Lips Touch: Three Times
by Laini Taylor. Illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo. Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic. October 2009. Reviewed from ARC; ARC from BEA.Three stories that hinge on a kiss. In Goblin Fruit, Kizzy wants to be someone different, somewhere different, she wants to be kissed; In Spicy Little Curses Such As These, Ana wants to be loved and accepted; and in Hatchling, Esme is haunted by memories that are not her own.
I love the twists to tales that Taylor gives; taking Rossetti's Goblin Market to modern times. Creating a Sleeping Beauty who can kill with a whisper -- or a shout. And lastly, a story that seems to be about Esme -- until we find out there is more to Esme than meets the eye.
The language is haunting and memorable. "She wanted to climb out of her life as if it were a seashell she could abandon on a shore and walk away from, barefoot."
What links these stories? Teen girls on a brink -- on a brink of something else, something more.
Twitter Review.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
6 comments:
I can't wait to read this. I love Laini's stories, and Jim is so talented! October can't come fast enough.
I'm with Stacy. I loved Blackbringer...so much that bagered non-fantasy readers into reading it.
Silksinger was just as great and I can't wait to get my hands on Lips Touch to read something of hers outside of the world of Dreamdark.
I'm behind -- just finished Silksinger/Blackbringer and love, love, LOVED them -- need to write up my review and can't wait 'til this one comes out!
I haven't heard of the author, but the cover is just divine!
That is the ugliest cover I've seen this year. Arthur Levine signed off on this? Blech .
Okay, I have to admit two things. 1) I also find the cover pretty shockingly not lovely. 2) I loved these stories very, very much, but it was a book where I was acutely aware that as a teen, I would have found them even more unbearably wonderful and strange.
The language was absolutely beautiful and I loved that there were no easy answers.
Post a Comment