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Chapel Hollow #3
Spirits That Walk in Shadow
Roommates Jaimie Locke and Kim Calloway are each looking to find a new life at college. It’s Jaimie’s first time Outside—away from her large, complicated family and their magical traditions—and she wants to learn what nonmagical life is like. Kim is anxious to escape the depression that’s been dragging her down since last year so she can make new friends and create the art she loves.
But almost as soon as they unpack, Jaimie realizes that Kim’s depression is different from normal sadness. Something outside of Kim is literally forcing her to be depressed, pursuing and draining her. Just like that, the two girls—along with Jaime’s cousins and a Presence named Rugee—try to capture and rout the creature that is following Kim.
No one said that college would be easy....
But almost as soon as they unpack, Jaimie realizes that Kim’s depression is different from normal sadness. Something outside of Kim is literally forcing her to be depressed, pursuing and draining her. Just like that, the two girls—along with Jaime’s cousins and a Presence named Rugee—try to capture and rout the creature that is following Kim.
No one said that college would be easy....
307 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2006
11 people are currently reading
511 people want to read
About the author
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
303books342followersNina Kiriki Hoffman’s first solo novel, The Thread That Binds the Bones (1993), won the Bram Stoker Award for first novel; her second novel, The Silent Strength of Stones (1995) was a finalist for the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. A Red Heart of Memories (1999, part of her “Matt Black� series), nominated for a World Fantasy Award, was followed by sequel Past the Size of Dreaming in 2001. Much of her work to date is short fiction, including “Matt Black� novella “Unmasking� (1992), nominated for a World Fantasy Award; and “Matt Black� novelette “Home for Christmas� (1995), nominated for the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Sturgeon awards. In addition to writing, Hoffman has taught, worked part-time at a B. Dalton bookstore, and done production work on The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. An accomplished fiddle player, she has played regularly at various granges near her home in Eugene, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
March 29, 2018
Kim is an artist with synesthesia dealing with acute depression brought on by her relationship with her best friend turning toxic that hasn't responded to therapy or medical treatment, hoping to make a fresh start in college. Jaimie is a member of a close-knit, secretive magical family trying to be a better person than what her abusive magic teacher shaped her to be (see The Thread that Binds the Bones, a non-YA fantasy novel where Jaimie is a minor character) and define her own identity among normal people (though in the company of Rugee, one of her family's household gods, in the shape of a large and typically invisible salamander, who has decided to accompany her to college.)
Jaimie quickly figures out that Kim's depression is caused by a type of malicious shapeshifting psychic vampire called a viri, another one of which killed three of her cousins from another branch of the family a few years before, and that it's likely the viri has followed Kim to college, and in short order Kim finds herself under the protection of Rugee, Jaimie, and Jaimie's cousins from the other branch of her family, a girl their age and two boys a year older, as they try to seek out and defeat the viri while still making it through orientation on schedule, make friends, and enjoy the Real College Experience.
This novel deals with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and the consequences of emotional abuse all the way through. I was worried it might deal with magical depression in a way that invalidated real, biological depression, but that didn't feel like the case to me here- Kim's depression, though magical in nature, remained a tangible thing that she had to try to cope with, the experience of having lived with it remained after the situation with the viri was resolved where I think some authors might have taken a more simplistic "all better now, just like before this ever happened!" resolution, and the recovery from the emotional manipulation included grieving the relationship she thought she'd had, trying to value the good parts while clearly seeing the harm of the bad parts, and learning to set and enforce personal boundaries while building healthier friendships and realizing when other preexisting relationships in her life weren't healthy either.
I wasn't really happy with how Kim and Jaimie were romantically paired off at the end with Jaimie's cousins in the epilogue- I wish there had been more development of those relationships shown on screen, but I guess it might have come across as forced and unrealistic given the very short timescale of the story's events (a few days at most). This and a few other scenes (eg Jaimie and Kim's brief discussions about researching boys that kinda went nowhere after they happened) felt like someone had written THEY'RE HETEROSEXUAL in sharpie marker on the characters when outside those scenes sexuality and gender were more mutable and less sharply defined as in the rest of Hoffman's novels.
The handling of the emotionally abusive character might not work for some readers; it relies on . Kim considers them to be, effectively, dead because of this, and has no further contact with them after that happens.
Slight spoiler and content note for nonbinary readers, the viri are canonically non-gendered; a non-evil one we meet describing itself as "a non-gendered person" and referring to itself and other viri as "it". It's ambiguous whether viri are human or not, viri in general are described as being "a different kind of person" living among humans like Kim's family is also a different kind of person with their magical powers); there is a "but do you have sex?" question moment where we find out viri reproduce by fission rather than sexually (this... is plot relevant, eventually, though, when ).
Jaimie quickly figures out that Kim's depression is caused by a type of malicious shapeshifting psychic vampire called a viri, another one of which killed three of her cousins from another branch of the family a few years before, and that it's likely the viri has followed Kim to college, and in short order Kim finds herself under the protection of Rugee, Jaimie, and Jaimie's cousins from the other branch of her family, a girl their age and two boys a year older, as they try to seek out and defeat the viri while still making it through orientation on schedule, make friends, and enjoy the Real College Experience.
This novel deals with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and the consequences of emotional abuse all the way through. I was worried it might deal with magical depression in a way that invalidated real, biological depression, but that didn't feel like the case to me here- Kim's depression, though magical in nature, remained a tangible thing that she had to try to cope with, the experience of having lived with it remained after the situation with the viri was resolved where I think some authors might have taken a more simplistic "all better now, just like before this ever happened!" resolution, and the recovery from the emotional manipulation included grieving the relationship she thought she'd had, trying to value the good parts while clearly seeing the harm of the bad parts, and learning to set and enforce personal boundaries while building healthier friendships and realizing when other preexisting relationships in her life weren't healthy either.
I wasn't really happy with how Kim and Jaimie were romantically paired off at the end with Jaimie's cousins in the epilogue- I wish there had been more development of those relationships shown on screen, but I guess it might have come across as forced and unrealistic given the very short timescale of the story's events (a few days at most). This and a few other scenes (eg Jaimie and Kim's brief discussions about researching boys that kinda went nowhere after they happened) felt like someone had written THEY'RE HETEROSEXUAL in sharpie marker on the characters when outside those scenes sexuality and gender were more mutable and less sharply defined as in the rest of Hoffman's novels.
The handling of the emotionally abusive character might not work for some readers; it relies on . Kim considers them to be, effectively, dead because of this, and has no further contact with them after that happens.
Slight spoiler and content note for nonbinary readers, the viri are canonically non-gendered; a non-evil one we meet describing itself as "a non-gendered person" and referring to itself and other viri as "it". It's ambiguous whether viri are human or not, viri in general are described as being "a different kind of person" living among humans like Kim's family is also a different kind of person with their magical powers); there is a "but do you have sex?" question moment where we find out viri reproduce by fission rather than sexually (this... is plot relevant, eventually, though, when ).
March 9, 2010
Great concept, lackluster execution. It wasn't horrible, it was just utterly boring. I was going to give it 3 stars, but when it came down to it, I didn't "like it", it "was ok", which is what the stars say when you hover over them. :)
The story takes place over 2-3 days, and we are supposed to just believe that these strangers all care so much about each other and will be lifelong friends, while never seeing anything to support these instant friendships. Lots of telling, little showing.
But most importantly for me, the character development was sorely lacking. These kids felt like robots--there was nothing that made me care about a single one of them, and I actually found myself wondering on more than one occasion why they cared about each other. And there were many instances of someone saying something that was so stupid & dorky, no teenager would ever say it to someone he knew for 2 days, let alone 2 months.
And the added "first week at college" backstory--so stupid. Here is this girl being pursued & attacked by something that feeds off her emotions and particularly likes her depressed emotions and has the ability to make her horribly depressed from a distance, so she's a sobbing idiot who just falls to her knees with no warning. But she is adamant about not missing freshman orientation. Whatever. Just dumb and forced. Ooh, the college experience.
I didn't care about who hooked up with who, in fact, I found myself again questioning the attraction. The boys were boring & stupid automatons, even more than the girls.
So, it wasn't bad enough to not finish, but I had less than 20 pages left and fell asleep reading it. Make of that what you will.
The story takes place over 2-3 days, and we are supposed to just believe that these strangers all care so much about each other and will be lifelong friends, while never seeing anything to support these instant friendships. Lots of telling, little showing.
But most importantly for me, the character development was sorely lacking. These kids felt like robots--there was nothing that made me care about a single one of them, and I actually found myself wondering on more than one occasion why they cared about each other. And there were many instances of someone saying something that was so stupid & dorky, no teenager would ever say it to someone he knew for 2 days, let alone 2 months.
And the added "first week at college" backstory--so stupid. Here is this girl being pursued & attacked by something that feeds off her emotions and particularly likes her depressed emotions and has the ability to make her horribly depressed from a distance, so she's a sobbing idiot who just falls to her knees with no warning. But she is adamant about not missing freshman orientation. Whatever. Just dumb and forced. Ooh, the college experience.
I didn't care about who hooked up with who, in fact, I found myself again questioning the attraction. The boys were boring & stupid automatons, even more than the girls.
So, it wasn't bad enough to not finish, but I had less than 20 pages left and fell asleep reading it. Make of that what you will.
October 16, 2019
An engaging urban fantasy for young adults, in which two young women meet as roommates their freshman year of college, and are transformed by their friendship and the adventures they share. Kim Calloway, a young woman consumed by uncontrollable bouts of depression, hopes to escape her troubles by immersing herself in her college experience. Her new roommate, Jaime Locke, wants to learn about "normal" people, and is venturing outside her insular magical community for the first time. When the two learn that Kim's emotional distress is being caused by a creature known as a viri - a sort of emotional vampire - the two roommates, joined by Rugee (a household god) and two of Jaime's ilmonishti cousins, set out to defeat it...
Long-time Nina Kiriki Hoffman fans will be pleased by the author's return to the magical world of Chapel Hollow, which she introduced in her marvelous adult fantasy, , and in which Jaime play a minor role. But those who are reading Hoffman for the first time need not worry - this book stands quite well on its own. I found Hoffman's world intriguing, and will probably go back and read some of her earlier work. The writing was generally of a high quality, with occasional flashes of brilliance. The author's description of Kim's artistic process at the beginning of the novel, the interplay of image and word, and how the two function as competing languages, is simply beautiful.
Long-time Nina Kiriki Hoffman fans will be pleased by the author's return to the magical world of Chapel Hollow, which she introduced in her marvelous adult fantasy, , and in which Jaime play a minor role. But those who are reading Hoffman for the first time need not worry - this book stands quite well on its own. I found Hoffman's world intriguing, and will probably go back and read some of her earlier work. The writing was generally of a high quality, with occasional flashes of brilliance. The author's description of Kim's artistic process at the beginning of the novel, the interplay of image and word, and how the two function as competing languages, is simply beautiful.
May 17, 2024
5 stars because I don’t think I will ever forget this weird beautiful little book. I do think the author was a little removed from being a college freshman girl so sometimes I didn’t believe the characters and their actions and motivations. I feel like this book was a little simple at times. But the beautiful writing and the creative and stunning magic system is something that I’m not going to forget along with, the surprise ending. So because of that automatic five stars.
June 3, 2022
inventive and charming. i like the characters, i really like the concepts and it’s a really nice read with low stakes. honestly i just think it could be longer and some of the relationships could do with more development, as the actual events of this book happen over about two or three days
June 21, 2011
Kim is hoping that her first year of college will be better than her last year of high school - that she'll shake off the crippling depression that set in after losing her best friend and make new friends. But when she meets her new, strange roommate Jamie and is immediately kicked out of their room for a religious ritual she starts to worry. But Jamie has a huge secret to hide, she and her family are part of a larger group that can perform magic. This is her first attempt at living with and getting to know Outsiders. She has lots of rules to follow, meant to guard their secret, but she breaks all of them when she realizes that Kim's depression isn't natural. Someone, or something, is feeding on Kim. When Jamie decides to help her new roommate she enlists the help of her spirit guardian, Rugee, and her cousins Harrison and Josh.
Spirits that Walk in Shadow was an excellent book. I really enjoyed the author's magical system, the descriptions of trelling, the different culture that Jamie's people had developed, and the different skills that they each had, were fascinating and well done. Hoffman pulls off something I've seen few authors be able to do successfully - describes on the written page the process of creation and art that actually makes it come alive. If I had two quibbles with this book it was that at times the two main character's points of view were difficult to distinguish - I'd have to go back to the chapter heading to see whose name was used, or look and see how the character was referring to the cousins. My other quibble would be that the main confrontation and climax took place almost entirely offstage. That aside, I'd highly recommend this book to college-bound seniors and any teen looking for a good fantasy read.
Spirits that Walk in Shadow was an excellent book. I really enjoyed the author's magical system, the descriptions of trelling, the different culture that Jamie's people had developed, and the different skills that they each had, were fascinating and well done. Hoffman pulls off something I've seen few authors be able to do successfully - describes on the written page the process of creation and art that actually makes it come alive. If I had two quibbles with this book it was that at times the two main character's points of view were difficult to distinguish - I'd have to go back to the chapter heading to see whose name was used, or look and see how the character was referring to the cousins. My other quibble would be that the main confrontation and climax took place almost entirely offstage. That aside, I'd highly recommend this book to college-bound seniors and any teen looking for a good fantasy read.
May 15, 2010
I found the book to be a very interesting alternate take on various magical and vampiric concepts. It is the story of two teen girls, off to college for the first time. One has had major emotional stress for the previous several months, having lost the friendship of her best friend, who has turned into a terrible personal enemy. The other girl comes from a remote town in the Pacific Northwest [no, not the one from Twilight, although there are similarities:] and who is off to the "big city" life of college. Both encounter culture shock, but also become friends as they face what seems to be a supernatural problem.
Interestingly, the "vampiric" entities in this story, while not drinking blood, are potentially just as deadly as Dracula, or as relatively benign as the nice vampires in Twilight. What if the difference between them is no more than the difference between, say, Jimmy Carter and Charles Manson? A matter of personal morality and sanity, rather than species?
The book was definitely thought-provoking and interesting. There were tiny plot issues that could have been smoothed out, but nothing major. Most of these had to do with inconsistencies of the "magic" side of the story, and the foreshadowing of one of the villains.
Interestingly, the "vampiric" entities in this story, while not drinking blood, are potentially just as deadly as Dracula, or as relatively benign as the nice vampires in Twilight. What if the difference between them is no more than the difference between, say, Jimmy Carter and Charles Manson? A matter of personal morality and sanity, rather than species?
The book was definitely thought-provoking and interesting. There were tiny plot issues that could have been smoothed out, but nothing major. Most of these had to do with inconsistencies of the "magic" side of the story, and the foreshadowing of one of the villains.
August 5, 2012
I've now read six of Ms. Hoffman's novels. This one isn't bad, but it is the weakest.
The storyline features the primary and secondary characters flailing around while accomplishing little. Then the resolution of the conflict doesn't much come from the efforts of either of the co-protagonists. The result is less than satisfying.
The writing as writing is fine. The author's deft hand at depicting outsiders remains effective. There was enough here to keep me reading, and I enjoyed it, but Hoffman usually does better.
The storyline features the primary and secondary characters flailing around while accomplishing little. Then the resolution of the conflict doesn't much come from the efforts of either of the co-protagonists. The result is less than satisfying.
The writing as writing is fine. The author's deft hand at depicting outsiders remains effective. There was enough here to keep me reading, and I enjoyed it, but Hoffman usually does better.
April 22, 2020
Three college roommates battle a psychological predator that drains creativity.
July 7, 2008
Fantastic setup; very little pay-off. Alas.
July 14, 2021
My first below five-star rating, oh no! This book was just eh. I bought it at a book fair thinking it sounded pretty light-hearted and fun. What I didn't realize was how below my level it actually was. Now, I have no problem reading books that are below my level- I often go back to old middle and high school books just to re-experience them, but this book was just weird. The pacing of this book was all wrong, I mean the characters would go on tangents that had absolutely nothing to do with the situation at hand. A form of magic was introduced to us, but the book didn't offer a deep explanation of said magic. What are the limits? How does a person come across these powers? Who knows! The book doesn't tell you! I would also like to point out I am always on board for a sub-plot of romance. You wanna add a little spice to a character's near-death experience? Please go ahead, I'll lap it right up! But the romance in this book had me blindsided. There was sliiight foreshadowing, and I mean very minimal, extremely minimal foreshadowing.
The premise of the story in and of itself was not bad, but I think the execution was done poorly. Still, I enjoyed my read (when I wasn't scratching my head in utter confusion).
The premise of the story in and of itself was not bad, but I think the execution was done poorly. Still, I enjoyed my read (when I wasn't scratching my head in utter confusion).
July 17, 2018
Another incredible work by Hoffman. Third book in the Chapel Hollow series, but it can be read standalone. The Thread that Binds the Bones explains how all the Locke and Bolte children could do horrible things as children but are now getting better. Jaimie was one of those kids and she is going to college to experience life with humans that aren't magical or part of the neighboring town where everyone is terrified of them.
Kim and Jaimie begin their freshmen year at Sitka State. Kim being super depressed all summer had nothing to do but get prepared. Jaimie showing up at the dorm with no identification and not even knowing she had to share a room until her dad knocked on the door. Within minutes Rugee who is a minor god to the family that wields powerful magic becomes Kim's protector and they have a much less reverent relationship. The story becomes a magical mystery to find and stop the viri which is not only feeding off Kim's sadness, but is also forcing her into that state.
I read this in two sittings. The story flowed so smoothly that I didn't want to put it down. It kept my interest up, no lulls, every page was interesting. Awesome.
Kim and Jaimie begin their freshmen year at Sitka State. Kim being super depressed all summer had nothing to do but get prepared. Jaimie showing up at the dorm with no identification and not even knowing she had to share a room until her dad knocked on the door. Within minutes Rugee who is a minor god to the family that wields powerful magic becomes Kim's protector and they have a much less reverent relationship. The story becomes a magical mystery to find and stop the viri which is not only feeding off Kim's sadness, but is also forcing her into that state.
I read this in two sittings. The story flowed so smoothly that I didn't want to put it down. It kept my interest up, no lulls, every page was interesting. Awesome.
July 25, 2023
An interesting young adult novel with lots of weirdness
This is an interesting young adult novel with lots of weirdness. All three Chapel Hollow stories I've read so far have been markedly different - but this one is the most different. So much so that I struggled with it in the beginning. Who was this incredibly weepy young woman, and how annoying was this going to get? Thankfully, the story takes a quick turn and becomes more of an adventure and, therefore, more interesting to me. I liked the first book, about Tom, the most. I hope the next story trends back in that direction.
This is an interesting young adult novel with lots of weirdness. All three Chapel Hollow stories I've read so far have been markedly different - but this one is the most different. So much so that I struggled with it in the beginning. Who was this incredibly weepy young woman, and how annoying was this going to get? Thankfully, the story takes a quick turn and becomes more of an adventure and, therefore, more interesting to me. I liked the first book, about Tom, the most. I hope the next story trends back in that direction.
June 23, 2018
This was a book that I just...found someplace, and took home to read because the cover blurb sounded interesting. And it was interesting - it's a sequel to an earlier novel I had never heard of, and which, when I looked for it, was not in my multi-county library holdings list. Too bad, because I would have enjoyed reading that one, if it was as well-written as this one is. Hoffman's take on magic and magical beings is fresh and well worked out. I enjoyed her characters as well. In fact, I'd read this book again.
May 4, 2019
I did like this one; just not as much as I enjoyed "The Thread that Binds the Bones." I liked seeing Jaime trying to be better, and I really liked Rugee. But I think I would have liked to see more of the long-term consequences of the events in the first book.
It was enjoyable enough, just vaguely unsatisfying. I am glad I read it, and I did enjoy it. It just left me wanting.
It was enjoyable enough, just vaguely unsatisfying. I am glad I read it, and I did enjoy it. It just left me wanting.
January 4, 2024
This book changed my life! I read it when I was in highschool and I felt directionless. I felt alone more than anything and it made me feel brighter about the future while also pulling me into a grand story. I absolutely loved the shifting perspectives and the characters themselves. Nina puts you in a world you keep wanting to go back to.
October 13, 2018
A fine book but with not much content. Honest feels like a Naruto filler arc. Some of Nina's pay books have been brilliant, particularly the magic systems. I'm still willing to read more, I simply hope they have thicker content.
October 26, 2017
I go back and reread this book a lot. It's a fun college adventure.
July 9, 2018
So many fascinating ideas! Loved it! Now pleeeeeeease can we have more stories about these families!
September 8, 2019
3.5 stars
Magical interferences and the stress and excitement of starting college. Solid if you are looking for a book about the college experience that has magic and friendship!
Magical interferences and the stress and excitement of starting college. Solid if you are looking for a book about the college experience that has magic and friendship!
September 22, 2019
Over all it was an ok book to read. It kept my attention a bit but it was rather dry. I was a bit surprised at who the Viri was that was sucking out Kim's happiness.
March 2, 2024
A pleasant enough story of what it is like starting college with lots of fantasy elements thrown in.
July 8, 2024
i was too surprised by the male pregnancy and random child in the epilogue to care about the fact that the cousins who supposedly hate each other got into a relationship together
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2020
In this book we are reintroduced to Jaimie Locke, one of the minor characters from The Thread That Binds the Bones. She is still in recovery from having been trained to be evil by her previous teacher. (She more or less indicates this on a number of occasions.)
Jaimie has decided to go to college with the intent of learning about boys and Outsiders. (It is difficult to say which has the greater priority.) Jaimie had been giving a list of things she is Not Supposed to Talk About to Outsiders but of course, the list goes flying right out the window once she meets her roommate, Kim. Also accompanying her to college is god named Rugee who looks a great deal like some kind of lizard.
Kim is an artist suffering from an intense depression that turns out to be the result of an encounter with a vampiric entity called a viri. (The entity and latched onto her in high school, became addicted to Kim’s misery and decided to bully Kim into a miserable wreck of her former self.) Kim stumbles onto Jaimie’s secret identity as a witch shortly after getting kicked out of her room so Jaimie and her father could perform a religious ceremony. At the same time, Rugee and Jaimie discover that the reason for Kim’s really intense depression is because someone is creating and the siphoning off her depression.
Rugee offers Kim his protection, and Jaimie offers her assistance and friendship.Also offering assistance in protecting Kim are Jaimie’s cousins and other relatives who are initially horrified that Jaimie completely spilled the beans.(Fortunately, Rugee is present to keep the cousins and other relatives from doing something stupid and accidentally cruel. I can understand why a magical culture would be so strict and understand why they would want to conceal their abilities from outsiders, but the Bolte, Locke and Keye families are occasionally a bunch of jerks even when they haven’t been trained to be evil.)
The book alternates between Kim and Jaimie’s point of view, each of them being baffled and curious about the other person’s background and way of thinking.There are some extremely funny moments involving Jaimie not really getting “Outsider”culture despite having been immersed in it. (This was one of the main reasonswhy I really enjoyed this book. There is something about the narrative of someone trying to fit in with a different culture that I really like.) The only (very slight problem) I had was that Kim’s synesthesia, or rather the way her synesthesia interacts with her creative talents seemed to be catnip to anyone with vaguely supernatural powers. I was just a little ambivalent about this plot point.(Mostly because it wasn’t really explained why the synesthesia was so interesting,or if it actually was synesthesia.)
I enjoyed the book a great deal. (Which is an understatement; I read the book cover to cover three times in a row the first time I checked it out.)
Jaimie has decided to go to college with the intent of learning about boys and Outsiders. (It is difficult to say which has the greater priority.) Jaimie had been giving a list of things she is Not Supposed to Talk About to Outsiders but of course, the list goes flying right out the window once she meets her roommate, Kim. Also accompanying her to college is god named Rugee who looks a great deal like some kind of lizard.
Kim is an artist suffering from an intense depression that turns out to be the result of an encounter with a vampiric entity called a viri. (The entity and latched onto her in high school, became addicted to Kim’s misery and decided to bully Kim into a miserable wreck of her former self.) Kim stumbles onto Jaimie’s secret identity as a witch shortly after getting kicked out of her room so Jaimie and her father could perform a religious ceremony. At the same time, Rugee and Jaimie discover that the reason for Kim’s really intense depression is because someone is creating and the siphoning off her depression.
Rugee offers Kim his protection, and Jaimie offers her assistance and friendship.Also offering assistance in protecting Kim are Jaimie’s cousins and other relatives who are initially horrified that Jaimie completely spilled the beans.(Fortunately, Rugee is present to keep the cousins and other relatives from doing something stupid and accidentally cruel. I can understand why a magical culture would be so strict and understand why they would want to conceal their abilities from outsiders, but the Bolte, Locke and Keye families are occasionally a bunch of jerks even when they haven’t been trained to be evil.)
The book alternates between Kim and Jaimie’s point of view, each of them being baffled and curious about the other person’s background and way of thinking.There are some extremely funny moments involving Jaimie not really getting “Outsider”culture despite having been immersed in it. (This was one of the main reasonswhy I really enjoyed this book. There is something about the narrative of someone trying to fit in with a different culture that I really like.) The only (very slight problem) I had was that Kim’s synesthesia, or rather the way her synesthesia interacts with her creative talents seemed to be catnip to anyone with vaguely supernatural powers. I was just a little ambivalent about this plot point.(Mostly because it wasn’t really explained why the synesthesia was so interesting,or if it actually was synesthesia.)
I enjoyed the book a great deal. (Which is an understatement; I read the book cover to cover three times in a row the first time I checked it out.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2016
Sigh. Another Chapel Hollow book that just falls flat. I had to read this, despite my reservations after the first two, just to see where it went. Disappointing and even weirder than the first two. It suffers from the same issues as the earlier books (inexplicable magic, no consequences, glossing over serious issues, flat characters) but then adds a shapechanging succubus-like creature.
*Spoilers*
It switches back and forth between the POV of Jamie (I think she appears in the first book) and Kim (ordinary girl...who apparently has super pure, awesome emotional output). They are just starting college, which will hopefully be a new start for both of them, and Jamie will be able to see how Outsiders live. Which might work, if she wasn't always blabbing about Forbidden Topics when people can hear her and doing magic publicly. There is no discretion in this girl at all, because back home in Chapel Hollow, her family openly uses magic - mostly everyone in the nearby town is terrified of them and doesn't say anything about their magic. Despite the first book and this one blaming the horrible things on a bad apple of a teacher...her own family has a rule that you can do whatever you want to each other, as long as you don't scar them. Conveniently you can "memory wash" your victim, so maybe some of the stuff you've done to them would have traumatized them forever, but they don't remember, so it's all cool. Using the Voice to get them to obey embarrassing orders...yeah, that's fine too. Transforming your siblings because you're stronger? Yep. Sounds to me like there were major problems in this family long before that last teacher got hold of the young ones.
Some members of the other branch of the family show up as well, a couple of whom were in the second book. Despite having been chastened in the last book, they aren't any better in this one. Nor are they discreet about magic use either. I'm not sure how this branch is supposedly better at hiding their magic use, when Uncle Rory commands his niece/nephews to vanish immediately if they are in danger, without considering that the vanishing could be witnessed.
The entire book takes place in about three days, and between bouts of soul-sucking despair and hunting said soul sucker, Kim is determinedly dragging them all the orientation events. I didn't find the friendship convincing, nor the backstory with the creature sucking her emotions. The Presence that accompanies them and looks like a salamander was random (didn't seem to fit with earlier stories of the Presences), and let's not even talk about the "baby" that was born.
*Spoilers*
It switches back and forth between the POV of Jamie (I think she appears in the first book) and Kim (ordinary girl...who apparently has super pure, awesome emotional output). They are just starting college, which will hopefully be a new start for both of them, and Jamie will be able to see how Outsiders live. Which might work, if she wasn't always blabbing about Forbidden Topics when people can hear her and doing magic publicly. There is no discretion in this girl at all, because back home in Chapel Hollow, her family openly uses magic - mostly everyone in the nearby town is terrified of them and doesn't say anything about their magic. Despite the first book and this one blaming the horrible things on a bad apple of a teacher...her own family has a rule that you can do whatever you want to each other, as long as you don't scar them. Conveniently you can "memory wash" your victim, so maybe some of the stuff you've done to them would have traumatized them forever, but they don't remember, so it's all cool. Using the Voice to get them to obey embarrassing orders...yeah, that's fine too. Transforming your siblings because you're stronger? Yep. Sounds to me like there were major problems in this family long before that last teacher got hold of the young ones.
Some members of the other branch of the family show up as well, a couple of whom were in the second book. Despite having been chastened in the last book, they aren't any better in this one. Nor are they discreet about magic use either. I'm not sure how this branch is supposedly better at hiding their magic use, when Uncle Rory commands his niece/nephews to vanish immediately if they are in danger, without considering that the vanishing could be witnessed.
The entire book takes place in about three days, and between bouts of soul-sucking despair and hunting said soul sucker, Kim is determinedly dragging them all the orientation events. I didn't find the friendship convincing, nor the backstory with the creature sucking her emotions. The Presence that accompanies them and looks like a salamander was random (didn't seem to fit with earlier stories of the Presences), and let's not even talk about the "baby" that was born.
September 17, 2016
Hoffman can certainly write. From time to time as I was reading, I would happen onto a beautiful, captivating passage. The two central characters were engaging enough, and I appreciated the role played by art and creativity.
My dissatisfaction may boil down to one thing: my dislike, in general, or urban or contemporary fantasy. There have been exceptions; the first that spring to mind, which I absolutely loved, are , , , and . At the book's beginning, as I got to know Jaimie and Kim, I had hope that this would join the ranks of those exceptions. Had the focus remained on Jaimie, Kim, and Rugee, and their battle against the vampire that feeds on human emotions like depression, it might well have done just that. But the wider the cast of characters expanded, the shallower I felt the story growing; the more people showed up (and didn't go away), the less invested I found myself, and the more I noticed the things that try my patience in urban fantasy in general -- for instance, that in order to get to those beautiful, captivating passages I mentioned above, I had to wade through pages and pages of banal-sounding dialogue, reminding me that not only was I reading urban fantasy, I was reading YA. I do love a well-written YA fantasy, but my favorite YA fantasy does not call repeated attention to its YA-ness, either in style or dialogue.
A decent story. Just not really for me.
My dissatisfaction may boil down to one thing: my dislike, in general, or urban or contemporary fantasy. There have been exceptions; the first that spring to mind, which I absolutely loved, are , , , and . At the book's beginning, as I got to know Jaimie and Kim, I had hope that this would join the ranks of those exceptions. Had the focus remained on Jaimie, Kim, and Rugee, and their battle against the vampire that feeds on human emotions like depression, it might well have done just that. But the wider the cast of characters expanded, the shallower I felt the story growing; the more people showed up (and didn't go away), the less invested I found myself, and the more I noticed the things that try my patience in urban fantasy in general -- for instance, that in order to get to those beautiful, captivating passages I mentioned above, I had to wade through pages and pages of banal-sounding dialogue, reminding me that not only was I reading urban fantasy, I was reading YA. I do love a well-written YA fantasy, but my favorite YA fantasy does not call repeated attention to its YA-ness, either in style or dialogue.
A decent story. Just not really for me.
August 16, 2021
It was good. I wanted it to be great.
So, let's make a compliment sandwich:
GOOD: the characters. They were clearly two different people. The way they spoke, their mentalities. And everyone was interesting. Jaime was well rounded- she was totally flawed, but had a flawed upbringing. And she was working on getting better and overcoming what was realistically trauma and unhealthy competition. Kim was kind of a drag to follow, but that's somewhat realistic to depression. And through little glimpses, you can tell there was an interesting character underneath.
BAD: the writing of the characters. It felt like this was an author who was more comfy with middle grade readers, and not burgeoning college students. There was an... innocence that didn't make sense for the setting. I'm in no way saying all older teens/young adults are crass and dark and gritty ("Euphoria" is an overexaggeration), but there was an underlying kid-iness that doesn't fit for 19 year olds.
GOOD: the plot. An emotional succubus siphoning off your negativity? This worked really well.
BAD: the plot twist? There really wasn't one. Not all books need a plot twist, but this book should have used one. Because the "predictable" answer, like, it wasn't great. When I got to the ending, I was really underwhelmed.
GOOD: the world system. Jaimies family's world is really unique. And seeing Kim's depiction of the normal world was also cool.
BAD: the 2 world's colliding/the pacing. Jaimie slipped about magic within... 5 minutes of meeting Kim. This is world changing information in it of itself, and the whole book takes place in a long weekend. There's just a lot of information coming out, a lot of trust being placed, that got rushed. By a lot. It didn't seem natural, there should've been more of a breathing period.
Final verdict: I'm not mad I read it. I would be interested in seeing other works by this author. This book just wasn't great.
So, let's make a compliment sandwich:
GOOD: the characters. They were clearly two different people. The way they spoke, their mentalities. And everyone was interesting. Jaime was well rounded- she was totally flawed, but had a flawed upbringing. And she was working on getting better and overcoming what was realistically trauma and unhealthy competition. Kim was kind of a drag to follow, but that's somewhat realistic to depression. And through little glimpses, you can tell there was an interesting character underneath.
BAD: the writing of the characters. It felt like this was an author who was more comfy with middle grade readers, and not burgeoning college students. There was an... innocence that didn't make sense for the setting. I'm in no way saying all older teens/young adults are crass and dark and gritty ("Euphoria" is an overexaggeration), but there was an underlying kid-iness that doesn't fit for 19 year olds.
GOOD: the plot. An emotional succubus siphoning off your negativity? This worked really well.
BAD: the plot twist? There really wasn't one. Not all books need a plot twist, but this book should have used one. Because the "predictable" answer, like, it wasn't great. When I got to the ending, I was really underwhelmed.
GOOD: the world system. Jaimies family's world is really unique. And seeing Kim's depiction of the normal world was also cool.
BAD: the 2 world's colliding/the pacing. Jaimie slipped about magic within... 5 minutes of meeting Kim. This is world changing information in it of itself, and the whole book takes place in a long weekend. There's just a lot of information coming out, a lot of trust being placed, that got rushed. By a lot. It didn't seem natural, there should've been more of a breathing period.
Final verdict: I'm not mad I read it. I would be interested in seeing other works by this author. This book just wasn't great.
June 8, 2015
My main problem with the book was it was all telling. Now telling has it's place in a story but let's show something happening. Well we did get to see an emotional mess in action, not quite what I meant!
A secondary problem was the story wasn't very developed. I enjoy a book better when it's not solved instantly. I mean 2 days really?!
I thought she had a handle on giving us decently developed characters, not much happened with them but we got them. She did leave you puzzling for 20 or so pages on just who the culprit is but once she stops anyone else from coming near you pretty much figure it out.
The thing is you really wanted to experience more in this world! Her world building skills are mad good. She has a great imagination on her and if she would only develop the plot more most readers wouldn't even care she only tells with very, very little showing!
Now I didn't much like the split point of view, mainly because it took you a couple pages to readjust to which girl you were reading because they both sounded like the same character :( mainly I knew the difference if the girl got sad or did mind paintings or talking about her relatives. I like it when a split POV each sound different as you read them so you actual slip in and out of their minds.
All said I didn't hate the book, it didn't take long to read and the world was imaginative. If you miss it though you won't be crying buckets of tears either.
BOTTOM LINE: I want a Rugee too!
A secondary problem was the story wasn't very developed. I enjoy a book better when it's not solved instantly. I mean 2 days really?!
I thought she had a handle on giving us decently developed characters, not much happened with them but we got them. She did leave you puzzling for 20 or so pages on just who the culprit is but once she stops anyone else from coming near you pretty much figure it out.
The thing is you really wanted to experience more in this world! Her world building skills are mad good. She has a great imagination on her and if she would only develop the plot more most readers wouldn't even care she only tells with very, very little showing!
Now I didn't much like the split point of view, mainly because it took you a couple pages to readjust to which girl you were reading because they both sounded like the same character :( mainly I knew the difference if the girl got sad or did mind paintings or talking about her relatives. I like it when a split POV each sound different as you read them so you actual slip in and out of their minds.
All said I didn't hate the book, it didn't take long to read and the world was imaginative. If you miss it though you won't be crying buckets of tears either.
BOTTOM LINE: I want a Rugee too!
January 9, 2009
Most of Nina Kiriki Hoffman's works deal with members of a people with the power to wield magic and communicate with presences. This is the first work I know of that shows them as seen by an outsider. I liked the characters, the plot, the writing in general, the overall theme of growth, and how she touched on the complexity of justice and the presence of better answers to malfeasance than inflicting pain or destruction. As someone who works and lives near a university, I felt she made pretty much all of the young characters _much_ more responsible, sensible, predictable, and just plain developed as people than was appropriate for their age. It would have been a perfect story if it were about 20-somethings (or maybe 30-somethings), but at that age _and_ environment, they didn't fit even as precocious oddballs. As someone who works with the computers and graphics both as a career _and_ as a hobby, I found the depiction of the artist and her work good but off enough to jar me out of the story every time details about how she worked came up. But overall, I really enjoyed the story, and the only writer whose handling of magic I like as much and find as meaningful is Patricia McKillip.
December 30, 2012
What an awesome book. And I knew it was going to be awesome from the moment I saw it. I mean, punk hair and ear piercings? Also. A cool looking lizard that I really want? How could it be horrible? And was I ever right. It was full of magic, and I learned things I didn't know could happen. Like when the 'feelings vamp' split itself into two separate people? that was awesome. I wish I could do that. I mean, changing into something totally different would be awesome too, but I dunno. Feelings children are pretty cool.
Kim was a pretty relatable character for me, depressed, couldn't find something to get into, or she couldn't get back into something. Dumb people in high school pushed her to the edge. It's something that happens to everybody. I also like how she acted her age. So many books I've read have people in them who are either acting way too young, or insanely too old. I can't even explain how many times that's made me hate a book. It's just so dumb. lol.
All in all, I loved this book. It had just the right amount of magic and paranormal things in it to make it fiction. Hey, if it didn't have those, I probably would've thought it could be true. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it! (:
Kim was a pretty relatable character for me, depressed, couldn't find something to get into, or she couldn't get back into something. Dumb people in high school pushed her to the edge. It's something that happens to everybody. I also like how she acted her age. So many books I've read have people in them who are either acting way too young, or insanely too old. I can't even explain how many times that's made me hate a book. It's just so dumb. lol.
All in all, I loved this book. It had just the right amount of magic and paranormal things in it to make it fiction. Hey, if it didn't have those, I probably would've thought it could be true. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it! (:
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