Review: Another Great Book from Conway
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 10, 2011
Another good one from Melissa Conway.The world has been shattered by the Cataclysm: a fluke combination of every fault line shaking, volcanos erupting, hurricanes, and tornados. Titania and her mother flee from their hard-hit home, but don't go to Pennsylvania like Tainie thought they would. Instead, they fly to London, then board a boat where strange things happen. But Tainie didn't much care since she was about as seasick as one can get.The teenager and her mom then make for Pennsylvania, where they move in with a crotchety old lady they call Gramma, but she's not actually related at all. But the Cataclysm has left the world a poor place to live, where everybody has to share what they have.The book begins with Titania starting high school again eight months after the Cataclysm. She knows she's not going to have many friends and is shocked and disappointed that the school mascot is a bulldog. Why? Because Titania is about as far from beauty queen that an underbite, a flat nose, and squinty eyes can make you. In short, Tainie looks far too much like a bulldog.So, we've got your standard YA setup of a teen angst: girl who doesn't have friends, generally outcast by her looks, and made miserable by "Gramma." World turned upside down, new in school, the whole ball of wax.But Melissa Conway makes this standard scenario more interesting than it should be. The first person narrative shows Titania's wit and smarts, along with the longing to have some friends. IN short, you can't help but like her. Then the fairy dust hits the fan.The scene shifts from a contemporary teen drama, into a fantasy that any kid would give their eyeteeth for (if they knew what those are).No more hints here. If you like YA fantasy, you will like this book.