Book Stop Corner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking all over others to get it.”




Robin Talley, an American author, has penned an enthralling and chilling young adult fantasy book, As I Descended that is based on Shakespeare's popular play, Macbeth and revolves around two teenage girls fighting for a prestigious scholarship in their posh private boarding school and to get their hands on that scholarship, they are willing to go at any lengths, even to conspire with the residential ghosts of their school, to get rid of the topper of their class.


Synopsis:

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

From acclaimed author Robin Talley comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair.


Maria, the Latina teenage girl, and her closeted white lesbian girlfriend, Lily, would stop at nothing to make their shared goals come true, even if they have to kill someone to get there. Delilah, the star-child of their private Acheron Academy boarding school, will surely win the scholarship to get a full-ride to Stanford, but Maria and Lily, too are eyeing for that prize that will ensure their future together in a dorm room away from this small town. Unfortunately Maria is the second girl in her class and it is really hard to beat Delilah who holds the ultimate power to everything in their boarding school. So both Lily, who walks with a crutch because of a childhood accident, and Maria, must do something to stop Delilah winning that scholarship. And to achieve that, they must need some outside help, maybe help from the dead who still are believed to wander the grounds of their boarding school. Little did the girls knew that in order to save their relationship, they would have to traverse a downward spiral path to maybe death and cut-throat revenge.

Loosely based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, the author has come up with a creepy and extremely spellbinding young adult contemporary-cum-fantasy novel filled with dark magic, witchery, sorcery, ghosts and revenge, that will drown the readers into the depths of its mystery and thrill. The author has grasped the justification behind human's basic nature to fight for revenge and power with her excellent story telling where three girls are caught in the ultimate journey to revenge. Not only that, the romance element, especially the lesbian, bi and gay relationships are explored so well with passion and sensitivity so that common readers can easily feel the emotions exchanged among the diverse set of characters.

The backdrop of a boarding school suits aptly with the tale, where the cold school grounds and the lake inside the school property, along with that atmospheric setting perfectly falls in place with the story line. The readers are bound to get the spine-chilling sensation while reading this story. The writing is evocative and laced with intensity that will glue the readers into the heart of its story line. The narrative is engaging and are kept very close to realism, hence the readers will be able to contemplate with them. The pacing is moderate, as one twist after another keeps spilling in from the book, ultimately compelling the readers to keep turning the pages of this book until the very tragic climax.

Not only references from Shakespeare helps add a bewitching element to this enticing tale, but also a Hispanic folklore about La Llorona makes the tale even more enchantingly ghostly. While reading this book, now and then, I had to look behind my back, since it was giving me such level of creeps all through out the story line. This book is perfect for those looking for hair raising story filled with folklore, love and enough bloody drama to keep them thrilled till the very last page.

There is a myriad set of characters, who are unique, thoroughly diverse and realistic enough to make the readers believe in them and their demenaor. Although, they lack one important thing, that is, proper imitation. The portrayal of the characters are done poorly as most of the story is consumed with the revenge and the voices of the dead manipulating the humans seeking for revenge. It could have been a 5 star read if the characters spoke from their inner voices amidst their flaws and strong aspects. Since the characters play a major role in this story, hence this is where the story turns a bit bland.

In a nutshell, this is a must read young adult LGBT fantasy story where the plot thickens gradually with the hair raising events taking place one after another.

Verdict: A not so cliched teenage ghost story with a touch of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Harper Collins India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
I live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, our baby daughter, an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. Whenever the baby's sleeping, I'm probably busy writing young adult fiction about queer characters, reading books, and having in-depth conversations with friends and family about things like whether Jasmine's character motivation was sufficiently established in Aladdin.
Visit her here



Book Purchase Links:

• Amazon US
• Amazon India