Book Review
Title: Abney Kelly & the Yuletide Shenanigans (Abney Kelly #1)
Author: SamiJo McQuiston
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Coming of Age
Rating: ****
Review: I didn’t know much about Abney Kelly & the Yuletide Shenanigans going into it but from the synopsis alone it sounds like a strange mash-up between Halloween and Christmas with some really spooky vibes so I couldn’t wait to get into it. We are introduced to our protagonist, Abney Kelly, who seems like your typical young teenager as she is she, lonely and frequently bullied until one day she is taken to a school in Tìr na nÓg, called Yule where she discovers she is a Changeling and this leads her on a journey of discovery about what she is and she also beings to make friends along the way, although she is frequently warned to stay away from one student in particular.
By the time I finished Abney Kelly, I could see the resemblance in the story to some of my favourite childhood books such as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, but it also reminded me greatly of one of my favourite movies, Pan’s Labyrinth. At just under 300 pages Abney Kelly doesn’t feel to long but it also doesn’t feel rushed either and I can’t really talk too much about what happens within the novel as it does give away so major spoilers for the story so this review is going to be fairly short to try and leave out as many spoilers as possible. Despite the synopsis seemingly quite whimsical, Abney Kelly was a surprisingly chilling and dark story and the dialogues within seem both old-fashioned and modern at the same time, which was a little off putting for me, but I am sure classical readers will love it.
The characters are all brilliantly fleshed out even the side characters but for me this was overshadowed a little by the writing style which wasn’t my favourite and at times it was really difficult for me to keep myself immersed in the book. However, I feel like this is the perfect book for the Halloween season which its dark and creepy atmosphere and the chilling visuals this novel often presents. I did feel at times that if this book was written in first person I could have given it a higher rated as it would have been easier to connect with Abney as a character but I just felt it was lacking something that would have made it an absolutely amazing read especially for this time of year.
Overall, I felt Abney Kelly was a compelling, deliciously dark, and disturbing read with just a touch of modern fantasy with some beautiful surrealistic and spooky visuals that sent chills down my spine. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series just to see where the author takes the story. It was a solid first entry and I can’t wait to see more from these characters in the future.
Buy it here:
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
This book was sent to me for review consideration by YA Bound Blog Tours.
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