Recently Read: White Crow

Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Genre: Young Adult- Suspense-- Can Marcus Sedgwick just be his own genre? how do you even put his books in a category?
Status: Stand-Alone
Publication Date: 2011
Page Count: 234
Rating: 4/5

Also by Marcus Sedgwick:
Midwinterblood
Revolver

Rebecca and her father move to the small town of Winterfold. The town is being eaten by the sea and disappears year after year. Rebecca is lonely with only her withdrawn detective father, who has been blamed for the death of a young girl, when she meets Ferelith, whom Rebecca feels drawn to and afraid of at the same time. Together they discover that the town of Winterfold has a secret, that only a few people, including an eighteenth century preacher, know.  

Okay, for real. Marcus Sedgwick is a genius. I love his writing and command of atmosphere and time. This book has a great, chilling atmosphere that fits in with the mystery and supernatural elements of the story perfectly. I love how Sedgwick weaves three different narratives and two different time periods together in this novel to tell the story of the town of Winterfold. 

This novel deals with some really interesting and major themes, just like Sedgwick's other novels. White Crow asks the age old question: Is there life after death? This novel is suspenseful and creepy, but yet still thought provoking. The preacher character is really fascinating and a little bit scary, even though we never receive a lot of information about him. He is so scared that Heaven isn't real, and that he has put all of his faith in nothing, and I think that is a feeling and fear that humanity will always grapple with. Life after death is one of the few questions that humanity will never be able to answer, and naturally, that terrifies us.  

This was such a quick read; it was so fast paced and impossible to put down. I will read anything that Sedgwick puts out, and I've got a few on my shelf that I plan on getting to really soon. I always want to reread his books as soon as I finish them because all of the events are so perfectly intertwined, I know I missed something the first time, and a reread will allow me to appreciate his excellent craftsmanship. I think he is a really underrated YA author, and I would love for more people to read his books. Midwinterblood was my favorite book of last year, and I'm hoping to reread it soon, and I really, really think you should read it!