Lana Morris does not belong here. Something about living with an evil foster mother and a bunch of Special Needs Kids (Snicks, for short) just isn't her cup of tea. Called "Foster" by K.C., Trina, and Spink--three of the four other teenagers in the area-- she is without friends. And, to top it all off, she's been having some rather forbidden feelings for her foster father--ones that he encourages.One day, sick of minding the Snicks and fed up with her foster mother's constant harassment, Lana takes a ride in the trunk of K.C.'s green LeSabre, too desperate to get out of the house to care that she'l be hot, uncomfortable, and ignored. They take a bumpy ride out in the middle of nowhere, ending up in the town of Hereford. While K.C. and company get lunch, Lana wanders into a strange little antique shop. She is fascinated by a drawing kit, for which she ends up trading the thing she holds most dear. Soon, Lana discovers that the drawing kit is far from ordinary. Whatever she draws on the paper comes to be. When she erases, it is undone. This, of course, has some unexpected consequences.
The Decoding of Lana Morris was a quick and not very memorable read. It was written in the third person present, which I found rather awkward. The story itself was at times beautiful and tender, but the magical element of the drawing kit (which, I'll admit, drew me to the book in the first place) bothered me. There was no rhyme or reason to it, really. What Lana drew always manifested itself differently, and a bit inaccurately.
To be completely honest, I just wasn't engaged by the story. It had potential...but did nothing to draw me in.
Three out of five daggers.
Suffering from mild book apathy...
7 comments:
Aww, I liked this book, especially Chet's radio show. The one thing I HATED was the weird crush she had on Whit. CREEPY.
Chet's radio show was cool. It wasn't bad or anything. Just not my favourite thing.
Avery Trelaine
Yeah, it's not on my top ten either...
:D
books that have random unexplaned magical elements that don't make enough of an impact on the story (coughcoughthieflordcough) bother me.
and let's not even get me started on whimsy. i hate whimsy.
Uh, oh. That will not bode well with Aella...
Hmmmm... is it just me or was there a mention of The Thief Lord within those coughs? I can hardly deign to respond. I can hardly deign to breathe. Because I am certain. Absolutely certain. That you cannot be thinking of the same Thief Lord that I am thinking of. My devotion remains untested. Even in the face of adversity. A guardian am I against the forces of doubt in genius.
Magic is the lyric basis of the soul. It does not need to be applied in large doses, simply observed and acknowledged. The beauty of The Thief Lord was in the existence and not the execution or description.
And the whole point of the story was around the carousel. Rise and fall. Age discrimination and age abuse. The carousel was the manifestation of a lifespan and the realization of a duty, even in the very young.
Cheerz!
i had a strange suspicion that would get me beheaded by someone, i just wasn't sure who. ;)
my only complaint about the Thief Lord (which, i admit, i only read once quite a while ago) was that the magical element was added at the very very end of the book, at the climax, which i viewed as hasty.
no offense meant to those who loved it.
Post a Comment