Consuela led a normal life up until the point she discovers that she can slip off her skin and enter the Flow, a kind of other dimension. Those who can travel through the Flow exist to help save the lives of those in the real world, but Consuelas arrival in the Flow coincide with the beginning of a string of frightening murders within the Flow. Someone, it seems, is determined to end the Flow, and everyone is a suspectbut the murderer might hold Consuelas key to returning home.
LUMINOUS wasinteresting. Okay, interesting might be a tad generous. LUMINOUS is ambitious, and beautifully written, but at times it was a confusing and emotionally distant read for me.
Dawn Metcalfs writing is astounding, an awe-inspiring combination between the rhythmic hypnotism of freestyle poetry and deliciousness of rich and unusual prose. This is something I feel like I dont see much of in current YA, that I wouldnt mind seeing more of, these creative risks with writing style.
The concept of the Flow is very intriguing, and certainly unlike anything Ive read. True to the whimsy of the writing style, the Flow is never fully explained, or at least is not explained in a way that solidifies its presence and purpose for me. Thus, my head was spinning for a great portion of the book, because I had never fully grasped the concept.
The same goes for the characters. LUMINOUS shifts between multiple characters points of view rather arbitrarily, making it so that the identity of the murderer is not long a secret. I would be alright with this, except that I felt like the murderers justification for his cold-blooded actions was only partially explored, and existed mostly in circular monologues declaiming his self-importance or the righteousness of his motives. Consuela did not feel as developed as she couldve been, either. So she has this astounding new talent, and wants very much to return home to her family, but beyond that she did not seem to have much else to make her really fill out as a three-dimensional character. My lack of connection to the characters, along with the books uneven pacingI was intrigued at the beginning, and then felt like things were dragging on and onleft me feeling a little on the outside of the story.
Still, LUMINOUS packs some powerful and thought-provoking themes, and may be extremely rewarding for the patient reader who likes the supernatural challenge. Check it out if it seems up your alley or if you want something different.
LUMINOUS wasinteresting. Okay, interesting might be a tad generous. LUMINOUS is ambitious, and beautifully written, but at times it was a confusing and emotionally distant read for me.
Dawn Metcalfs writing is astounding, an awe-inspiring combination between the rhythmic hypnotism of freestyle poetry and deliciousness of rich and unusual prose. This is something I feel like I dont see much of in current YA, that I wouldnt mind seeing more of, these creative risks with writing style.
The concept of the Flow is very intriguing, and certainly unlike anything Ive read. True to the whimsy of the writing style, the Flow is never fully explained, or at least is not explained in a way that solidifies its presence and purpose for me. Thus, my head was spinning for a great portion of the book, because I had never fully grasped the concept.
The same goes for the characters. LUMINOUS shifts between multiple characters points of view rather arbitrarily, making it so that the identity of the murderer is not long a secret. I would be alright with this, except that I felt like the murderers justification for his cold-blooded actions was only partially explored, and existed mostly in circular monologues declaiming his self-importance or the righteousness of his motives. Consuela did not feel as developed as she couldve been, either. So she has this astounding new talent, and wants very much to return home to her family, but beyond that she did not seem to have much else to make her really fill out as a three-dimensional character. My lack of connection to the characters, along with the books uneven pacingI was intrigued at the beginning, and then felt like things were dragging on and onleft me feeling a little on the outside of the story.
Still, LUMINOUS packs some powerful and thought-provoking themes, and may be extremely rewarding for the patient reader who likes the supernatural challenge. Check it out if it seems up your alley or if you want something different.
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