|
|
Jennifer
Rating:
Review
This story can be called a modern fairy tale, about how “changelings”, wild children who live in the forests and never grow old, will find a human child to switch with - so that a human child will turn into a changeling, and the changeling will turn their outward appearance to look exactly as the child and live as the child in society, trying to fool everyone, though not always successfully. This story is about Henry Day, a human child that is switched with a changeling, after running away from home. The story unfolds by swapping chapters between Henry, now called Aniday as a changeling’s story one chapter, and Henry, the imposter child, the next. The author does a phenomenal job of intertwining details between the lives of each, and their search for the truth in their history. I’m not typically a fan of “fairytales”, but this story is excellently written, and I devoured the book, feeling sadness after I read the last page. To me, this is the mark of a good book – the feeling of loss after one comes to the end of a great story. This is the author’s first novel, and I look forward to reading more from him.
Best Line:
"In my heart, I knew that this is not the way fairytales should be, bound for an unhappy ending."
Kim
Rating:
Review
Mr. Donohue is quite the storyteller. Beginning in the 1960s, seven year-old Henry Day runs away from home, and is promptly kidnapped by hobgoblins, a band of changeling children living in the forest near the Day home, and one hobgoblin goes to live as the missing Henry Day. The stolen Henry is then renamed Aniday, and with alternating chapters, we come to know the new Henry and Aniday as they grow and live the next few decades of their lives. Henry was a child prodigy in the early 1900s when swiped from his German family by the hobgoblins, and once back into a human life, he resumes his piano lessons and develops into an incredible musician. Aniday adapts to his new "family" of 11 changeling children, who never age, steal all their clothing from homes in town, and hibernate like bears during the winter. This is a fantastic story, beautifully written and completely engrossing. I will read anything this author writes from here on out, including grocery lists. Go get this book, and then tell your friends. They will thank you.
Best Line:
"Not any boy or girl will do, but only those rare souls baffled by their young lives or attuned to the weeping troubles of this world."
Suzanne
Rating:
Review
Seven year-old Henry Day gets more than he bargained for when he runs away from home into the woods in this moody fairy tale twinged with longing. Captured by a band of magical creatures called changelings, he’s rechristened “Aniday” and forced to live with them in the forest. Meanwhile, their leader assumes Henry’s appearance and goes back into society to take his place. I’d heard of changelings before, but never really understood what one was until I read this book, which interweaves chapters between Aniday and the pretender Henry. I especially enjoyed Aniday’s observations about the differences between his new life and his former life, like when he returns to town for the first time after many years and notices how full of straight lines and edges the place is, compared to all the organic shapes in nature. Living on berries and the occasional squirrel and even hibernating through the winter may be a life in tune with the rhythms of nature, but it’s a harsh one. I was captivated, and impressed that it all seemed quite believable, and that both of the main characters’ struggles with the vagaries of memory evoked my sympathy. The twist is that this centuries old legend is brought into twentieth century America. The story drew me in right from the start, and kept me up late on more than one occasion.
Best Line:
Living depended on sharpening instincts, not memorizing facts." (pg. 19)
|
|
