Monday, November 18, 2013

The Snowmelt River by Frank P. Ryan Review

I won a copy from Goodreads First Reads.


"Chance has brought together four young people in the small, historic Irish town of Clonmel. Alan is Irish-American, Kate Irish, and the adoptive brother and sister Mark and Mo are Londoners although Mo originally hails from Australia and has an exotic spiritual quality that suggests something strange, almost magical, about her. They discover that they share a terrible secret, one that cannot be coincidence, and it makes them wonder if it was fate, and not happenstance, that really brought them together, and which now binds them inseparably as friends. And then, over the long hot Irish summer, the enchantment begins... The Snowmelt River is the first of a four-volume epic fantasy series, with each book a separate adventure in itself. All four novels revolve around the coming of age, and power, of the central characters, Alan, Kate, Mark and Mo, each a very different personality, yet each making his or her personal contribution to an epic odyssey."

The Snowmelt River is a long book. And when I say long, I mean a seven-hundred and two page book. It's quite a long story that could lose some of its "fat." (Pages, not fat. But I think you get the point). 

It may be quite long, but it's quite interesting, if you have the patience and the understanding to go through it. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone with a busy schedule and a tendency to forget things. Because 1) Obviously you need a lot of time to read 702 pages, 2) there's a lot of information to absorb and even I, the girl who remembers everything (or pretty close to everything), had to look back to double check my memory. 

(If you ever read this book, I recommend that you write side notes because there's four POVs and endless number of chances of being lost. Also, you should always look back even though your pride prevents you from doing so. Believe me, it is better to be knowing where you are). 

What else about The Snowmelt River? 

Well, it's told from four children. Kate has the Second Power. Alan, the First Power. Mark, the Third Power. And Mo is special. Very special. Each of these characters have outstanding character traits. Like Mark, the extreme annoyance and crazy joke-making in inappropriate settings. Alan, his occasional sarcasm which is pure awesome when he does it. Mo, her sweet personality that sharply contrasts her adoptive brother. And Kate, well Kate seems to be a minor character to me, for most of the book. 

Anything else?

Hmm...The plot goes well, but I think that readers may (and I say may) have trouble following up with the story. The good thing is that the plot is mostly moving, but the beginning is a little slow. The beginning builds the background, so I guess it could be a little slow. 

The ending?

Can't tell you, but I can say it's quite interesting. And did I mention good?

Rating: Four out of Five

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