Rebecca Podos
Autor(a) de The Mystery of Hollow Places
Obras por Rebecca Podos
The Dust Alphabet 1 exemplar
Associated Works
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Data de nascimento
- 20th century
- Sexo
- female
- Nacionalidade
- USA
- Locais de residência
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Educação
- Emerson College
- Ocupações
- writer
literary agent - Organizações
- The Rees Literary Agency
- Agente
- Eric Smith (P.S. Literary Agency)
Membros
Críticas
Short stories by some old faves and found some new authors to love too!
The Mystery of Hollow Places is a deft little emotional mystery, featuring a likable teenage protagonist unraveling the mysterious disappearance of both her parents, one in her past and one in her present. It's about love, loss, mental illness, and the slippery illusion of self.
Imogene Scott is seventeen and doesn't remember her mother, who left when Imogene was very young. All she really has of her is the fairytale-esque story her father told her every night as a child about how they met and fell in love. The centerpiece of this story is a stone heart, purportedly from the chest of Imogene's maternal grandmother, a representation of the illness that closed her off to the world. Imogene and her father are very close, and even the relatively recent addition of Lindy, their former therapist and her father's new wife.
The book starts with Imogene's father disappearing, leaving no note or explanation to his whereabouts except half of her grandmother's stone heart. Both Lindy and Imogene are distraught, but it is Imogene who decides to start with the clue the stone heart provides: she is sure that her father is looking for her mother. With her beautiful best friend Jessa in tow, Imogene starts piecing together parts of her mother's past from vague clues.
Imogene is a likable character. She's an introverted bookworm, content to spend time with her father or alone reading, particularly if the books were written by her father. Her mother's disappearance has left her with insecurity and fear related to abandonment. Imogene thinks her best friend spends time with her perhaps out of misguided childhood loyalty rather than simply because Jessa loves her. Imogene is mature and clever, but self-aware enough to recognize that she is still a child, especially when she allows herself to daydream that she will locate her mother and her father together and they will all be a family again, happy in their new roles.
Imogene is flawed but earnest, and I liked that. She doesn't serve as a symbol of resistance like the heroines of The Hunger Games or Red Queen, she doesn't have the highly sexed dark, pseudo-wit of teen murder mystery protagonists, she's anxious and self-conscious but smart and driven. She draws heavily on her father's books for inspiration in tracking down her mother, I thought that was a really nice character point as it really showed the closeness of Imogene and her father.
The Mystery of Hollow Places uses such strong metaphors for depression, weaving them in carefully in many places like the stories Imogene's father tells and the ways Imogene relates to everyone.
[W]ith enough time and the right conditions, precious stones could grow in hollow places.
Imogene Scott is seventeen and doesn't remember her mother, who left when Imogene was very young. All she really has of her is the fairytale-esque story her father told her every night as a child about how they met and fell in love. The centerpiece of this story is a stone heart, purportedly from the chest of Imogene's maternal grandmother, a representation of the illness that closed her off to the world. Imogene and her father are very close, and even the relatively recent addition of Lindy, their former therapist and her father's new wife.
The book starts with Imogene's father disappearing, leaving no note or explanation to his whereabouts except half of her grandmother's stone heart. Both Lindy and Imogene are distraught, but it is Imogene who decides to start with the clue the stone heart provides: she is sure that her father is looking for her mother. With her beautiful best friend Jessa in tow, Imogene starts piecing together parts of her mother's past from vague clues.
Imogene is a likable character. She's an introverted bookworm, content to spend time with her father or alone reading, particularly if the books were written by her father. Her mother's disappearance has left her with insecurity and fear related to abandonment. Imogene thinks her best friend spends time with her perhaps out of misguided childhood loyalty rather than simply because Jessa loves her. Imogene is mature and clever, but self-aware enough to recognize that she is still a child, especially when she allows herself to daydream that she will locate her mother and her father together and they will all be a family again, happy in their new roles.
I could forgive my mother for being cursed, and lonely and troubled waters. All of that made sense. But I don't think I'll be able to forgive her if she's happy.
Imogene is flawed but earnest, and I liked that. She doesn't serve as a symbol of resistance like the heroines of The Hunger Games or Red Queen, she doesn't have the highly sexed dark, pseudo-wit of teen murder mystery protagonists, she's anxious and self-conscious but smart and driven. She draws heavily on her father's books for inspiration in tracking down her mother, I thought that was a really nice character point as it really showed the closeness of Imogene and her father.
The Mystery of Hollow Places uses such strong metaphors for depression, weaving them in carefully in many places like the stories Imogene's father tells and the ways Imogene relates to everyone.
I get closing up your heart because you're afraid to look inside and find out it's hollow. I get choosing to be alone because you're afraid that if the choice is out of your hands, you'll simply be lonely, and alone is okay, it's almost cool, in a way.… (mais)
See full review at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/04/29/unconventional-2019-trans-lit-titles...
Also featured in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/06/24/spooky-books-for-sunny-seasons/
Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/12/23/2019-in-review/… (mais)
Also featured in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/06/24/spooky-books-for-sunny-seasons/
Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/12/23/2019-in-review/… (mais)
Listas
Prémios
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 6
- Also by
- 1
- Membros
- 524
- Popularidade
- #47,450
- Avaliação
- 3.8
- Críticas
- 24
- ISBN
- 26
- Línguas
- 1
- Marcado como favorito
- 1
Recommended: for some people
If you like short stories, if you can buy into love stories quickly, if you're a sucker for those "first confession / first kiss" kind of scenes
Thoughts:
UGH. I'm so sad I'm starting this off with a groan, but... dang. I always struggle with short stories, but I had hoped this would be different. I live for those moments in books where the characters finally come together and admit how they feel, but this collection just didn't do it for me. If any of my difficulties below resonate with you, then you might want to dodge this one, but I think a lot of folks will treasure this collection.
Issue #1: since they're all short stories, they all read as insta-love to me because it happened in the course of 10-15 pages.Even in the tropes that necessitate a history (ex. friends to lovers, second chance) it all felt so rushed! I didn't really know or care about the characters in most of these because I barely knew them. My pleasure at seeing two people find love was muted by the fact that they still felt like strangers.
Issue #2: if I did like a story, it was over too soon!This is again an issue more inherent to the style itself, since obviously yes short stories are going to be short! With a collection like this, on the stories where I did start to like the scene or setup, it ended, and I'd go into the next story resenting that I had to read something new and not the one I liked. Really a personal issue, but if you're as petty as me, this might take you out of it as well. 😅 I had hoped that I would get consistent tiny rushes of dopamine from each as I fell in love over and over again with the characters, but alas... a lot of it fell flat for me. The fall was that much harder when it came after one that I had enjoyed.
Maybe issue #3: it's truly YA, with all teen characters and chaste scenes. I think this is expected going into a young adult collection, but in case you're wondering, this is not at all explicit. A lot of the stories don't even end with a kiss, and more of a promise of the chance of something new.
Maybe issue #4: I hope you like tropes! Since this is a varied collection of stories based entirely on different love tropes, you'd better like the tropes. If familiar story lines are going to bore you, then this is obviously not for you! I found most of the ideas of the tropes to be ones I liked, and only had one that I skipped entirely (time-travel love, a la the one with the letters mailed across time). That one was astonishingly long, which I noticed as I quickly flipped through pages looking for the next story. Prepare to commit for that one -- either to reading, or to page-flipping! This is also THE MAIN DRAW OF THE BOOK! So if you're not sure if you'll like that, why are you even here? xD You can safely skip this one and try something else. Maybe check out All Signs Point to Yes instead (YA stories of all kinds of love, based on Zodiac signs).
Not an issue #5: practice writing these tropes yourself! I think this collection would be excellent for anyone teaching writing particularly in high school, or anyone working on their own skills in writing romance and love. Each story is categorized by the trope theme it follows, and it could lead to some fun activities in classes.
My list got kind of weirdly structured by the end, and any of these items could be a pro or con based on who you are. This was a tough one to rate, but ultimately the rating ("it was ok...") reflects my own experience and not whether I think it's a good book or if others will like it. I think a LOT of folks will embrace this one! But if you're like me and struggle with short stories and insta-love, you might also want to skip it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Perseus Books for a free advanced copy! This is my honest review.
… (mais)