Review: A serviceable effort, but I don't understand what all the fuss is about
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 16, 2012
I was feeling overdue for a little YA fiction, and so when Sarra Cannon's "Beautiful Demons" popped up as a freebie, I grabbed it. The protagonist, Harper, is an orphan whose origins are clouded in mystery, who possesses paranormal abilities that she does not yet fully comprehend, and who is unaware of the special destiny in store for her. If that sounds to you like a page out of Harry Potter (and a couple of hundred other YA books), well, you'll get no argument from me. Many of this book's elements struck me as being less than original; however, I thought making Harper a ward of the state who has been shuffled from one foster home to another was a terrific idea, with lots of potential.Unfortunately, Harper is far from an ideal protagonist. She spends the entire book being reactive rather than active, and her passivity actually grows more pronounced as the story progresses. And despite the fact that we're essentially "in her head" for the entire book (it's written in the first person), her character is not especially well-defined. In fact, if one were to ask me what her strongest traits were I'd have a hard time coming up with a definitive answer. This contrasts sharply with familiar YA protagonists like Harry Potter (inquisitive and determined), or Bella Swan (headstrong and defiant). Characterization is woefully thin for most of the other characters as well, who seem to have stepped right out of central casting.But what really bothered me most was the quality of the writing. I understand that a streamlined approach can be effective, but Ms. Cannon's writing style is so flat and spare as to be artless. Even though there was ample opportunity to imbue this story with atmosphere and emotion, it's all "I did this" and "I did that." Even the scene where Harper recounts the fire in which her adoptive father died - which should have been a heart-stopper - reads as a dull recitation of events. I know a lot of people have read this book and if the reviews are any indication, most of them enjoyed it. Still, a better writer could have told the story much more effectively.