Review: Unspoken Lynburn Legacy #1 Sarah Rees Brennan

Stop! Before you read this review, visit my previous post and help me pick out the cover for Blood Bound! Did you vote? Okay, now the review:  

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him? Goodreads 

Let me start by saying that I really liked this book, but that I also have a few reservations about it. But mainly, I liked it a lot.  :)

Kami, ah Kami. I wish Kami was real. I'm pretty sure we would be best friends. There were several times, especially in the first half of the story where I actually had to put the book down because I was laughing too hard. She's smart, reckless, and more than a little mouthy. Maybe because I wish Kami was my friend, I did not like Angela. She just got on my nerves the whole time, and she never seemed to be completely honest with someone she considered a best friend. Considering all the things she knew about Kami, it just didn't seem fair.

I have to admit, the plot really surprised me. I mean, who writes about a teen who still talks to her imaginary friend? It was brilliant. There were several turns I just didn't see coming. And especially given the light tone of the first chapters, it was a much darker read than I initially expected. Not that this is a bad thing. It actually kept me on my toes. And I loved that even though there is a definite love interest, this was not a love story.  It seems like "the guy" takes center stage in most YA heroine's thoughts, but not Kami. 

There were a few times I felt disoriented, like the plot was almost moving too fast. I couldn't tell whether it was day or night, who was in the room, etc. Of course, that could be my own fault for putting the book down to giggle, so I'm not sure. Another complaint I had was that Jared and Ash were supposedly American boys who'd lived all over the states, but they didn't always sound like that. They adapted to the English lingo a bit too quickly for me. Yes, I know that's a really picky thing to say. My main complaint is the ending. Since it is the first in a series, I was expecting something hinting at what is to come, maybe a teaser of the next book. Instead I was left feeling like WHAT THE CRAP??? It totally threw me, and quite possibly made me hate one of the main characters. But, of course, I'll have o pick up the next book when it comes out to be sure. And maybe that was the point all along.

If you're looking for a different sort of storytelling, with horror, tones of humor, and a little bit of warm fuzzies sprinkled in, definitely check out Unspoken.

Rating 4/5 stars

YA notes : language.