Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody

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Title: Obernewtyn
Author: Isobelle Carmody
Publisher: Random House Children's Book
Release Date: December 9, 2008
Pages: 244 pages (paperback)
How I Got the Book: Bought it.
Purchase/Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Promotional Materials and More: book trailer | author website

In a world struggling back from the brink of apocalypse, life is harsh. And for Elspeth Gordie, it is also dangerous. That's because Elspeth has a secret: she is a Misfit, born with mysterious mental abilities that she must keep hidden under threat of death. And her worries only multiply when she is exiled to the mountain compound known as Obernewtyn, where—for all her talents—Elspeth may finally and truly be out of her depth. Then she learns she’s not the only one concealing secrets at Obernewtyn.

Review:

Isobelle Carmody's standalone novel Alyzon Whitestarr was one of the first books I reviewed when I started this blog nearly two years ago (almost two years now!) and since then, I've been interested in the series that made her so famous in Australia: the Obernewtyn Chronicles. This post-apocalyptic fantasy novel is a serious departure from what I'm used to and I enjoyed it, though the novel has its share of problems. It's difficult to put my problems into words for this one, but I'll try.

The novel's vivid worldbuilding kept me reading when I needed to pack and do other things, though I admittedly started skimming at the boring points. Elspeth came across as a relatable character to me and what she went through in various orphanages a a child believably shaped who she is in this novel. I got quite a bit of heart from the supporting characters as well, but I did expect a little more from them. It's understandable we didn't get to know them better, in a way; the iron fist of Obernewtyn's Master(s) kept them from being more open and letting both Elspeth and readers in. They're likely to get more characterization in future books.

Carmody began the novel when she was fourteen and it was first published in 1987, when she was in her late twenties, but there are places where stilted writing/dialogue and rough pacing give away how young she was when she began. As I said previously, I started skimming when things got boring and during some of the descriptions. Obernewtyn is short and that's exactly why I read this next over something else, but that also gives it two choices: cram a lot into a little book or allow a proportionately small amount of material into said little book. It went with the latter.

I have a feeling Carmody's Obernewtyn Chronicles is a series that is better when considered as a whole rather than as individual books, much like LJ Smith's books. I think I'll continue on with this series to see how the author improves and how the more subtle elements and forgotten plot threads of Obernewtyn will come back later (research on this series has taught me that everything is important and can come back books later to save the day), but I can't do it right now. Maybe one day.

3 stars!

What am I reading next?: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Alyzon Whitestarr by Isobelle Carmody

Title: Alyzon Whitestarr
Author: Isobelle Carmody

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Release Date: 2005;  I found three different dates, so I'm not sure what the exact date is.
Pages: 501 pages (paperback)

Alyzon Whitestarr doesn't take after her musically talented father or her nocturnal, artistic mother. In fact, she's easily the most normal member of a very eccentric family...until the day when an accident leaves her senses and perceptions enhanced. Suddenly, colors are more vibrant, her memory is flawless, and even her sister's cooking tastes exquisite.

But strangest of all is Alyzon's sense of smell. Through it, she can discern the moods and intentions of those around her. Her new best friend smalls like a comforting sea breeze. She registers her father's contentment as the sweet scent of caramelized sugar, and his anxiety over bills is as acrid as ammonia. So what does it mean that the cutest guy in school smells outright rancid? And what reason could he possible have to ask her on a date?

With Alyzon Whitestarr, acclaimed author Isobelle Carmody crafts a fantastical tale of romance, suspense, and the paranormal.

Review:

Alyzon Whitestarr was the plainest member of the Whitestarrs, a seven-person family with many eccentric qualities, little money, and a whole lot of love. She gets knocked in the head with a car door because of Wombat, the obese family cat, and when she wakes up from her month-long coma, her senses have drastically improved. She can hear taste, and see better than ever before and she can smell the moods and essences of others, such as her Da's caramelized sugar contentment and sister Serenity's licorice (as Sybl) and violets (as Serenity) essence. Then when school hottie Harlen Sanderson starts coming around, she finds that he smells disgusting! While learning to control her new senses and avoiding a persistent Harlen, she and her new friends try to discover what this rotting scent of essences means and save Alyzon's family from their various dilemmas.

I was captivated by this idea as soon as I read the summary and the first few chapters. It sat on my wish list for months before I finally ordered it and I'm glad I did because it was worth the read. This book brings up some pretty deep points, such as the talking about doing something to help vs. actually doing it debate and the futility of anger because of how we waste our lives being angry instead of doing something about what has made us so unhappy.

I didn't have a favorite character this time around because I had a soft spot for so many of the characters: Da, the musical, loving father of the family; Mum, the head-in-the-clouds, artistic mother; Jesse, the oldest child who plays blues and has words inside him waiting to be let out; Mirandah, who wears clothes all of one color until she decides it's time for a new color; Alyzon, her new powers, and her determination to keep her family safe; Serenity, who demands to be called Sybl and is easily the most complex character in the book; and adorable baby Luke. Everyone has a little piece of my heart this time around- even the bad guys, except for one of them.

By the way, Alyzon: thank you for not finding Harlen's possessive, almost stalker-like behavior romantic! You found it just as creepy as I did (which is to say, very creepy).

This book had its fair share of flaws, too. Sometimes when I was reading, I would get so annoyed with just how many deep issues Mrs. Carmody was trying to handle in one novel that I commented to myself that the book wanted to be as deep as a bottomless pit. I love deep issues as much as the next girl and can't stand it when a book has no substance at all, but not so many issues in one book, please! My puny human brain can only handle so much before it wants to explode from all the thinking. It did make me think a lot, so that's great.

I felt like the novel was a little longer than it needed to be. Long books are awesome too, but there were a few places that I feel like things were drug out for a little too long. If I went through the book right now, there are at least ten pages I could immediately strike out as not-very-contributive and with more careful analysis, who knows how many more might be eliminated? 

Another little thing that made me wonder was that Alyzon told her friends- who, in reality, were mostly people she'd just met- about her new powers when the family that she was so close to was left in the dark. I almost understand because of the circumstances around the time that she told them about her enhanced senses, but then I remembered how odd her family was. Does she think they won't understand because of how weird it is, yet that these near-strangers will because of what happened just before she told them? I don't get it. 

For a little while, I was worried about false advertising because I was at page 300 or so and hadn't seen any signs of the mythical romance. If there's anything I hate, it's false advertising on my books. It did show up, though I felt like Alyzon and the guy she had the romance with had a better friendship dynamic than a romantic one. I would have preferred that they stayed just friends because part of what brought this book down was this mostly-inauthentic romance.

I also feel this book was miscategorized. On the back cover, it calls itself "a fantastical tale of... the paranormal," but I wouldn't call this a paranormal romance book. I would call this more of a sci-fi lite book. Alyzon's powers have an origin that's grounded in reality- brain damage- and the rotting of the souls is often called a virus or sickness, which also makes it feel more scientific than fantastic. (On a very late note: I found it amazing how many people the sickness touched. Just... wow.)

This wasn't a bad book by any means, but there were a few issues holding it back from being truly great. I do recommend it, but be ready for a book that develops rather slowly and tries to cover a huge number of subjects in a fairly large amount of pages. It'll make you think or your money back! I just wish there was a sequel; when I did a search, I found something saying that the author was unlikely to write a sequel to Alyzon Whitestarr.

3 stars!