Review: Clever, original, fast-moving story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2013
"This Above All" was a really pleasant surprise. I was a little wary of the first person, present tense narrative style because it's so hard to pull off! But I was completely drawn in to experience the events unfolding at the same time as the heroine, Ann. It is very effective for this action-packed story.I was glad I didn't know much about this book before diving in, so I will do my best not to include any spoilers. Ann is a 29- year-old woman living a very inauthentic life, trying to please her horrible family, who make Harry Potter's nasty aunt and uncle look like Mother Theresa and Mr. Rogers. For me, it was hard to relate to Ann at first, because I felt she'd been away from home for a decade and was still rather pathetically entrenched in trying to earn the family's approval. A younger woman I could see doing this, but at her age, it seemed more likely she would have given up by now, resigned herself to their disregard, and not been so hurt by them. You know, built up some walls.I grew to like and connect with Ann/Amelia quit a bit more when she was removed from the stifling environment, and I had no problems following and accepting what comes next(avoiding spoilers). However, the huge cast of characters and how they're all related to each other was a little overwhelming.There are a few mistakes -- for instance, the author uses "masochistic" when "sadistic" is meant, "eminent" for "imminent," and "ringer" for "wringer," as in "you've really gone through the wringer." There's also an unfortunate mangling of the word "smorgasbord" that should have been caught by spellcheck. Errors like that are small but jarring and interrupt the flow of the story, but can be easily fixed, which would improve the book to make it that much better.The end seems a little rushed; I felt I would have liked to spend more time with the second part of the book, and wished the overall book was longer -- like by a hundred pages! I loved the world and relationships and wanted to know more, more, more!DEFINITELY will be looking for the sequel to this story and HOPE it will become a series -- if the author can maintain the immediate, in-your-face style of "This Above All."