When blogger friend and author Craig Boyack put out on his blog that he was looking for ARC readers for his new book, Will o’ the Wisp, I jumped at the chance. I have read several of his books now, Panama, Arson and The Cock of the South, and enjoyed them all immensely. I was intrigued by some of the hints he had given on his blog during his writing journey, not least, how the hell was this hairy man of a certain age, who had nurtured a sourdough starter named Tituba for thirty odd years, going to get inside the head of a teenage girl?
Will o’ the Wisp is a paranormal YA novel set in mid seventies rural America and centres on a fifteen year old girl, Patty, and her slightly eccentric and dysfunctional family. I immediately sided with Patty; not only is she strong, and funny and clever, but she has to wear leg braces, which are the bane of her life. I identified with this, because my daughter wears them too.
The braces lead to exclusion and bullying in school and social life, and understandably, Patty freezes everyone out, allowing only two trusted confidantes across the barrier. On top of her emerging awareness as an adult, she shares a particularly complex relationship with her mother, which is hard to understand, or condone at times, but which adds an extra dimension of reality to the story. It is no wonder Patty seeks escapism in the stars, space and science-fiction.
However, a chance encounter with a phenomenon known as the Will o’ the Wisp leads to a frightening discovery about the fate of her own family, something only she can change.
Patty’s challenges with regard to her leg braces, her relationship with her mother, the highs and lows of her friendships and teenage life in general wind their cunning sub plots deliciously through the main thrust of the story.
In my view, this is Boyack’s best yet, his piece de resistance! All his characters are strong and well defined, but Craig has excelled in stepping into Patty’s shoes; he has produced a most convincing teen, likeable one minute, and annoying the next, a self-reliant, independent and free-thinking child of the seventies, an era which he has expertly and admirably reproduced in this story, and which is certain to bring back many memories for many readers.
Although this story is classified as YA, I recommend it to anyone who is still young at heart (or who can at least still remember how being young felt).
You can buy Will o’ the Wisp on Amazon.com, and Amazon.co.uk. To find out more about Craig, please drop by his excellent and entertaining blog. And finally, to learn about about the enigmatic Tituba, please go here… she has a whole section of Craig’s blog dedicated to her.
Pingback: Cover Reveal | The Experimental Notebook of C.S. Boyack |
You always write the most fantastic reviews! 😀
LikeLike
Thanks Rachel! 😀
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
Our Ali’s review of C.S. Boyack’s novel ‘Will O’ the Wisp. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you , Jack.
LikeLike
Thanks Jack! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wellcome 🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
Another great review for Will O’ the Wisp. I love the part where Ali uses them there fancy words like “piece de resistance! ” Thank you Ali.
LikeLike
Lovely review, Ali. Sounds like something I will purchase for a young lady I know but will read it before I give it (I’ve unfortunately done that before!).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol! I know… who can resist the lure of a new unread book? I admit to being guilty of the same on the odd occasion!!!
LikeLike
Craig is wonderfully talented, isn’t he? Thanks for reviewing! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Nicholas. Do you mind a question? What is the approximate word count in Power of Six? I’m toying with doing something similar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s almost 28,000 words. This includes a Pearseus excerpt, as well as an excerpt of a friend’s book. The actual stories are around 22,500 words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was just so much fun. I have some stories I might beat into shape. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, thanks! Let me know if I can help you in any other way 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the post. I must reblog this, but will wait until your giveaway post holds my top spot for a few hours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you reblog that??? Cool, thank you! Why didnt wp tell me?
LikeLike
Umm..I don’t know.
LikeLike