Reviewed by Angie on
Charm & Strange is kind of brilliant and a lot messed up. I was expecting something twisted and weird, but I was not expecting this. The story is all about Drew/Win, who has been sent off to boarding school and is having what could be referred to as a hard time. It alternates between the present where Win seems to be struggling with...something, and when he was nine and still with his family. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. What's wrong with Win? Why does he feel the need to tell us this story about a summer with his family?
Win is weird. That was my first thought upon starting Charm & Strange. He's a loner, tends to get beat up, and is just all around strange. Learning about him as a child just introduced more oddities. He doesn't like to be touched, he has extreme motion sickness, he apparently has some food issues, and he has a temper. A dangerous one. There is something inside Win begging to be let out, but he doesn't know how. I can't really say more, because SPOILERS! His situation is horrible.
I loved how the author slowly revealed what happened to Drew and what is now happening to Win. It was a completely interesting and, like I said before, kind of brilliant way to tell his story. I thought Charm & Strange was going in one direction, but oh, how I was wrong. It takes a completely different turn, and as I thought back on previous chapters, I realized there were small hints along the way. I was quite disturbed at times.
Charm & Strange is a hard book to review, because almost everything I want to say would be spoilery. The story changes as it goes along, starting as something odd yet intriguing, then becoming something darker.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 31 January, 2014: Finished reading
- 31 January, 2014: Reviewed