Its hard to describe the type of book that DARK COMPANION is. It seems to contain paranormal elements, yet never entirely crosses over into the realm of the supernatural. One thing, though, is for sure: DARK COMPANION explores the grittiness of life in foster care, the glamour of a delightful new life in boarding school, and the drastic decisions one may be forced to take in order to determine ones future.
DARK COMPANION has interesting characters going for it. The protagonist, Jane, has had a rough childhood, which manifests in how she deals with things: she is suspicious about things that sound too good to be true, slow to open up to others, and pragmatically looks after her own affairs. Jack is particularly appealing in how he uses a teasing nature to cover his deeper thoughts and concerns. However, Mary Violet, Janes cheerful close friend at Birch Grove, steals the show, with her adorable (mis)use of vocabulary and her remarkable ability to bridge intelligence with endearing optimism.
It comes as a disappointment, then, that DARK COMPANION struggles under a distracting number of writing issues and clichéd aspects. This tome could have easily been cut in half with tighter editing and more attention paid to whether conversations, descriptions, or scenes are really necessary for the progression of the story. DARK COMPANION contains a lot of unnecessary dialogues that usually sound like something along the lines of: Want to have dinner at our place tomorrow night? Yeah, sure, that sounds great. Great! When should I pick you up? Um, I dont know, when is good for you? How about 7? Seven sounds perfect. Great! Ill see you then. See you! when all of that couldve easily been expressed with the sentence, He invited me to have dinner with his family tomorrow night.
Furthermore, despite Janes claims of pragmatism and maturity, she falls into the all-too-convenient trope of supposedly smart female MC going stupid over an undeserving boy. Sure, I can understand the fact that all people will act in a retrospectively idiotic way when they are in limerencebut Janes doormat behavior for the supposed love of her life was so inconsistent with her independence-as-a-result-of-a-miserable-upbringing that I could never entirely stomach it.
DARK COMPANION does have its commendable aspects: condense it by about a third, and you have a story thats real enough for readers to connect with the characters, yet strange enough to keep your attention. If this is a setup for more in a series (and it certainly reads like it), I would be curious to see what more strange and fantastical scenarios Marta Acosta will create for readers.
DARK COMPANION has interesting characters going for it. The protagonist, Jane, has had a rough childhood, which manifests in how she deals with things: she is suspicious about things that sound too good to be true, slow to open up to others, and pragmatically looks after her own affairs. Jack is particularly appealing in how he uses a teasing nature to cover his deeper thoughts and concerns. However, Mary Violet, Janes cheerful close friend at Birch Grove, steals the show, with her adorable (mis)use of vocabulary and her remarkable ability to bridge intelligence with endearing optimism.
It comes as a disappointment, then, that DARK COMPANION struggles under a distracting number of writing issues and clichéd aspects. This tome could have easily been cut in half with tighter editing and more attention paid to whether conversations, descriptions, or scenes are really necessary for the progression of the story. DARK COMPANION contains a lot of unnecessary dialogues that usually sound like something along the lines of: Want to have dinner at our place tomorrow night? Yeah, sure, that sounds great. Great! When should I pick you up? Um, I dont know, when is good for you? How about 7? Seven sounds perfect. Great! Ill see you then. See you! when all of that couldve easily been expressed with the sentence, He invited me to have dinner with his family tomorrow night.
Furthermore, despite Janes claims of pragmatism and maturity, she falls into the all-too-convenient trope of supposedly smart female MC going stupid over an undeserving boy. Sure, I can understand the fact that all people will act in a retrospectively idiotic way when they are in limerencebut Janes doormat behavior for the supposed love of her life was so inconsistent with her independence-as-a-result-of-a-miserable-upbringing that I could never entirely stomach it.
DARK COMPANION does have its commendable aspects: condense it by about a third, and you have a story thats real enough for readers to connect with the characters, yet strange enough to keep your attention. If this is a setup for more in a series (and it certainly reads like it), I would be curious to see what more strange and fantastical scenarios Marta Acosta will create for readers.
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