Book Review: Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Title: Plain Kate

Author: Erin Bow

Details: ARC, 314 pgs (published in Hardcover)

Published: Sept. 1st, 2010 by Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)

isbn: 0545166640 (ISBN13: 9780545166645)

Reading Level: Young Adult

Source: Amazon Vine (for review)

The drizzle had broken into patches as they walked. As Drina scooped up the pale sand, Kate found herself standing in the smudge of shadow cast by the deadfall. She had never before noticed the way shadows gave things weight, made them look heavy and real and connected to the ground. Without hers...

She edged into the light.

Her shadow looked strange and thinned. It seemed not cast against the ground, but floating above it, like a fog. What Linay had said was true: No one would notice this, at first. It was just an uneasy little change, like the half-felt movement of a boat that slowly induces a great sickness.

Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can't live shadowless forever -- and that Linay's designs are darker than she ever dreamed.

 Wow.  This book was so amazing, so beautiful, so heart-wrenching and creative and unique.  And beautiful.  I keep saying beautiful, I know.  It's just that Erin Bow has a way with words that everything in this story worked out so beautifully.  Not that the story was happy and full of rainbows.  As a matter of fact it was the opposite.  It was more of a dark fantasy in that it was full of darkness and death with just a few lighter moments.  But the way that Erin put it all together and used words to describe things to make it come alive, it was perfection.  It couldn't have been done better.  At times I felt like things were happening so fast that I felt confused.  But this was not a bad confused, this was everything is so freaking crazy I can't stop reading to pause and soak it in- MUST know what happens! confused.   And I never stayed confused.  


This book was full of characters that you didn't know who to love, who to hate, who was bad, who was good.  As a matter of fact several characters were all of those.  Things changed so much through the story, things were revealed, people were afraid and crazy things were happening.  How can you know who is responsible for the bad things, and the bad things that are happening, are they happening for a good reason?  Or a reason that was originally good?  Oh, this story is twisted and crazy.  But it is amazing.  


Cat lovers out there- this may be a book for you.  There is a cat in this book that is a character all in himself.  He is loyal, he is a true friend and he is talented.  Now I'm not going to tell you his talents, cause I want you to discover that yourself, but any cat lover out there will love him.  


This book does not have any romance, thus no sex.  There's no harsh language and the violence isn't terribly descriptive.  I think this is one that those of any age, middle grade and up, would enjoy.  It's a fast read, but I wouldn't call it light.  There are parts that are quite heavy and emotional.  I only cried once, at nearly the very end, but I felt a lot while reading the book.  I felt so horrible for what these characters had to go through, because they went through a LOT. 

I am definitely a firm fan and I will be watching for anything and everything Erin Bow writes.  This story was so well done I'm incredibly anxious for more!

You can find the author at:
Website |  Twitter

You can purchase the book at:

Plain Kate Indiebound

Plain Kate at Amazon

 

Disclosure:  I received this book free of charge from the amazon vine review program in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions stated are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way. 
I received an advanced review copy and the final version may have had slight changes.