This, to say, I have no particular ties to the South. I've been there a handful of times for vacation and horse shows, but there's nothing about the South that gets me super-excited. (Except New Orleans. Which I love forever and ever, amen. Some day I WILL write a book set in New Orleans, and it will take me a decade to write, so that I have to visit many, many times for research purposes.) BUUTTT... there is just *something* about the designation "Southern gothic" that speaks to my soul. Maybe because it conjures up images of dark, swampy nights and voodoo rituals, or of plantation houses haunted by the ghosts of evil deeds. I have a love of gothic literature, originally inspired by Austen's Northanger Abbey, cemented by DuMaurier's Rebecca, and perpetuated by LeRoux's The Phantom of the Opera. The dark and creepy resonates with me. (Although, now that I think about it, I'm not sure what that ultimately says about me as a person...)
I had never read anything by Martina Boone, but something made me pick up the first two books of her Heirs of Watson Island trilogy (book the third was forthcoming, and I've now finished the complete trilogy). The covers were lovely, but it was the premise of the series that caught my initial interest. Here is the cover and blurb from the first book of the series, Compulsion, courtesy of Goodreads, because it's a pretty good overview of the series as a whole. Additionally, the books all tell a continuous story, with no time lapse in between their narratives, so this gives you a good idea of what you'd be in for:
THREE PLANTATIONS. TWO WISHES. ONE ANCIENT CURSE.
(Seriously, people, has there ever been a better tag line?)
All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds anew kind of prison at her aunt's South Carolina plantation instead - a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island, and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
***
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn't what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.
Whoo-wee. Ghosts, curses, romance, and a quirky aunt - what could go wrong? I'll just say up front that I really enjoyed reading these books. So much, in fact, that I called my sister and demanded she buy and read them immediately (yes, even at the risk of encouraging her to advance in our bet). They weren't perfect, but, for me, the questionable issues were far outweighed by the things I loved about them. So, let's start with the things I didn't love:
Barrie. Yes, the main character. She was not my favorite. She was controlling and too selfish for my liking. I understand her being a little high maintenance because, well, teen age girl from southern California (am I stereotyping? Whoopsie.), but there were times where I wanted to reach into the book and flick her nose. Additionally, the leading man, Eight (no, not his actual name - he is Charles Beaufort VIII, so, Eight), is a little vanilla for my tastes. He's ok - just a little too perfect, if you know what I mean. He always does everything right, he's good at everything he does, and he's - of course - golden handsome. He is dyslexic, and it feels to me like the author's way of killing two birds with one stone - keeping Eight from being infallible, and making her narrative inclusive. I don't like pandering, and that's what Eight's character feels like to me. So, no biggie - aside from the fact that my main gripe about this series is its two main characters. (Hahaha.) It says a lot about the plot, setting, and secondary characters that I kept reading.
The things I disliked about these books were few; the things I liked about these books were many.
FIRST, the setting. In true (Southern) gothic fashion, there are historic plantations, but they're shadows of their former glorious selves. There is subtle decay that peeks through the veneer, and in the case of one it's completely destroyed. There is a creepy forest, an impeding river, and a sleepy town full of busybodies. I felt immersed in Watson's Landing.
SECOND, the supporting characters. Eccentric and quirky, but not to the point of being a caricature, Pru Watson is Barrie's deceased mother's sister. She is smart, determined, and made of steel. She suffered emotional abuse at the hands of her father, yet remained devoted to her roots and to her home. She takes Barrie in without question, and accepts the girl unconditionally. She gives Barrie space, doesn't hover, yet is there with much-needed wisdom just at the right times. Cassie Colsworth is Barrie's cousin. She is all Southern sweetness and charm - until she isn't. Cassie has a fluid idea of right and wrong, and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, as she has some difficult struggles she is forced to fight through, but I felt the character was written to be strong enough to handle them. And finally, Mark, the figurative ghost that hovers over the narrative, is Barrie's godfather, who is, until she moves to Watson's Landing, the most stable thing in her life. He is ill and slowly slipping away, and we get to see how that affects Barrie, and how she adjusts to losing the only thing she could ever count on (and, incidentally, how she learns she is not as alone in the world as she thinks). It forces her to develop as a character. His eventual death is devastating to Barrie, but the lessons he taught her are referred to throughout the entire story, so that though he is bodily absent, his spirit is ever-present.
THIRD, and on a more inconsequential note, there are several elements that Boone adds to these books that I particularly appreciate. There is mythology aplenty, a mixture of Native American and African; there are horses, and they are done WELL - this is rare in fiction; there is mystery; there is romance. And frankly, I think the base idea of this series is fascinating. There's a centuries-old gift/curse that passes from generation to generation, and there's no avoiding it, no stopping it. It's a classic case of "the sins of the father", and it really works here. The question that arises is whether the "gift" is actually that, or whether it's another form of curse. The problem is compounded when the characters start to question themselves, and whether they're making decisions based on their own thoughts, or based on their respective compulsive gifts/curse. Watching them wrestle with (or, against, in some cases) their instincts and compulsions is both interesting and, at times, frustrating. But it makes for great reading.
I would recommend this book to readers who appreciate a multi-volume series that doesn't have a time lag, who like family mysteries, a little romance, and a dash of creepy.
A couple good readalikes for this book are:
The Fall by Bethany Griffin. This is a retelling of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher from the point of view of Madeline Usher, a descendant still trapped in the house by the Usher curse.
-and-
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts. This one isn't a YA title, but it is a Southern gothic tale with ghosts, a decrepit plantation, a family mystery, and danger.
If you've been paying attention, you know that I love Sherlock Holmes. If you need a reminder of how much, read this blog post. But there are SO MANY recent incarnations of the detective and his faithful sidekick, that one could almost be overwhelmed with choices. Sadly, not all of them are good. So, I picked up Heather W. Petty's Lock & Mori with an eyebrow arched by skepticism. But it drew me in, because it's not the classic pairing of Holmes/Watson, but of Holmes/Moriarty. And Moriarty is a girl with a sketchy background, and slightly wicked tendencies. Stay tuned.
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