Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Review: The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connell

Title: The Sharp Time
Author: Mary O'Connell
Pages: 228
Level: Young Adult
Published: November 8, 2011

Sandinista Jones is a high school senior with a punk rock name and a broken heart. The death of her single mother has left Sandinista alone in the world, subject to the random vulnerability of everyday life. When the school system lets her down, her grief and instability intensify, and she ponders a violent act of revenge.

Still, in the midst of her crisis, she gets a job at The Pale Circus, a funky vintage clothing shop, and finds friendship and camaraderie with her coworker, a boy struggling with his own secrets.

Even as Sandinista sees the failures of those with power and authority, she's offered the chance to survive through the redemptive power of friendship. Now she must choose between faith and forgiveness or violence and vengeance.

Review: 
Mary O'Connell is a genius. Point blank, period. This did not seem like her first novel at all. The way O'Connell knitted her words together almost made it seem like poetry. Her words were so lush and grand that I couldn't believe this was a young adult book. 
I'm not going to lie though, there were some flaws in the writing. O'Connell almost made it seem that Sandinista, the main character was insane and made the book confusing and clouded at times. The use of repetition was used so much that I found myself saying," Okay, come on, let's get on with it." I also found it to be a bit lonely (but I think that was what the author was going for). There weren't many supporting characters, which made me a little disappointed, if not bored at times. 
Sandinista, when not in her insane times, was pretty awesome. Yes, she was depressed and bitter, but she was also extremely persuasive, witty and real. Bradley, her coworker, made the book more enjoyable to read. He brought a weightless and fun feel to the book that I really liked. 
This book was not like one that I had ever read before. It was short and simple yet full of detail and complicated (if that makes any sense). I strongly suggest to give this book a try. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this author. 
Cover Rating: 4/5
Character Rating: 4/5
Style: 4/5
Development: 3/5
Overall: 
* * * *


3 comments:

  1. I'm new to the Blogosphere too!(Wait. When do you stop being new? First Blogoversary? Huh.) Anyways. This is a great review, I'll have to look into this book. New follower! :)

    P.S. Your Grab Button is dead.

    -The Book Babe @bookstoloveandread.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really have no idea.
      Yay!!! First follower!!!!!!
      Thanks, I'll have to work on the button.

      Delete
    2. The buttons are hard!
      I'm excited to be someone's first follower!

      Delete

Please leave a message after the beep.
Beeeeeeeep.