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We meet Martha who is desperately unhappy after an accident left her blind in one eye and with a scar on her face. A bizarre result of this accident was that she can ‘read’ people from touching their clothes. She can sense feelings and memories and see a part of them when she connects with their clothes. The Twisted Tree combines Nordic Mythology, a contemporary setting and a ghost story together in what is a twisted tale that involves romance, secrets and lies, the underworld and a remote island in Norway! So this one hsowed up on the newly added section of NetGalley last week and I was intrigued. The cover looked similar to the Frances Hardinge books that I keep seeing everywhere:
This was genuinely nicely spooky. The Nordic legends were very well used and explained. The quality of the writing was very good and made for an easy read. I did like the idea of Martha being able to read fabric - that was novel and interesting. Martha with all her emotions and fears makes an excellent character. Also, amongst all these amazing female characters we have Stig. I adored Stig even though by the end I had no idea if he was who he said he was or not. I want to know so much more about him. Just one of the reasons I would love a sequel. I think one of the main things I like about Stig is that he isn't your average love interest, just like Martha isn't your average heroine. He's good looking but in his own way, he takes everything that is thrown at them and even though he struggles with it, he always helps Martha and wants to protect her. He marches into a snowstorm to help her even though he is scared. That's courage. But also...I mean did he do something to Nina? If that was her ghost, did she follow him there? Why? Does she blame him? Why? I need to know!!! I also want to know what happens next between him and Martha. Can she trust him? I don't know but I want there to be a future for them somewhere. I didn't like the present tense used, the dialogue was stilted and the writing clunky. Too much time was spent in the house, and not enough time on the action scenes. The tree needs to be watered and the souls need to be kept safe, and the monster needs to be killed. This tense and gripping story has it all and at just the right amounts too. I enjoyed the flow of the books, the characters, and the interweaving of Norwegian. The old folklore is wonderful too. I wanted to know what the mystery was surrounding the tree and Martha and her grandmother the whole way through the book and I certainly wasn't disappointed.
Upon arrival she finds herself in an even more difficult position in that her Grandmother has recently died, a stranger is in her Grandmother’s house and there is something wild in the woods killing animals and people. Something that even a bullet can’t stop! I think where this book really excels is in the creepy elements. Burge really has a gift for atmosphere and creating a scene which you can visualise so fully. I would love to see a pure horror novel from her actually, as few authors can scare and give me chills as much as this one did. I liked the incorporation of mythology, particularly aspects that I hadn't seen included in a book before. I enjoyed the character development that the main character went through, as she learned to be happy with herself, and I liked that a romance wasn't the reason that she did so. It was a cute little romance too, with a different love interest. I think that's overall what I can say about this-it was different. It's a YA book that feels set apart from a lot of the ones I've read lately. The fact that this is a debut novel. I know that’s not really a positive about the book itself but I feel like this author has a real point of view and it excites me that there could be more to come. But when Martha arrives, she is devastated to discover her grandmother is dead and a strange boy has taken up residence in her cabin. Oh yeah and there's some big scary creature on the loose and it seems Martha is the key to putting everything right again. Trapped in the money cottage as the snow begins to fall, Martha must face her fears and save the day. Or rather the world.
Events that added little to the story – there were a few things that felt a bit ‘non-eventy’ to me that dragged out that first portion of the story and kinda added to the bit above Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor – only to discover Mormor is dead, a peculiar boy is in her cabin and a terrifying creature is on the loose. After Martha falls from a tree and becomes blind in one eye, she starts being able to tell things about people when she touches their clothes. She visits her grandmother in Norway to try to understand her strange new abilities, only to find a strange boy there, and a monstrous creature on the loose. The only reason for not giving this 5 stars? I felt there was a lot of unfinished business with Stig. At the end of the novel I had more questions than answers with regards to his past and personality and I felt more could have been done to tie up these loose ends. Things then start to get spooky ... I won't tell you what happens (because spoilers) but you're in for a great ride!
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Martha is a young girl who is very mixed up. She is having a hard time not only being blind in one eye but that her eye is facing the wrong way so people stare at her. She is also having a hard time not understanding why she feels peoples emotions and memories when she touches their clothes. She heads off to Norway to get answers after discovering her mother was getting rid of the letter from her Grandmother. Martha is one of my all time favourite heroines. She is so strong and yet so full of self loathing and doubt. She is beautiful and scarred. She is dealing with so much: her accident, her mum's betrayal, the death of her grandmother, the sudden onset of her abilities and then everything that happens once she gets to Norway. But she is incredible. She takes it all in, and yes she is sceptical and it takes her some time to come to terms with it but damn does she pull through. She absolutely owns her ability and her legacy. I just love her, I love everything about her. The book has so many levels to it. I’ve never really been a lover of mythology but it was weaved into the story perfectly and with ease and the book certainly wouldn’t have worked without it. On a negative note, I think that this book could have been more engaging. It was a little hard to get into, and I only actually finished this on my second attempt. These issues did diminish as the book went on, but it was a slow beginning for such a short book. I was also disappointed that right at the very end, we're talking 95% in, some plot twists were thrown in and weren't resolved by the end, with no sequel being confirmed. It felt unnecessary and inconsistent.
This was a wonderful and relatively short fantasy/reality story. Martha was a great heroine and I loved the combination of fantasy, Norse mythology, creepiness and romance. That doesn't sound like it would work but it really did! This is a Hot Key Books publication which means it is aimed at a Young Adult (I loathe that term SO much) audience. However, do not be misled this a creepy and tense novel that will give an inordinate amount of pleasure to anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned tale of the supernatural. It has everything - ghosts, demons, ancient Gods and a promise made a millennia ago that cannot be broken - DELICIOUS! The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge sounded incredible, but while it had a number of intriguing elements, it was a huge let down. Mormor – I just wish we had seen more of her. Without making this a spoilers review, for someone who is so key to the story I didn’t feel like I got much of an idea of who she was, her own personality and just her.It sets in Norway, in a cabin in the woods, where the cold season arrives. It’s a story about a girl name Martha, who have an ability to tell a person through their piece of clothes. It involves ghosts, creepy creatures, and a twisted tree. There’s a little romance which honestly make the whole story even better. I just loved the strong female characters in this book. All of Martha's ancestors have looked after the tree to guard the world of the dead and stop things like the Draugr walking our earth. They have done this since Odin hung from the tree to gain wisdom from the Well of Urd. They have all been women and all of them have had the ability to read clothing, to see people's thoughts, feelings, motives and dreams. It's just such a magical concept and I love it.
The descriptions of the cabin were amazing, I felt like I was actually there with Martha and Stig and the wind howling outside. I loved the romance aspect and was really rooting for them to get together. I know I'm not the target audience, but I love a ya fantasy, and was really looking forward to this! It felt very young ya/middle grade to me, and the writing was very immature. The secondary characters were two dimensional, and the main character was whiny and unlikeable. She had a great amount of self loathing about her eye, and we were constantly told that she is ugly and hideous because of her injury/disability. My favourite character was Gandalf the dog by a mile! It soon turns out that something is lurking in the woods, something connected to the twisted tree in the garden. If they are to stay alive the pair will need to rely on each other and Martha’s new skill of being able to see things with her blind eye.I received a free ebook version of this from Netgalley. Thankyou to both the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this. My review is still honest! I feel I should make it clear that I have not been a "YA" for quite a long time. However I have read and reviewed a few YA books over the past few years. The outline of this one appealed to immediately. In part I think this was because of the reference to Neil Gaiman whose books I love generally. Another amazing book and will def become one of my favourites! I need a movie adaptation for this one! Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma’s cabin and became blind in one eye. I’m not going to tell you much more at this point as there is no way to tell you more without being a completely spoilers based review
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