It's kind of like a modern day story of two codependent best friends and the musician who enters their lives, flavored with echoes of Weetzie Bat, RPF about Frances Bean Cobain, and the Sandman. I loved the prose, the love triangle (and lbr, I typically roll my eyes at those), and the way the story handles itself as a retelling of the myth of Orpheus. There are so many things this book did so well, and I can't wait to read more by this author. ( )

Two girls grow up, as close (or closer) as sisters, until a boy and a strange man (?) come between them. Aurora is the daughter of a famous musician, who died when she very young; her mother still spends most of her days in a drug-induced haze. It's up to her best friend (whose name we never learn -- she's simply the narrator of this tale) to protect Aurora, who is described as lovely and other-worldly, from herself. The girls spend their days together -- watching movies in Aurora's bed, partying hard, dancing in mosh pits at concerts, etc. One day they meet a musician named Jack, a beautiful man/boy, who enraptures the narrator, and seems to set them on a course to be torn apart.

This is a very strange book. The first half or so is actually pretty compelling and interesting. The story of Aurora and the narrator's friendship is fascinating, and their "girls gone wild" story is plausible, if not a little much. Aurora's mom could clearly care less where her daughter is. The narrator's mom, Cass, was friends with Aurora's mom, but they clearly fought when the girls were young and are not on speaking terms, though Cass cares deeply for Aurora. This is all good stuff.

Once Jack arrives and Aurora meets Minos, a bizarre music producer, things get weird. The book takes on this mystical, paranormal feel, and it's just strange. It almost feels like this part of the plot was forced into what was otherwise just a good (really, good) story about friendship and teenage girls and life. I won't go into many more details about the plot, but the narrator basically goes on a quest, which I didn't completely understand and then the book just ends, leaving you hanging and everything unresolved. And despite the fact that there is another book in the series, it looks to be about the girls' mothers, not the girls, therefore giving me no resolution whatsoever! Grr.

That's not to say that McCarry's writing isn't lovely. It's a beautiful, poetic book - almost too much at times, as I found myself practically skimming to get to the actual plot. The narrator was a compelling character, and the whole story was so well-written that I could imagine every person, every wild party, every journey. I just think that it almost would have been just as good, if not better, without all the crazy characters and odd mythology-type "stuff" thrown in. But what do I know, really? And I'll probably read the second book out of total curiosity because Maia (Aurora's mom) and Cass were pretty fascinating.

This was probably closer to 2.5 stars for my overall feeling at the end, but bumped up a bit for the beginning and the general writing. ( )

Beautifully written with poetic visuals, I would find myself getting lost in her descriptions of places, music, life. The lives of these two girls are so intertwined that at times I couldn't figure out if their relationship was sisterly, or like lovers. The narrator is the more stable of the two girls and Aurora is so ethereal she almost doesn't seem real. Gorgeous and reckless Aurora often gets herself into difficult situations that the narrator saves her from and every now and then Aurora's madness filters over onto the narrator.

Aurora and the narrator's mothers are best friends - one is stable the other not so much, much like their children. The narrator's mother claims to be a witch and is very worried about her daughter and her friend. She thinks there is evil lurking around and wants to try to protect them. As Aurora and Jack become entrenched with a man named Minos, they may end up on a path that our narrator cannot travel. As much as she loves them both, the narrator isn't sure if she can save them or if they even want to be saved.

This book is both beautiful and dangerous. The supernatural elements of the book are woven throughout making you unsure whether it is really happening or if it is in the narrators imagination.
I found it interesting that you never learn the name of the narrator. We follow her, love with her, and are scared with her but we never learn her name, making her an enigma. I loved that she was mysterious, yet I felt like I knew her.

I don't think I have ever read a book like this before and I'm glad I found this one. I can't wait to read the next two books of this trilogy and hope that they are just as poetic and mysterious as this one. ( )

Fantastic, magical, breathtaking. It was a wonderful journey, mixed in with tales of the Pacific Northwest, the Weetzie Bat version (meant only as a compliment - I loved those books). I can see another generation of young readers growing up with Sarah McCarry's books. ( )

I received this book through Goodreads Giveaway and am surprised that the book was not remotely what I had expected after having read the back cover summary. (I have thoroughly enjoyed a Neil Gaiman book and this does not come near being able to be classed with his books.)

This author does have a gift for beautiful words and thought provoking conversations (especially with Raoul, a friend of the narrator), but too bad that these meaningful conversations were few and far in between. This author also has the gift of wasting quite a number of pages with poetic cliches (such as describing the beauty of describing James' music) creating run-on stream-of-conscience thoughts that meandering the globe! (Throwing a bunch of cliches into a blender does not make a good book.)

In no way, shape or form could I identify with any of the characters. There was nothing remotely entertaining about reading of the narrator's and Aurora's evenings of being high or wasted. I felt disgust for Aurora and the narrator when they did. The two had horrible childhoods being raised by incompetent, irresponsible mothers and groupies. There was nothing about the characters and their lives that I could remotely identify with. When Aurora "sold her soul", I was cheering for the narrator to get on with her life without her "love" sister. Too bad she was too loyal to give up on Aurora, but in the end Aurora didn't love her "sister" in return. Such a selfish (bleep).

The fact that they (really Aurora and Jack) attracted the attention of Satan himself was too far-fetched, even for a mythical story. If Minos, Satan, Hell or the narrator's dreams/nightmares were metaphors, they were lost on me. That fans of Neil Gaiman would like this book is a broad stretch of the imagination.

If you are 17, get high often, get wasted regularly, or are a groupie wannabe, you might connect with this story. I do not recommend this book to anyone. I cannot find any redeeming value in this story.

( )