Title: WildthornAuthor: Jane Eagland
Genre: YA Historical
Page Count: 359
Why I read it: Netgalley review copy
Grade: C
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor's daughter. But her dreams become a nightmare when Louisa is sent to Wildthorn Hall: labeled a lunatic, deprived of her liberty and even her real name. As she unravels the betrayals that led to her incarceration, she realizes there are many kinds of prison. She must be honest with herself - and others - in order to be set free. And love may be the key...
My review:
This book started off very mysterious. We, as a reader, feel just about as lost as the main character, Louisa. Through flashbacks, we begin to learn Louisa's story, which is fairly interesting, but not so much that I had a hard time putting the book down. Other times, when she was in the asylum, I couldn't ever really figure out what was going on or why. I think it was intentional, as we were supposed to be unraveling what happened along with the main character, but at times it makes it hard to read because there are never any explanations for what happens to Louisa--just a bunch of seemingly cruel people who don't want to really help the women at the asylum.
Louisa was a strong character. She was very much a feminist in her time, not wanting to follow the typical roles set out for women. Although sometimes it all seemed a bit over the top, as though the author wanted to make sure we really knew just how different she was. Mostly, it just wasn't as enjoyable for me as it could have been. I didn't care for any of the secondary characters, even though there were some heartbreaking stories in there, for some reason I just didn't connect with the writing or the story.
I absolutely love the cover of this one, but I can't say that I would heartily recommend the book. It may be one that I would say to look for at the library, but nothing beyond that.
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