I'm not just reading a book about a normal family of women who go crazy at some point in their adulthood, it's extremely reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft's story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but from the point of view of a person born in Innsmouth rather than an outsider. In that story, a man passing through a town discovers that the residents of this town have a bargain with The Deep Ones, a race of horrifying sea creatures, in which they receive prosperity in their fishing industry in exchange for participating in a gross interbreeding program. I'm not sure if Rosenfield has read this story or not, but I am a big Lovecraft fan, and I relished seeing this side of the story.
This book was lush and poetic without being annoyingly overwritten. I'm not sure a lot of teenagers would be into it: I remember being that age and being frustrated when a book teases you like this instead of spelling things out explicitly. And it's very creepy and disturbing, but not in the blood-and-guts way that a lot of kids are looking for. Nonetheless, I loved it, and I anxiously await more from Kat Rosenfield.
March 18, 2014
Kind of has a magical realism feel to it! Cool. Another good one from Kat Rosenfield.
September 2, 2014
Oh, Inland, what we had was a classic case of a Love/Hate relationship.
When I picked up this book, I was extremely excited. Well-written mermaid books are few and far between (what a crime!) in the YA world. So, as expected, I was thrilled to see a new take on the classic tale sitting on the New Releases shelf. Unfortunately, while I raved over certain aspects of this book, others made me want to throw the novel across the room.
Let’s start with the positives. I adored the way this book was written. It felt like it had its own rhythm, a cadence, unlike anything else I had encountered. Reading this book was like listening to the ocean tell me a story. As if I had picked up a seashell and heard a fairytale instead of waves. Simply put, It was a beautifully written book.
A second thing that Inland did right was reviving the mermaid mythos. These water women were scary. The book acted on all your fears of a big bad something living down below the waves. I actually questioned taking that trip to the beach this summer because of this book!
However, I did have three major disappointments regarding to this book. Now, disclaimer, I’m 100% positive that my review doesn’t reflect the opinions of everyone who has read or will read this book. These are just the few things that I had trouble enjoying.
First off: I wasn’t in love with the story line. It seemed like we spent a lot of time sitting stagnate waiting for something to happen. All the real action happened in the last 50 pages. That was only a sixth of the entire story! There were a good few plot lines that weren’t important and could’ve been tossed in favor of actual plot progression. I often found my eyes wandering to the bottom of the page looking for something interesting to occur.
Secondly, the characters were not exactly the world's most diverse cast. It was as if the book went through and tried check off as many YA Character tropes as it could. We had the classic mean girl who wants the heroine to step off her super hot man and if I remembered their names, I swear I would tell you. Next up was the giggly best friend who makes snarky comments and is eternally peppy. Crap... what was her name again? We were also treated to the loving boyfriend trope. When he wasn't being overly creepy to the point of obsessive he was having fun twiddling his thumbs in the background of the scene. His name was... Peter? Adam? Daniel? No, No! Ben! That was it. I think his name was Ben... or maybe Paul. Oh! Don't forget the overprotective father (I do remember his name, "Twaddle", because I spit out whatever drink I had in my mouth at the time I came across it) and the cool hippie aunt! Every YA book needs a few of those running around.
This cast's only saving grace was Callie, our heroine. We got to watch her spiral out of control as the pull of the sea grew stronger. There were times that I felt like I was descending into madness right along with her. The authoress did a fantastic job of keeping her just sane enough that when she snapped it made you feel horribly startled and uneasy.
Lastly, and I know a few others agree with me on this point, was the ending. I won’t go into spoilers, not because I want to save you the excitement, but because I don’t have any spoilers. I was completely clueless. I flipped back and forth, reading and rereading for a good fifteen minutes before I gave up, put the book down, and put my head in my hands. It was as if the book was trying so hard to stay mysterious and cryptic that it forgot that people other than the author (who obviously knew where it was going, unlike the rest of us) would be reading it. I’m still trolling the Internet looking for someone to explain it to me.
All in all, while, I may have had my issues with Inland, there’s no denying it was a beautifully written novel with terrifying mermaids who'll smile at you and then rip your face off. Just, how about next time we spend more time on those awesome mermaids and less time on how many times Bitchbot 2.0 glared at Callie for accidentally sneezing in the vicinity of her walking piece of man-meat.
When I picked up this book, I was extremely excited. Well-written mermaid books are few and far between (what a crime!) in the YA world. So, as expected, I was thrilled to see a new take on the classic tale sitting on the New Releases shelf. Unfortunately, while I raved over certain aspects of this book, others made me want to throw the novel across the room.
Let’s start with the positives. I adored the way this book was written. It felt like it had its own rhythm, a cadence, unlike anything else I had encountered. Reading this book was like listening to the ocean tell me a story. As if I had picked up a seashell and heard a fairytale instead of waves. Simply put, It was a beautifully written book.
A second thing that Inland did right was reviving the mermaid mythos. These water women were scary. The book acted on all your fears of a big bad something living down below the waves. I actually questioned taking that trip to the beach this summer because of this book!
However, I did have three major disappointments regarding to this book. Now, disclaimer, I’m 100% positive that my review doesn’t reflect the opinions of everyone who has read or will read this book. These are just the few things that I had trouble enjoying.
First off: I wasn’t in love with the story line. It seemed like we spent a lot of time sitting stagnate waiting for something to happen. All the real action happened in the last 50 pages. That was only a sixth of the entire story! There were a good few plot lines that weren’t important and could’ve been tossed in favor of actual plot progression. I often found my eyes wandering to the bottom of the page looking for something interesting to occur.
Secondly, the characters were not exactly the world's most diverse cast. It was as if the book went through and tried check off as many YA Character tropes as it could. We had the classic mean girl who wants the heroine to step off her super hot man and if I remembered their names, I swear I would tell you. Next up was the giggly best friend who makes snarky comments and is eternally peppy. Crap... what was her name again? We were also treated to the loving boyfriend trope. When he wasn't being overly creepy to the point of obsessive he was having fun twiddling his thumbs in the background of the scene. His name was... Peter? Adam? Daniel? No, No! Ben! That was it. I think his name was Ben... or maybe Paul. Oh! Don't forget the overprotective father (I do remember his name, "Twaddle", because I spit out whatever drink I had in my mouth at the time I came across it) and the cool hippie aunt! Every YA book needs a few of those running around.
This cast's only saving grace was Callie, our heroine. We got to watch her spiral out of control as the pull of the sea grew stronger. There were times that I felt like I was descending into madness right along with her. The authoress did a fantastic job of keeping her just sane enough that when she snapped it made you feel horribly startled and uneasy.
Lastly, and I know a few others agree with me on this point, was the ending. I won’t go into spoilers, not because I want to save you the excitement, but because I don’t have any spoilers. I was completely clueless. I flipped back and forth, reading and rereading for a good fifteen minutes before I gave up, put the book down, and put my head in my hands. It was as if the book was trying so hard to stay mysterious and cryptic that it forgot that people other than the author (who obviously knew where it was going, unlike the rest of us) would be reading it. I’m still trolling the Internet looking for someone to explain it to me.
All in all, while, I may have had my issues with Inland, there’s no denying it was a beautifully written novel with terrifying mermaids who'll smile at you and then rip your face off. Just, how about next time we spend more time on those awesome mermaids and less time on how many times Bitchbot 2.0 glared at Callie for accidentally sneezing in the vicinity of her walking piece of man-meat.
February 19, 2015
Find this review and more on my blog, Jessie Marie Reads.
****************************
I wanted to read Inland from the moment I saw that first sentence of the synopsis: “The psychological labyrinth of a young woman’s insidious connection to the sea…”. Truly, I was hooked from that moment and saved up my points on Penguin’s First to Read to guarantee my access to this book. But beyond that sentence, I wasn’t convinced on what this book was about. Even after finishing reading it, I’m still fuzzy on the details, but it’s in a good way.
Inland tells the story of Calypso “Callie” Morgan, a sickly young woman whose mother drowned in the sea in front of her eyes when Callie was young. Callie’s father, a professor, picks up the remnants of their family and moves them to wherever he can away from the ocean. Callie has a condition that is unexplained by doctors but results in the frequent collapse of her lungs, rendering Callie literally breathless. In and out of hospitals, Callie’s social life is nonexistent and it’s apparent from the start that she’s longing, and sad, and miserable. Unwilling to end her life, but wishing it was over… or had never begun.
Things take an unexpected change when Callie’s dad takes a job in Florida and the Morgans are reunited with large bodies of water. Callie begins to thrive in this environment. She has friends, a romantic interest and her health improves. But it’s not all roses. There’s a thread of darkness simply built into Callie and the psychological aspect of this novel leaps off from there.
I really don’t want to spoil things because Inland is genius in its secrets and the myriad ways in which each reader can interpret events. But suffice to say that this book plays with your mind. I had theories for a page that were completely dismantled on the next. Just when I became sure of someone’s identity or role in this story, Rosenfield turned the world upside down again. And I loved it. Avid readers across the globe agree – eventually, we get really good at guessing the endgame, without really meaning to. Inland shakes things up and reminds me of what suspense novels are supposed to feel like.
Not only does the story send readers for a trip and make one question everything, but it’s so dark and gothic. Callie is the very definition of melancholy personified, even when her world starts looking up. Her father, though cold and a bit distant, is much the same. The book constantly refers to the ocean as a living, tangible thing, rather than an idea or the conglomeration of simple elements. My heart broke when Callie first comes into contact with the ocean because the scene is equal parts liberating and devastating. It’s quite possibly the result of the secretive nature of this book, but I consistently felt as though I was missing something, longing for it so desperately but was just barely out of reach. The tone of this book definitely resonates and flows off the pages.
I have finished this book and there is still no definitive answer in my mind. And you may be asking: “What is the question that she’s alluding to, having need for an answer?” That’s the perfection in magical realism coupled with psychological thriller. Add Kat Rosenfield’s masterful writing and character development and you have a recipe for mysterious uncertainty that’s bound to delight. Inland plays with mythologies without ever really settling on one. It tugs at your psyche and makes you think about your beliefs and interpretations.
I haven’t read Kat Rosenfield’s debut, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, but I will. And everything else she ever writes ever. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, this book is good. And I mean GOOD. Get your hands on it when you can. Books like these define why I read.
****************************
I wanted to read Inland from the moment I saw that first sentence of the synopsis: “The psychological labyrinth of a young woman’s insidious connection to the sea…”. Truly, I was hooked from that moment and saved up my points on Penguin’s First to Read to guarantee my access to this book. But beyond that sentence, I wasn’t convinced on what this book was about. Even after finishing reading it, I’m still fuzzy on the details, but it’s in a good way.
Inland tells the story of Calypso “Callie” Morgan, a sickly young woman whose mother drowned in the sea in front of her eyes when Callie was young. Callie’s father, a professor, picks up the remnants of their family and moves them to wherever he can away from the ocean. Callie has a condition that is unexplained by doctors but results in the frequent collapse of her lungs, rendering Callie literally breathless. In and out of hospitals, Callie’s social life is nonexistent and it’s apparent from the start that she’s longing, and sad, and miserable. Unwilling to end her life, but wishing it was over… or had never begun.
Things take an unexpected change when Callie’s dad takes a job in Florida and the Morgans are reunited with large bodies of water. Callie begins to thrive in this environment. She has friends, a romantic interest and her health improves. But it’s not all roses. There’s a thread of darkness simply built into Callie and the psychological aspect of this novel leaps off from there.
I really don’t want to spoil things because Inland is genius in its secrets and the myriad ways in which each reader can interpret events. But suffice to say that this book plays with your mind. I had theories for a page that were completely dismantled on the next. Just when I became sure of someone’s identity or role in this story, Rosenfield turned the world upside down again. And I loved it. Avid readers across the globe agree – eventually, we get really good at guessing the endgame, without really meaning to. Inland shakes things up and reminds me of what suspense novels are supposed to feel like.
Not only does the story send readers for a trip and make one question everything, but it’s so dark and gothic. Callie is the very definition of melancholy personified, even when her world starts looking up. Her father, though cold and a bit distant, is much the same. The book constantly refers to the ocean as a living, tangible thing, rather than an idea or the conglomeration of simple elements. My heart broke when Callie first comes into contact with the ocean because the scene is equal parts liberating and devastating. It’s quite possibly the result of the secretive nature of this book, but I consistently felt as though I was missing something, longing for it so desperately but was just barely out of reach. The tone of this book definitely resonates and flows off the pages.
I have finished this book and there is still no definitive answer in my mind. And you may be asking: “What is the question that she’s alluding to, having need for an answer?” That’s the perfection in magical realism coupled with psychological thriller. Add Kat Rosenfield’s masterful writing and character development and you have a recipe for mysterious uncertainty that’s bound to delight. Inland plays with mythologies without ever really settling on one. It tugs at your psyche and makes you think about your beliefs and interpretations.
I haven’t read Kat Rosenfield’s debut, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, but I will. And everything else she ever writes ever. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, this book is good. And I mean GOOD. Get your hands on it when you can. Books like these define why I read.
July 27, 2014
DNF @ 110 pages.
"Her husband could have her body, but not her heart. Never her heart. That was how it would happen, because that was what she'd planned. Because her heart had been claimed by another. It always had been, and would be forever. It was as she had promised, that first night on the shore, still in her bone-white wedding gown."
I haven't become the black sheep with this book. Many people have disliked this book, and I agree with all of you out there. I almost didn't pick this book up at the library, but then decided to because the psychological premise caught my attention. I usually adore those sorts of books, but this was just a downer, sadly.
Callie Morgan is pretending to forget. Pretending to forget about the drowning death of her mother, a death that Callie actually witnessed. Her father moved them away from the trouble and from the setting of that day, and they've been moving around ever since, but never to the water. They unexpectedly move to Florida, where Callie's symptoms go away. The ocean's pull begins to draw Callie closer to the water that holds many secrets.
This book was very strange and messed up. I didn't enjoy it, adding to the fact that it was strange itself and I saw something more than psychological... I get the fact that there was some paranormal aspects included, but it was all too strange and confusing for me to handle. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for something dark and deeper than expected. The concept wasn't built up straight, and from the 110 pages that I read, I had no idea what was happening. So I just left the book, and I didn't care how it would end up.
One of the things I did love was the beautiful writing. Not many authors write like this, and Kat Rosenfield is definitely a unique writer. The way she writes is very flowingly and gorgeous. It sounds very historically inclined and dark, suiting the subject.
The book bored me. I just didn't care what was happening or who it was happening to. If you get those sort of signs when reading, that really means that you should gear yourself away from the book.
Of course, Callie was a very weak character, especially coming from her condition. She wasn't strong and intelligent, and wasn't too likeable.
I vowed that I would at least read 100 pages before giving up, and that's when I did. I recommend this if you're a person who doesn't give up on bad books easily, because who knows, maybe it would improve for me if I kept on going.
"Her husband could have her body, but not her heart. Never her heart. That was how it would happen, because that was what she'd planned. Because her heart had been claimed by another. It always had been, and would be forever. It was as she had promised, that first night on the shore, still in her bone-white wedding gown."
I haven't become the black sheep with this book. Many people have disliked this book, and I agree with all of you out there. I almost didn't pick this book up at the library, but then decided to because the psychological premise caught my attention. I usually adore those sorts of books, but this was just a downer, sadly.
Callie Morgan is pretending to forget. Pretending to forget about the drowning death of her mother, a death that Callie actually witnessed. Her father moved them away from the trouble and from the setting of that day, and they've been moving around ever since, but never to the water. They unexpectedly move to Florida, where Callie's symptoms go away. The ocean's pull begins to draw Callie closer to the water that holds many secrets.
This book was very strange and messed up. I didn't enjoy it, adding to the fact that it was strange itself and I saw something more than psychological... I get the fact that there was some paranormal aspects included, but it was all too strange and confusing for me to handle. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for something dark and deeper than expected. The concept wasn't built up straight, and from the 110 pages that I read, I had no idea what was happening. So I just left the book, and I didn't care how it would end up.
One of the things I did love was the beautiful writing. Not many authors write like this, and Kat Rosenfield is definitely a unique writer. The way she writes is very flowingly and gorgeous. It sounds very historically inclined and dark, suiting the subject.
The book bored me. I just didn't care what was happening or who it was happening to. If you get those sort of signs when reading, that really means that you should gear yourself away from the book.
Of course, Callie was a very weak character, especially coming from her condition. She wasn't strong and intelligent, and wasn't too likeable.
I vowed that I would at least read 100 pages before giving up, and that's when I did. I recommend this if you're a person who doesn't give up on bad books easily, because who knows, maybe it would improve for me if I kept on going.
July 13, 2015
3.5 Stars
Kat Rosenfield plays here with what: schizophrenia, nymphs or soemthing else? I couldn´t figure it out - and I´ve read this book all the way through it.
Style and Language
Callie is a little girl, when she witnesses the suicide of her mother. Short after that her father moves with her into another town and for Callie begins a long way of suffering and illness. The more they move away from the coast, the sicker becomes Callie. Her lungs don´t wanna let the needed air in and breathing becomes very painful and dangerous for her. Her nightmares are another thing in her young and tortured life. But when father and daughter move back to the coast, everything changes for the better for Callie, and she can start living a normal life. She blooms, finds friends and even gets herself a boyfriend. But after a while it becomes clear, that something isn´t right at all. Callie hears a call, that only she can hear, and she finds herself in places, she never can remember how she got there in the first place. And when she and her boyfriend get into deadly trouble at sea, it is for her father quite clear that she´s not how she´s supposed to be – and he takes the consequences.
Kat Rosenfield is a genius when it comes to innuendos. Her novel is full of them. She only throws a few words into a scene, but never gives her reader a chance to discover the truth behind it. Or what Callie´s real problem is. If there´s a problem at all. Yes, in some ways the plot is a miracle and I have to admit that I wasn´t satisfied with the end. Not at all! The author lets the reader totally hanging in the air, brings even more questions out of nowhere and doesn´t answer any of them. The dull and exceeding poignant writing style doesn´t make it any better.
Characters
A father who´s kind of dead inside after his wife died, a girl who becomes more and more sick the further she´s brought away from the coast and family members who seem to have all the same kind of faith: only in the water they are able to be themselves.
If you love Disney´s Arielle and mermaids or nymphs in general, I suggest you don´t read this book. In this novel their aren´t what you want them to be, they’re not nice or beautiful and for sure not as helpful and generous as you know them out of other books.
Result
After I finished Inland, I was confused, a bit angry and somehow disappointed. What was this novel about again? If you like strange mystery, a weird plot, no answers to upcoming questions (neither from the characters nor you) and somehow crazy characters – this is yours! If not, don´t bother buying it.
The german version of my review is here to find:
http://www.leser-welt.de/index.php?op...
September 26, 2016
I honestly hated this book. The story line didn't appear to have a clear plot. There seemed to be no real point to the story. Maybe if the ending was some sort of revelation, a bigger meaning for the waste that was the 383 pages, but their wasn't. I had to force myself through this book, and I got nothing out of it.
January 30, 2019
Das war richtig gut! Kann diese niedrige Durchschnittsbewertung nicht nachvollziehen.
August 13, 2020
If I was impressed with Kat Rosenfield’s debut, that’s nothing compared to how I feel about Inland. This book is gorgeous and haunting and elegant: a wonderful, spellbinding story about a young woman who fights against her destiny only to learn it’s what she wanted all along. There is not a single thing out of place in this book. Nothing.
I suppose, if you wanted to, this could be classified as a mermaid book. But it’s not really that. It’s simply about women who take the sea as a lover, who love the sea more than they could ever love another human being. This is what Callie Morgan finds out, when her father’s job takes them back to the coast after a decade away. Proximity to the sea makes her healthier and happier, and learning to swim fills a place she didn’t know what was empty. But in the end, Callie has to make her choice: to deny part of who she is in order to fit in and have a normal life, or to give up everything she knows and loves to satisfy some inexplicable hunger inside. Inland portrays this journey with mesmerizing skill and intricacy—if we’re going to call this a mermaid book, we have to qualify it with “unlike any other mermaid book”.
Rosenfield’s prose is one of the best parts of this book. Her way with words is so undeniably atmospheric and engaging. The imagery and emotion in her descriptions is phenomenal. There are a lot of great things to be said about Inland, and the author’s undeniable talent should be right at the top of that list.
The other important thing to note about the book is how creative it is. In the beginning I expected this would be another frumpy girl discovers magical powers and a dark destiny but also meets a guy and then some stuff happens before romantically ever after. That’s what I thought Inland would be; I was okay with it because Rosenfield’s prose is so perfect. But, um, no. This is not at all like the typical YA paranormal novel that came of age after Twilight. This is something darker, subtler, more beautiful, and infinitely more rewarding. The final 20 pages are some of the best storytelling I’ve been privileged to read. The emotional turmoil Callie feels is so vivid, and the call of the sea and the dense, salty atmosphere are so unique and finely drawn, it was amazing. Inland is, simply, haunting.
I’ve read a lot of YA in my time, and I love that even as I start to feel like I’ve seen everything authors can come up with, something happens to surprise and thrill and enchant me all over again. Inland was a gorgeous, unforgettable novel, and it’s really cemented Kat Rosenfield’s status in my mind. Callie’s love affair with the sea is one not to be missed.
📌 . Blog | Review Database | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
I suppose, if you wanted to, this could be classified as a mermaid book. But it’s not really that. It’s simply about women who take the sea as a lover, who love the sea more than they could ever love another human being. This is what Callie Morgan finds out, when her father’s job takes them back to the coast after a decade away. Proximity to the sea makes her healthier and happier, and learning to swim fills a place she didn’t know what was empty. But in the end, Callie has to make her choice: to deny part of who she is in order to fit in and have a normal life, or to give up everything she knows and loves to satisfy some inexplicable hunger inside. Inland portrays this journey with mesmerizing skill and intricacy—if we’re going to call this a mermaid book, we have to qualify it with “unlike any other mermaid book”.
Rosenfield’s prose is one of the best parts of this book. Her way with words is so undeniably atmospheric and engaging. The imagery and emotion in her descriptions is phenomenal. There are a lot of great things to be said about Inland, and the author’s undeniable talent should be right at the top of that list.
The other important thing to note about the book is how creative it is. In the beginning I expected this would be another frumpy girl discovers magical powers and a dark destiny but also meets a guy and then some stuff happens before romantically ever after. That’s what I thought Inland would be; I was okay with it because Rosenfield’s prose is so perfect. But, um, no. This is not at all like the typical YA paranormal novel that came of age after Twilight. This is something darker, subtler, more beautiful, and infinitely more rewarding. The final 20 pages are some of the best storytelling I’ve been privileged to read. The emotional turmoil Callie feels is so vivid, and the call of the sea and the dense, salty atmosphere are so unique and finely drawn, it was amazing. Inland is, simply, haunting.
I’ve read a lot of YA in my time, and I love that even as I start to feel like I’ve seen everything authors can come up with, something happens to surprise and thrill and enchant me all over again. Inland was a gorgeous, unforgettable novel, and it’s really cemented Kat Rosenfield’s status in my mind. Callie’s love affair with the sea is one not to be missed.
📌 . Blog | Review Database | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
June 22, 2015
Autor: Kat Rosenfield
Erscheinungsjahr: 2015
Verlag: FJB
ISBN 978-3841421708
416 Seiten
Klappentext:
Callie Morgan hat Angst vor dem Wasser. Ihre Mutter ist ertrunken – Unfall oder Selbstmord? Durch eine mysteriöse Krankheit steigt das Wasser auch in ihrer Lunge. Doch als ihr Vater ausgerechnet im feuchtwarmen Florida einen Job annimmt, verschwinden die Symptome. Callie findet Freunde, ein Junge verliebt sich in sie. Aber das schicksalhafte Verhältnis ihrer Familie zum Wasser scheint sie zu verfolgen.
Meine Meinung:
Dieses Buch wollte ich eigentlich schon haben, seit es auf Englisch erschienen ist, aber irgendwie habe ich es nie gekauft. Als es jetzt auf Deutsch mit diesem wunderschönen Cover raus gekommen ist, musste ich es einfach lesen.
Im Buch geht es um Callie, deren Mutter im Meer ertrunken ist, als sie noch klein war. Seitdem zieht Callie mit ihrem Vater, der Professor ist, von Ort zu Ort, immer weit im Innern des Landes. Callie ist krank und hat seit ihrer Kindheit Probleme, zu atmen. Ein neuer Job bringt sie und ihren Vater allerdings in die Nähe der Küste. Und seitdem geht es Callie auf wundersame Weise besser. Und nicht nur das, das Meer ruft nach ihr…
Insgesamt bin ich leider eher enttäuscht von diesem Buch. Das Geheimnis darum, was mit Callie und ihrer Familie los ist, wird erst in den letzten Kapiteln gelüftet, was mich irgendwann echt genervt hat.
Bislang hatte es Callie schwer, Freunde zu finden, doch in ihrer neuen Heimatstadt geht das fast wie von selbst. Es gibt zwar einige Szenen mit ihren neuen Freunden, aber irgendwie bleibt das alles total oberflächlich.
Außerdem nörgelt Callie die ganze Zeit rum, bemitleidet sich selbst und will auch vom Leser bemitleidet werden.
Irgendwann ab der Hälfte oder im letzten Drittel beginnt Callie sich dann zu verändern (zum Negativen). Ab da an hat mir die Geschichte leider gar nicht mehr gefallen. Ich kann euch jetzt natürlich nicht sagen, warum, aber wie die Autorin das gelöst hat, hat mir einfach überhaupt nicht gefallen.
Und das Ende fand ich auch ein bisschen wirr, ein paar Fragen bleiben auf jeden Fall offen.
Fazit:
Generell fand ich die Geschichte eher düster und bedrückend. Es ist zwar nichts, was man häufiger liest, aber mich konnte es leider nicht überzeugen.
Erscheinungsjahr: 2015
Verlag: FJB
ISBN 978-3841421708
416 Seiten
Klappentext:
Callie Morgan hat Angst vor dem Wasser. Ihre Mutter ist ertrunken – Unfall oder Selbstmord? Durch eine mysteriöse Krankheit steigt das Wasser auch in ihrer Lunge. Doch als ihr Vater ausgerechnet im feuchtwarmen Florida einen Job annimmt, verschwinden die Symptome. Callie findet Freunde, ein Junge verliebt sich in sie. Aber das schicksalhafte Verhältnis ihrer Familie zum Wasser scheint sie zu verfolgen.
Meine Meinung:
Dieses Buch wollte ich eigentlich schon haben, seit es auf Englisch erschienen ist, aber irgendwie habe ich es nie gekauft. Als es jetzt auf Deutsch mit diesem wunderschönen Cover raus gekommen ist, musste ich es einfach lesen.
Im Buch geht es um Callie, deren Mutter im Meer ertrunken ist, als sie noch klein war. Seitdem zieht Callie mit ihrem Vater, der Professor ist, von Ort zu Ort, immer weit im Innern des Landes. Callie ist krank und hat seit ihrer Kindheit Probleme, zu atmen. Ein neuer Job bringt sie und ihren Vater allerdings in die Nähe der Küste. Und seitdem geht es Callie auf wundersame Weise besser. Und nicht nur das, das Meer ruft nach ihr…
Insgesamt bin ich leider eher enttäuscht von diesem Buch. Das Geheimnis darum, was mit Callie und ihrer Familie los ist, wird erst in den letzten Kapiteln gelüftet, was mich irgendwann echt genervt hat.
Bislang hatte es Callie schwer, Freunde zu finden, doch in ihrer neuen Heimatstadt geht das fast wie von selbst. Es gibt zwar einige Szenen mit ihren neuen Freunden, aber irgendwie bleibt das alles total oberflächlich.
Außerdem nörgelt Callie die ganze Zeit rum, bemitleidet sich selbst und will auch vom Leser bemitleidet werden.
Irgendwann ab der Hälfte oder im letzten Drittel beginnt Callie sich dann zu verändern (zum Negativen). Ab da an hat mir die Geschichte leider gar nicht mehr gefallen. Ich kann euch jetzt natürlich nicht sagen, warum, aber wie die Autorin das gelöst hat, hat mir einfach überhaupt nicht gefallen.
Und das Ende fand ich auch ein bisschen wirr, ein paar Fragen bleiben auf jeden Fall offen.
Fazit:
Generell fand ich die Geschichte eher düster und bedrückend. Es ist zwar nichts, was man häufiger liest, aber mich konnte es leider nicht überzeugen.
September 13, 2016
I have been staring at this blank space for 10 minutes now trying to decide how to put my thoughts into words. The best I can come up with are:
Awestruck.
Mesmerizing.
Beautiful.
Wow.
Kat Rosenfield's writing is so sooo beautiful! She has a way of pulling you into the story, immersing you into it in such a way that you feel everything right along with the narrator. When she was overwhelmed, I was overwhelmed. When she felt powerful longings, I almost got up to go with her wherever the longing led to. When she finally got something she was longing for, I felt like I got it too.
At first I didn't get the romance in this book. But in the end, I understood without a doubt that this is a love story that will stay with me. NOT in the way I expected, but in a way so much deeper.
An amazing story, written in language that will captivate you, I strongly suggest reading, no not reading, but experiencing this story in your own mind, living it out along with Callie.
Awestruck.
Mesmerizing.
Beautiful.
Wow.
Kat Rosenfield's writing is so sooo beautiful! She has a way of pulling you into the story, immersing you into it in such a way that you feel everything right along with the narrator. When she was overwhelmed, I was overwhelmed. When she felt powerful longings, I almost got up to go with her wherever the longing led to. When she finally got something she was longing for, I felt like I got it too.
At first I didn't get the romance in this book. But in the end, I understood without a doubt that this is a love story that will stay with me. NOT in the way I expected, but in a way so much deeper.
An amazing story, written in language that will captivate you, I strongly suggest reading, no not reading, but experiencing this story in your own mind, living it out along with Callie.
June 16, 2014
This could have been so good! The story was creatively drawn out; however, it fell flat a few times and does end up being highly confusing. The actual myth tied to this story is only skirted around and I think that if that had been fleshed out it would have given the story some substance. The main character loses her mother to drowning, and from that moment on her father keeps moving them away from the water. As time passes Callie’s lungs worsen and the only time they start getting better is when she is near the sea. The water calls to her the way it called to her mother so long ago. This is all so provocative, but at the end there is no resolution as to who in the sea is calling out to them, how did they end up on land, what is the bargain? Some stories that do the mermaid myth have an if, and then, clause: “If a mermaid has a child with a human, then that child must return to the sea after its first birthday.” This story did not have that much of a tie in with the myth.
2 out of 5 stars. Thank You to the Publisher for an ARC.
2 out of 5 stars. Thank You to the Publisher for an ARC.
January 12, 2015
4.5 stars!
This book was like a spiritual experience, the writing is absolutely incredible and the story is so much more than just the plot.
It's such a dark, mysterious, creepy, funny and emotional read! I'll gather my thoughts and explain them better soon!
This book was like a spiritual experience, the writing is absolutely incredible and the story is so much more than just the plot.
It's such a dark, mysterious, creepy, funny and emotional read! I'll gather my thoughts and explain them better soon!
May 22, 2019
Ever since her mother drowned and her father moved her inland, Callie has struggled to breathe. It's only when her father moves to near a river in Florida that Callie finds her asthma and panic attacks begin to abate. Along with the arrival of her aunt Nessa, Callie begins to explore the mystery of her mother Maera and how the water relates to both her mother's disappearance and Callie's illness. The water seems to be calling to Callie... only it seems there is something dangerous waiting to pull her under.
I had a feeling that this was about mermaids from the very beginning. The writing style took me a while to get used to; it's very poetic and mythical in style, and feels like a fairy tale at times. But these mermaids aren't like Ariel, they're much darker and the word "mermaid" isn't really used to describe them. I liked how the story is about independent women rather than the woman who gives up a part of herself for a man, but I also didn't really like Callie's attitude about her body for the first half of the book - she constantly thinks of herself as flabby and a boneless puddle, basically. As soon as she nears the water her whole body image changes and of course there are two boys who become interested in her, although it didn't turn into a love triangle situation or really any love situation at all.
Also cool about this book was that it took place in Florida, like Replica which I read right before this, and I was on vacation in Florida while I read it!
I had a feeling that this was about mermaids from the very beginning. The writing style took me a while to get used to; it's very poetic and mythical in style, and feels like a fairy tale at times. But these mermaids aren't like Ariel, they're much darker and the word "mermaid" isn't really used to describe them. I liked how the story is about independent women rather than the woman who gives up a part of herself for a man, but I also didn't really like Callie's attitude about her body for the first half of the book - she constantly thinks of herself as flabby and a boneless puddle, basically. As soon as she nears the water her whole body image changes and of course there are two boys who become interested in her, although it didn't turn into a love triangle situation or really any love situation at all.
Also cool about this book was that it took place in Florida, like Replica which I read right before this, and I was on vacation in Florida while I read it!
Shelved as 'discontinued'
April 2, 2022this is me being ruthless with my time and energy
July 23, 2015
Inhalt: DAS MEER RUFT MICH. ICH KANN ES SPÜREN.
*** Nach ›Toter Sommer‹ der zweite Roman von Kat Rosenfield ***
Callie Morgan hat Angst vor dem Wasser. Ihre Mutter ist ertrunken – Unfall oder Selbstmord? Durch eine mysteriöse Krankheit steigt das Wasser auch in ihrer Lunge. Doch als ihr Vater ausgerechnet im feuchtwarmen Florida einen Job annimmt, verschwinden die Symptome. Callie findet Freunde, ein Junge verliebt sich in sie. Aber das schicksalhafte Verhältnis ihrer Familie zum Wasser scheint sie zu verfolgen. (Quelle: Verlag)
Meine Meinung: Tiefe Wellen ist ein ganz besonderes Buch. Ich habe es schon vor längerer Zeit gelesen und nach dem Lesen war ich so überwältigend und bewegt, dass es noch eine Weile auf dem Schreibtisch lag und ich mich jetzt erst an eine Rezension herantraue. Selbst jetzt fällt es mir noch sehr schwer all die Worte zu schreiben, denn Tiefe Wellen ist so außergewöhnlich und bewegend, dass es seine Leser noch lange fesselt.
In dem Buch begleiten wir Callie. Callie ist eine Protagonistin, die es mir nicht immer leicht gemacht hat. In der Mitte des Buches konnte ich sie sogar eine Zeitlang nicht mal mehr ausstehen. Nachdem Callies Mutter als sie klein war im Meer ertrunken ist und Callie seitdem panische Angst vor dem Meer hat, flieht ihr Vater, der Professor ist, mit ihr immer weiter ins Landesinnere, um der alten Heimat seiner geliebten Frau zu entfliehen. Dann wird Callie krank, Wasser sammelt sich in ihrer Lunge und das Atmen fällt ihr dadurch schwer. Diese Krankheit geht sogar so weit, dass Callie nicht mal mehr am normalen Alltagsgeschehen teilnehmen kann. Von Sport ganz zu schweigen. Die Ärzte sind ratlos und die Krankheit zieht sich über mehrere Jahre. Bis zu dem Zeitpunkt des Geschehens in Tiefe Wellen. Doch als Callies Vater einen Job in Florida annimmt und Callie wieder in Küstennähe kommt, verschwinden ihre Symptome völlig und sie scheint wieder gesund zu sein. Sie findet Freunde, kann ein normales Leben führen und alles scheint perfekt.
Scheint. Denn hier kommt ins Spiel, was ich oben als außergewöhnlich und bewegend gemeint habe. Man kann den Roman auf zweierlei Arten verstehen. Entweder ist es ein Roman mit Fantasyelementen oder aber er besitzt gar keine und ist ein Contemporary Roman, der allerdings dann so richtig unter die Haut geht. Ich mag an Romanen ja normalerweise nicht, wenn viel offen gelassen wird. In Tiefe Wellen ist es allerdings so, dass die Autorin dem Leser viel Spielraum für Gedanken und eigene Überlegungen lässt und das war für mich wundervoll und hat das ganze Buch für mich ausgemacht. Ich kann euch an dieser Stelle einfach nicht zu viel verraten, obwohl ich es so gerne würde. Für mich ist das Buch einfach ganz besonders und hat einen ganz eigenen Reiz und egal ob ihr lieber Fantasy oder Mystery oder reale Bücher lest, ihr kommt alle auf eure Kosten.
Für mich hat Kat Rosenfield ein kleines Meisterwerk geschaffen und ich bin unglaublich dankbar, dass der Fischerverlag mir dieses Buch einfach so zugesendet hat. Denn alleine wäre es wohl nicht an eine obere Position auf meinem Wunschzettel gelandet sondern irgendwo im Mittelfeld verloren gegangen. Das, was in Tiefe Wellen steckt kann einfach nicht durch ein Cover oder einen Klappentext ausgedrückt werden. Und ich bitte euch alle, auch wenn euch der große Interpretationsspielraum momentan vielleicht ein bisschen abschreckt, gibt dem Buch eine Chance! Es lohnt sich definitiv. Ich verspreche es euch.
Bewertung: Tiefe Wellen ist für mich ein kleines Highlight. Die Besonderheit des Buches, die große Offenheit und die interessante Geschichte haben mich komplett in ihren Bann gezogen und Schreibstil und Charaktere runden dieses Bild ab. Ich kann es euch allen bedenkenlos ans Herz legen und gebe diesem wundervollen Buch gerne 5 von 5 Füchschen.
Vielen Dank an Fischer für die Zusendung des tollen *Rezensionsexemplars.
*** Nach ›Toter Sommer‹ der zweite Roman von Kat Rosenfield ***
Callie Morgan hat Angst vor dem Wasser. Ihre Mutter ist ertrunken – Unfall oder Selbstmord? Durch eine mysteriöse Krankheit steigt das Wasser auch in ihrer Lunge. Doch als ihr Vater ausgerechnet im feuchtwarmen Florida einen Job annimmt, verschwinden die Symptome. Callie findet Freunde, ein Junge verliebt sich in sie. Aber das schicksalhafte Verhältnis ihrer Familie zum Wasser scheint sie zu verfolgen. (Quelle: Verlag)
Meine Meinung: Tiefe Wellen ist ein ganz besonderes Buch. Ich habe es schon vor längerer Zeit gelesen und nach dem Lesen war ich so überwältigend und bewegt, dass es noch eine Weile auf dem Schreibtisch lag und ich mich jetzt erst an eine Rezension herantraue. Selbst jetzt fällt es mir noch sehr schwer all die Worte zu schreiben, denn Tiefe Wellen ist so außergewöhnlich und bewegend, dass es seine Leser noch lange fesselt.
In dem Buch begleiten wir Callie. Callie ist eine Protagonistin, die es mir nicht immer leicht gemacht hat. In der Mitte des Buches konnte ich sie sogar eine Zeitlang nicht mal mehr ausstehen. Nachdem Callies Mutter als sie klein war im Meer ertrunken ist und Callie seitdem panische Angst vor dem Meer hat, flieht ihr Vater, der Professor ist, mit ihr immer weiter ins Landesinnere, um der alten Heimat seiner geliebten Frau zu entfliehen. Dann wird Callie krank, Wasser sammelt sich in ihrer Lunge und das Atmen fällt ihr dadurch schwer. Diese Krankheit geht sogar so weit, dass Callie nicht mal mehr am normalen Alltagsgeschehen teilnehmen kann. Von Sport ganz zu schweigen. Die Ärzte sind ratlos und die Krankheit zieht sich über mehrere Jahre. Bis zu dem Zeitpunkt des Geschehens in Tiefe Wellen. Doch als Callies Vater einen Job in Florida annimmt und Callie wieder in Küstennähe kommt, verschwinden ihre Symptome völlig und sie scheint wieder gesund zu sein. Sie findet Freunde, kann ein normales Leben führen und alles scheint perfekt.
Scheint. Denn hier kommt ins Spiel, was ich oben als außergewöhnlich und bewegend gemeint habe. Man kann den Roman auf zweierlei Arten verstehen. Entweder ist es ein Roman mit Fantasyelementen oder aber er besitzt gar keine und ist ein Contemporary Roman, der allerdings dann so richtig unter die Haut geht. Ich mag an Romanen ja normalerweise nicht, wenn viel offen gelassen wird. In Tiefe Wellen ist es allerdings so, dass die Autorin dem Leser viel Spielraum für Gedanken und eigene Überlegungen lässt und das war für mich wundervoll und hat das ganze Buch für mich ausgemacht. Ich kann euch an dieser Stelle einfach nicht zu viel verraten, obwohl ich es so gerne würde. Für mich ist das Buch einfach ganz besonders und hat einen ganz eigenen Reiz und egal ob ihr lieber Fantasy oder Mystery oder reale Bücher lest, ihr kommt alle auf eure Kosten.
Für mich hat Kat Rosenfield ein kleines Meisterwerk geschaffen und ich bin unglaublich dankbar, dass der Fischerverlag mir dieses Buch einfach so zugesendet hat. Denn alleine wäre es wohl nicht an eine obere Position auf meinem Wunschzettel gelandet sondern irgendwo im Mittelfeld verloren gegangen. Das, was in Tiefe Wellen steckt kann einfach nicht durch ein Cover oder einen Klappentext ausgedrückt werden. Und ich bitte euch alle, auch wenn euch der große Interpretationsspielraum momentan vielleicht ein bisschen abschreckt, gibt dem Buch eine Chance! Es lohnt sich definitiv. Ich verspreche es euch.
Bewertung: Tiefe Wellen ist für mich ein kleines Highlight. Die Besonderheit des Buches, die große Offenheit und die interessante Geschichte haben mich komplett in ihren Bann gezogen und Schreibstil und Charaktere runden dieses Bild ab. Ich kann es euch allen bedenkenlos ans Herz legen und gebe diesem wundervollen Buch gerne 5 von 5 Füchschen.
Vielen Dank an Fischer für die Zusendung des tollen *Rezensionsexemplars.
July 30, 2014
BRIEF SYNOPSIS:
Inland is about Callie who at the age of nine watches her mother drown. Or supposedly drowned. Or commit suicide. I’m not really sure (and I have to give blame to the Author Kat Rosenfield on that account). Rush forward nine years later and Callie is a pale, doughy, asthmatic wheezing of a thing. Her father thought that it would be best if his daughter would forget that tragic event that took place nine years ago, so he moves them inland. Hence the name of the book. Unfortunately that doesn’t last very long. Dwindling saving account and the with the ongoing medical bills that have acquired over the years from taking care of his sick daughter, he takes a job offer that he can’t really refuse. So off they move to the Florida coast, where miraculously, Callie gets better. No more taking pills, need of an inhaler, no more trips to the hospital.
REVIEW:
And so this is where I thought the story would began about mermaids. But no, it was a boring and underwhelming mess of a story. So slow paced that it took me four days to read and I’m a fast reader.
Don’t get me wrong, Kat Rosenfield does a wonderful job with her writing. The description and prose were beautifully written but I wonder what the point is if the story was so bland and vanilla. That characters (major and minor) were a disappointment. I didn’t care about any and I do mean any of the characters of this book. They were just names written on a piece of paper. With the exception of Bee. The six year old chubby ball of energy. Although she is briefly and I mean briefly mention in the book I liked her the best and wanted to know more about her than of Callie and her tragic family history.
Yet I don’t really know anything about Callie or her family history except that all the woman get a calling and you can’t control it. Unless you want to live the rest of your life with an oxygen tank. I’m still wondering where the mermaids are in this story. You get a glimpse but never the full story or the meaning behind them. To be quite honest I don’t think they were mermaids in the traditional sense, more like creatures from the black lagoon. Nothing beautiful or memorable about them.
The other problem I had with this story were the friendships and relationships that Callie sort of developed as the story moved along. For one I just never believe her and Ben girlfriend/boyfriend dynamic. It seemed forced. Just something that the author wanted to put in there just for the sake of being put in there. It seems that all YA books have to have some sort of romances even if it doesn’t need to be in the book in the first place. The same can be said about the other friendships. There was nothing real to them or about them.
The last problem I have and it’s a big one. The ending. It left me confused and frustrated. I don’t know who is worst. Rainbow Morell with her Eleanor and Park ending (a postcard) or Kat Rosenfield (with her ending that wasn’t really an ending). I’m starting to wonder if this whole entire book was a metaphor for mental illness instead. Usually if I don’t understand a book the first time around I will read it again but I think I suffered enough. I’ve learned my lesson. Never buy a book best on the beautiful cover and the carefully but brilliantly written synopsis. This is one of the book that definitely will go to goodwill. Hopefully someone will like it. It just wasn’t for me or to my liking.
Inland is about Callie who at the age of nine watches her mother drown. Or supposedly drowned. Or commit suicide. I’m not really sure (and I have to give blame to the Author Kat Rosenfield on that account). Rush forward nine years later and Callie is a pale, doughy, asthmatic wheezing of a thing. Her father thought that it would be best if his daughter would forget that tragic event that took place nine years ago, so he moves them inland. Hence the name of the book. Unfortunately that doesn’t last very long. Dwindling saving account and the with the ongoing medical bills that have acquired over the years from taking care of his sick daughter, he takes a job offer that he can’t really refuse. So off they move to the Florida coast, where miraculously, Callie gets better. No more taking pills, need of an inhaler, no more trips to the hospital.
REVIEW:
And so this is where I thought the story would began about mermaids. But no, it was a boring and underwhelming mess of a story. So slow paced that it took me four days to read and I’m a fast reader.
Don’t get me wrong, Kat Rosenfield does a wonderful job with her writing. The description and prose were beautifully written but I wonder what the point is if the story was so bland and vanilla. That characters (major and minor) were a disappointment. I didn’t care about any and I do mean any of the characters of this book. They were just names written on a piece of paper. With the exception of Bee. The six year old chubby ball of energy. Although she is briefly and I mean briefly mention in the book I liked her the best and wanted to know more about her than of Callie and her tragic family history.
Yet I don’t really know anything about Callie or her family history except that all the woman get a calling and you can’t control it. Unless you want to live the rest of your life with an oxygen tank. I’m still wondering where the mermaids are in this story. You get a glimpse but never the full story or the meaning behind them. To be quite honest I don’t think they were mermaids in the traditional sense, more like creatures from the black lagoon. Nothing beautiful or memorable about them.
The other problem I had with this story were the friendships and relationships that Callie sort of developed as the story moved along. For one I just never believe her and Ben girlfriend/boyfriend dynamic. It seemed forced. Just something that the author wanted to put in there just for the sake of being put in there. It seems that all YA books have to have some sort of romances even if it doesn’t need to be in the book in the first place. The same can be said about the other friendships. There was nothing real to them or about them.
The last problem I have and it’s a big one. The ending. It left me confused and frustrated. I don’t know who is worst. Rainbow Morell with her Eleanor and Park ending (a postcard) or Kat Rosenfield (with her ending that wasn’t really an ending). I’m starting to wonder if this whole entire book was a metaphor for mental illness instead. Usually if I don’t understand a book the first time around I will read it again but I think I suffered enough. I’ve learned my lesson. Never buy a book best on the beautiful cover and the carefully but brilliantly written synopsis. This is one of the book that definitely will go to goodwill. Hopefully someone will like it. It just wasn’t for me or to my liking.
May 16, 2015
Callie Morgan hat seit dem Ertrinken ihrer Mutter Angst vor dem Wasser. Sie war selbst dabei, als ihre Mutter aus dem Boot stieg und in den dunklen Wellen verschwand. Nach einem unwiederstehlichem Jobangebot, zieht Callies Vater mit ihr wieder zurück ans Meer. Plötzlich ändert sich Callies Leben schlagartig, den nicht nur ihre seltsame Krankheit scheint zu verschwinden, auch verloren gegangene Errinerungen kommen wieder zutage und so nahe am Wasser fühlt sie sich ihrer verstorbenen Mutter so nahe wie nie. Doch in Callie scheint etwas zu schlummern, den bei einem Ausflug wird plötzlich ihr Freund Ben schwer verletzt und in die selbe Tiefe gezogen, die ihr auch die Mutter geraubt hat.
Ich habe das Buch unangefragt vom Fischer Verlag zugesand bekommen - herzlichen Dank - und war sehr überrascht. Ich habe zuvor weder etwas gehört noch gelesen von diesem Buch. Später habe ich bemerkt das eine liebe Bloggerfreundin von mir, die das Buch bereits auf englisch gelesen hat, total begeistert davon war. Ehrlich gesagt klang der Klappentext sehr durchschnittlich und nach wenigen Kapiteln ahnte ich zu wissen worum es sich in diesem Buch dreht. Dann allerdings kam die großer Überraschung die dieses Buch bereit hält und je weiter man liest, desto wirbelnder und aufregender wird die Geschichte und am Ende ist plötzlich alles anders. Zuerst war ich noch sehr kritisch, aber schlussendlich konnte ich nur mehr schiere Begeisterung für dieses Buch aufbringen.
Die Hauptprotagonistin Callie, mochte ich von Anfang an. Durch ihre Krankheit, bei der sich Wasser in ihrer Lunge sammelt und ihr die Luft zum Atmen nimmt, fällt es ihr nicht leicht das Leben zu meistern. In der Schule wird sie für ihren rasselnden Atem, die kratzige und heisere Stimme und ihre Attacken, wenn sie keine Luft bekommt, gemobbt und gemieden. Zu ihrem Glück zieht ihr Vater wegen seinem Job oft um, allerdings hat Callie so auch nicht die Möglichkeit Freunde zu finden. Als sie jedoch mit ihrem Vater an ein Dorf am Meer zieht, bessert sich nicht nur Callies Gesundheitszustand, weshalb sie keine Symptome mehr zeigt, sondern sie findet auch Freunde und verliebt sich in den Jungen Ben. Während des Buches verändert Callie sich sehr stark, besonders im hinteren Teil des Buches in dem sie versucht mehr über ihre Familie herauszufinden. Da sie während der Geschichte im Fokus stand, blieben die anderen Personnen eher schwammig, obwohl diese auch starke Charaktermerkmale aufwiesen.
Das Besondere an dieser Geschichte ist die fantastische Mischung zwischen Fantasy und Contemporary, sowie der große Freiraum den die Autorin dem Leser für eigene Gedanken und Interpretationen gibt. Ich möchte gar nicht zu viel verraten, sondern einfach nur betonen wie großartig ich diese Komponenten fand. Es ist für mich immer wieder unglaublich, welche Dinge man mit Worten vollbringen kann. Die Geschichte enthält keine geradlinigen Strukturen, sondern ist voller Wogen und Wellen die sich erst gegen Ende anfangen zu glätten. Die Atmosphäre die dieses Buch austrahlt ich anziehend und geheimnisvoll, besonders da sich der Nebel der Geheimnisse sehr langsam aber nicht schleppend löst.
~ FAZIT ~
Ein wirklich außergewöhnliches Buch, das mit seiner Mischung aus Fantasy und Contemporary den perfekten Ausgleich bietet und dazu noch sehr viel Freiraum für eigene Interpretation bietet. Das Buch hat seine Hände nach mit ausgestreckt, mich von hinten gepackt und überrumpelt! Absolut empfehlenswert!
Ich habe das Buch unangefragt vom Fischer Verlag zugesand bekommen - herzlichen Dank - und war sehr überrascht. Ich habe zuvor weder etwas gehört noch gelesen von diesem Buch. Später habe ich bemerkt das eine liebe Bloggerfreundin von mir, die das Buch bereits auf englisch gelesen hat, total begeistert davon war. Ehrlich gesagt klang der Klappentext sehr durchschnittlich und nach wenigen Kapiteln ahnte ich zu wissen worum es sich in diesem Buch dreht. Dann allerdings kam die großer Überraschung die dieses Buch bereit hält und je weiter man liest, desto wirbelnder und aufregender wird die Geschichte und am Ende ist plötzlich alles anders. Zuerst war ich noch sehr kritisch, aber schlussendlich konnte ich nur mehr schiere Begeisterung für dieses Buch aufbringen.
Die Hauptprotagonistin Callie, mochte ich von Anfang an. Durch ihre Krankheit, bei der sich Wasser in ihrer Lunge sammelt und ihr die Luft zum Atmen nimmt, fällt es ihr nicht leicht das Leben zu meistern. In der Schule wird sie für ihren rasselnden Atem, die kratzige und heisere Stimme und ihre Attacken, wenn sie keine Luft bekommt, gemobbt und gemieden. Zu ihrem Glück zieht ihr Vater wegen seinem Job oft um, allerdings hat Callie so auch nicht die Möglichkeit Freunde zu finden. Als sie jedoch mit ihrem Vater an ein Dorf am Meer zieht, bessert sich nicht nur Callies Gesundheitszustand, weshalb sie keine Symptome mehr zeigt, sondern sie findet auch Freunde und verliebt sich in den Jungen Ben. Während des Buches verändert Callie sich sehr stark, besonders im hinteren Teil des Buches in dem sie versucht mehr über ihre Familie herauszufinden. Da sie während der Geschichte im Fokus stand, blieben die anderen Personnen eher schwammig, obwohl diese auch starke Charaktermerkmale aufwiesen.
Das Besondere an dieser Geschichte ist die fantastische Mischung zwischen Fantasy und Contemporary, sowie der große Freiraum den die Autorin dem Leser für eigene Gedanken und Interpretationen gibt. Ich möchte gar nicht zu viel verraten, sondern einfach nur betonen wie großartig ich diese Komponenten fand. Es ist für mich immer wieder unglaublich, welche Dinge man mit Worten vollbringen kann. Die Geschichte enthält keine geradlinigen Strukturen, sondern ist voller Wogen und Wellen die sich erst gegen Ende anfangen zu glätten. Die Atmosphäre die dieses Buch austrahlt ich anziehend und geheimnisvoll, besonders da sich der Nebel der Geheimnisse sehr langsam aber nicht schleppend löst.
~ FAZIT ~
Ein wirklich außergewöhnliches Buch, das mit seiner Mischung aus Fantasy und Contemporary den perfekten Ausgleich bietet und dazu noch sehr viel Freiraum für eigene Interpretation bietet. Das Buch hat seine Hände nach mit ausgestreckt, mich von hinten gepackt und überrumpelt! Absolut empfehlenswert!
Read
December 26, 2015Inland is a story of the sea. It is a story of crashing salt water and craggy cliffs and sprawling beaches, so vividly written that I expected a handful of sand to fall from the book's binding on every page. It is a story of the awe-inspiring power and mystery of the ocean's uncharted deeps. But most of all, it is a story of the pull of the sea—particularly the story of one girl who feels the ocean's allure more than anyone else.
Maybe that is why I loved this book so much. Maybe Inland sang to something deep inside of me, the part of me that feels smothered in the vast inland of Indianapolis, the part that waits with clenched muscles for the moment I can race to a new home in New York or Boston, the part of me that got left behind in San Francisco when I visited for the first time.
No, not "maybe." I am certain that a sizable portion of my love for this book stems from my personal feelings toward the world's coasts. But another part of my love comes from Kat Rosenfield's writing style, which is sometimes slow and languid, sometimes intense and urgent, and sometimes both simultaneously, just like the sea.
Inland's plot has a slow, meticulous build. At almost 400 pages, this novel leaves plenty of space for confusion and rich description, and Rosenfield does not shy away from either. At the beginning of the novel, Callie knows nothing about her inherited attraction to the ocean, and she incrementally learns more and more about her family's history and herself over the course of the entire novel. For most authors, such gradual pacing would have fallen flat, but Rosenfield keeps readers interested with her remarkable way of stringing words together inventively. Inland may have heavy description, but the author repurposes adjectives and metaphors to describe scenes and emotions in a creative, never-boring way.
Even better, no matter how slowly the plot intensifies, it never feels lethargic. Rosenfield weaves a coursing undercurrent of anticipation into every scene, keeping readers waiting for a moment when something big will happen. Each small crescendo in the plot, each tiny reveal that leads Callie closer to understanding her family—why she, her mother, and her aunt all feel such a strong bond to the coast—hooks readers a bit more until, by the end, they are fully immersed in the family's mysteries.
This book's intentionally slow pacing combines with reveals and climaxes that are worth every second of waiting to form one of the most satisfying and well-crafted stories I have read in months. Rosenfield's newest novel spoke not only to my instinctive urge to travel to the coast, but to my analytical mind that automatically detects talented writing. Inland refreshed my bond with the sea; stunned me with its spectacular storytelling; and will pull me, entranced, toward the author's next novel.
This review originally appeared at foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
Maybe that is why I loved this book so much. Maybe Inland sang to something deep inside of me, the part of me that feels smothered in the vast inland of Indianapolis, the part that waits with clenched muscles for the moment I can race to a new home in New York or Boston, the part of me that got left behind in San Francisco when I visited for the first time.
No, not "maybe." I am certain that a sizable portion of my love for this book stems from my personal feelings toward the world's coasts. But another part of my love comes from Kat Rosenfield's writing style, which is sometimes slow and languid, sometimes intense and urgent, and sometimes both simultaneously, just like the sea.
Inland's plot has a slow, meticulous build. At almost 400 pages, this novel leaves plenty of space for confusion and rich description, and Rosenfield does not shy away from either. At the beginning of the novel, Callie knows nothing about her inherited attraction to the ocean, and she incrementally learns more and more about her family's history and herself over the course of the entire novel. For most authors, such gradual pacing would have fallen flat, but Rosenfield keeps readers interested with her remarkable way of stringing words together inventively. Inland may have heavy description, but the author repurposes adjectives and metaphors to describe scenes and emotions in a creative, never-boring way.
Even better, no matter how slowly the plot intensifies, it never feels lethargic. Rosenfield weaves a coursing undercurrent of anticipation into every scene, keeping readers waiting for a moment when something big will happen. Each small crescendo in the plot, each tiny reveal that leads Callie closer to understanding her family—why she, her mother, and her aunt all feel such a strong bond to the coast—hooks readers a bit more until, by the end, they are fully immersed in the family's mysteries.
This book's intentionally slow pacing combines with reveals and climaxes that are worth every second of waiting to form one of the most satisfying and well-crafted stories I have read in months. Rosenfield's newest novel spoke not only to my instinctive urge to travel to the coast, but to my analytical mind that automatically detects talented writing. Inland refreshed my bond with the sea; stunned me with its spectacular storytelling; and will pull me, entranced, toward the author's next novel.
This review originally appeared at foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
May 4, 2015
Initially when I started this book I was very intrigued by the premise. Not like anything I've read before. Maybe its because I read the first 25 pages or so, and nearly a month before I picked it up again, but when I started it again, by page 90 I didn't have a clue what the hell was going on.
There was a lot of almost dream like, mystical talk about the main character, Callie's dead mother and the call of the sea. Callie was a sickly girl who had terrible lung problems the further away from the sea she got it seemed. Back to the sea, she starts becoming normal again and having a normal life - going to school, developing a romance, inadvertently pissing off the school's mean girl - every day teenager things.
I found it very slow and at times very very boring. I just didn't connect to Callie at all or really feel anything for what she was going through. All along with some nonsense about the sea. It was all very cryptic and half the time I didn't know if she was dreaming or making it up or what. Then again, other times the plot was quite captivating. Like Callie's relationship with Ben who she meets on her first day at a new school and the friends she makes.
She seems very distant and unapproachable, full of secrets I'm not sure if there was a paranormal element to. The under lying sea things all seemed to point to some sort of mythical sea creature - selkies or mermaids - but nothing really was ever explained. In the sea, or river by her house, and one time in the high school pool, Callie's personality seems to drastically change and bad things happen.
Particularly towards the end, the writing was moving. But I just didn't like the character and there was too much left open ended for my tastes. An interesting idea I guess, but in the end this book was just not to my taste.
There was a lot of almost dream like, mystical talk about the main character, Callie's dead mother and the call of the sea. Callie was a sickly girl who had terrible lung problems the further away from the sea she got it seemed. Back to the sea, she starts becoming normal again and having a normal life - going to school, developing a romance, inadvertently pissing off the school's mean girl - every day teenager things.
I found it very slow and at times very very boring. I just didn't connect to Callie at all or really feel anything for what she was going through. All along with some nonsense about the sea. It was all very cryptic and half the time I didn't know if she was dreaming or making it up or what. Then again, other times the plot was quite captivating. Like Callie's relationship with Ben who she meets on her first day at a new school and the friends she makes.
She seems very distant and unapproachable, full of secrets I'm not sure if there was a paranormal element to. The under lying sea things all seemed to point to some sort of mythical sea creature - selkies or mermaids - but nothing really was ever explained. In the sea, or river by her house, and one time in the high school pool, Callie's personality seems to drastically change and bad things happen.
Particularly towards the end, the writing was moving. But I just didn't like the character and there was too much left open ended for my tastes. An interesting idea I guess, but in the end this book was just not to my taste.
August 19, 2014
3.5 ~ Este libro es extraño, diferente. Es todo y nada al mismo tiempo. Tengo sentimientos encontrados; lo amo porque pudo ser perfecto y lo odio por esa misma razón.
Empecemos por decir que la historia es cautivadora, creativa, un poco mágica, es misteriosa, intrigante...¡tenía todo para ser muy buena! La falla está en el ritmo, es demasiado lento, hay partes planas, la autora llega a abusar de la descripción de las cosas y termina siendo una historia confusa donde el mito en que se basa la historia solo se desarrolla superficialmente, lo cual por una parte me parece acertado. El final. Es muy bueno y me dejó satisfecha, amé que fuera original y diferente, pero odié que no hubiera una resolución. La autora termina ofreciéndome dos alternativas en las últimas páginas y el epílogo me dejó con más preguntas que respuestas; me fustra bastante cuando un libro termina así.
A pesar de estas fallas, lo que me hizo seguir leyendo es la manera de escribir de Rosenfield. Dios, esta mujer escribe hermosamente. Es maravillosa la forma en que transmite, pude imaginar desde el aroma salado del mar, la textura de la arena en mis pies, la casa de Callie en el acantilado, el sol en la piel...pero también me vi afectada los cambios emocionales de los personajes: la confusión de Calli y su soledad, por la preocupación de su padre, los temores de su tía y hasta el amor extraño que le profesó a Ben. Leer la historia fue una experiencia completa en este aspecto.
Inland quizá no es lo mejor que he leído hasta ahora y probablemente no vaya a leer algo más de esta autora, pero de alguna u otra forma terminé disfrutando esta historia.
Empecemos por decir que la historia es cautivadora, creativa, un poco mágica, es misteriosa, intrigante...¡tenía todo para ser muy buena! La falla está en el ritmo, es demasiado lento, hay partes planas, la autora llega a abusar de la descripción de las cosas y termina siendo una historia confusa donde el mito en que se basa la historia solo se desarrolla superficialmente, lo cual por una parte me parece acertado. El final. Es muy bueno y me dejó satisfecha, amé que fuera original y diferente, pero odié que no hubiera una resolución. La autora termina ofreciéndome dos alternativas en las últimas páginas y el epílogo me dejó con más preguntas que respuestas; me fustra bastante cuando un libro termina así.
A pesar de estas fallas, lo que me hizo seguir leyendo es la manera de escribir de Rosenfield. Dios, esta mujer escribe hermosamente. Es maravillosa la forma en que transmite, pude imaginar desde el aroma salado del mar, la textura de la arena en mis pies, la casa de Callie en el acantilado, el sol en la piel...pero también me vi afectada los cambios emocionales de los personajes: la confusión de Calli y su soledad, por la preocupación de su padre, los temores de su tía y hasta el amor extraño que le profesó a Ben. Leer la historia fue una experiencia completa en este aspecto.
Inland quizá no es lo mejor que he leído hasta ahora y probablemente no vaya a leer algo más de esta autora, pero de alguna u otra forma terminé disfrutando esta historia.
July 15, 2014
Estou um bocado desiludida, para ser sincera.
Por um lado, penso que é fácil compreender a Callie porque toda a gente conhece a sensação de querer algo quase a ponto irracional. No entanto, estive a maioria do tempo condicionada a ela e aos seus monólogos interiores, o que tornou as coisas um pouco aborrecidas.
A quantidade de narração é exagerada, as repetições são desnecessárias e, no geral, sinto que a autora complicou o que podia ter dito em menos palavras.
Podia ter cortado em páginas, sinceramente. Não houve assim tanta história e eu percebo que seja um livro sobre auto-descoberta, mas o problema é que não foi nada grande. Podia ter sido algo grande se a autora começasse o livro nos últimos capítulos e encaixasse a obra noutro género literário.
Inland ia ser muito interessante se o mito fosse mais explorado, se houvesse worldbuilding do mundo subaquático e se a história tomasse um rumo mais creepy. Vi potencial desperdiçado.
Já agora, dispensava a parte do "vou-vos contar uma história" e o final foi bastante pouco interessante. Ou então sou eu que não gosto de finais infelizes. Só sei que convivi com a mesma personagem por quase quatrocentas páginas a desejar que ela chegasse ao mar - não sei por gostar ou estar farta dela - e depois...é.
Por um lado, penso que é fácil compreender a Callie porque toda a gente conhece a sensação de querer algo quase a ponto irracional. No entanto, estive a maioria do tempo condicionada a ela e aos seus monólogos interiores, o que tornou as coisas um pouco aborrecidas.
A quantidade de narração é exagerada, as repetições são desnecessárias e, no geral, sinto que a autora complicou o que podia ter dito em menos palavras.
Podia ter cortado em páginas, sinceramente. Não houve assim tanta história e eu percebo que seja um livro sobre auto-descoberta, mas o problema é que não foi nada grande. Podia ter sido algo grande se a autora começasse o livro nos últimos capítulos e encaixasse a obra noutro género literário.
Inland ia ser muito interessante se o mito fosse mais explorado, se houvesse worldbuilding do mundo subaquático e se a história tomasse um rumo mais creepy. Vi potencial desperdiçado.
Já agora, dispensava a parte do "vou-vos contar uma história" e o final foi bastante pouco interessante. Ou então sou eu que não gosto de finais infelizes. Só sei que convivi com a mesma personagem por quase quatrocentas páginas a desejar que ela chegasse ao mar - não sei por gostar ou estar farta dela - e depois...é.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews