I'M BACK!! Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker, Book 1) by Jenna Black Review #60

Author: Jenna Black
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 304
Rating:

It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp…

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn’t just an ordinary teenage girl—she’s a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone’s trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…

If Need is a book that you must read before you die, and Shadow Hills is currently the best book of 2010 then Glimmerglass is the cherry on top that completes the perfect recipe that these three books stir up.

Seriously, if I could only read 3 books this year then these would be the three I pick. I mean I know Need is a 2008 published book, but still I love these three. All are very different in their own way.

Glimmerglass is Jenna Black's debut Young Adult Novel. She has written Urban Fantasy and Paranormal before, but not young adult. And you can tell this isn't her first book because she does such a amazing job at getting inside of Dana's (protagonist) head and writing through first person point of view.

This novel is the first of a series and I'm already looking forward to the next. I literally did not want to finish Glimmerglass because a) I didn't want it to end and b) the next book doesn't come out till 2011.

It is a very fast paced book, and you'll never get bored with it. All the characters have there own charm, and you can't help but feel connected to them. Dana is a strong girl, but finds herself in a rather sticky mess and as a reader you really sympathize for her.
My favorite characters were Ethan, Kimber and Dana. Ethan is so cocky, and some of his lines are priceless. Kimber reminds me of someone who would wear lolita clothing. And Dana is Dana. I can't explain her, she's just so mature and responsible. Also she deals with a problem that a lot of teens have to go through, which is having a alcoholic parent. I give three claps for making her very down to earth, realistic and a amazing protagonist.

I like the fact, that Miss. Black didn't make the protagonist and the potential/already love interest go to fast. What I mean is, the protagonist and the guy she likes do not rush things. They aren't boyfriend and girlfriend by the end of the novel. I liked that because in a lot of YA novels these days romance is way to rushed and that makes it feel unrealistic. In this novel the growth of liking each other felt real. Also their is another character in this novel who I hope becomes a potential love interest/ love rival.

What I did not enjoy was the lack of imagery of Avalon (setting). I really had a hard time imagining it, and that made me really frustrated at times. I thought if there was a bit more imagery, it would be a lot easier for the readers to fully grasp the beauty of Avalon.

Overall Glimmerglass is a amazing start to a series, and I highly recommend this book to anyone. I will definitely be on the look out for the next book in the series.

Yours Truly,