The Treachery of Beautiful Things Conclusion
Hey guys! Despite all of the outrageous homework my teachers have so graciously assigned to me *insert sarcastic smile here*, I will be writing my review for The Treachery of Beautiful Things.
Before I begin my review, I just want to provide you with a brief synopsis. No worries, no spoilers here. This fantasy novel revolves around a girl named Jenny. Jenny and her brother Tom were casually walking along a path near the edge of a wood when an unknown creature made of wood and thorns snatched Tom and dragged him into the forest. Jenny was misunderstood by her family because no one would believe her story. After years of fear, Jenny worked up the courage to go near the same forest that practically ate her brother. She heard the same tune he was playing when he was taken, and suddenly overcome with the longing to find her brother; Jenny entered into the forest with no idea of what beautiful and treacherous things laid behind it. I really enjoyed this novel for many reasons, and with any book, I had some reasons for disliking it. Fortunately there weren’t many. Let’s get started! For starters, I would like to mention the cover.
Click here to see the cover
When I first picked up this book, the cover captivated me. After reading the book, the cover gave me no satisfaction whatsoever. I am not a person who likes covers with faces on them and this is one of the reasons why. I like to imagine the characters myself and turning back to this cover, I felt no correlation. If you decide to read this book, you will get to experience Long’s description of Jenny’s dress shown on the cover, her description was a dress entirely made out of nature and magic created from nature. Not to be harsh, but that looks like a wedding dress with some flowers. Long’s beautiful descriptions deserved better than that! Speaking of descriptions, I would just like to applaud Ruth for her wonderful writing. With fantasy, if the author is not descriptive enough, the story just dies. This was not the case. Long’s writing and diction were perfect for each character she introduced and also for setting the tone of this fantasy world. Again, I mention her allusions back to Shakespeare which I just loved because it felt like an inside joke for all of the Shakespeare fans out there. These extra character traits developed her characters to a new level. She also uses metaphors in her writing which captivates readers especially in works of fantasy. I enjoyed the ending although it seemed a little to “happily ever after” for such a dark book. The biggest element in this novel is the title. The title is the theme in so many ways. Jenny is introduced to all of these magical creatures and concepts, that she is naïve to and forgets that beautiful things have a treacherous side. I literally cannot explain how many times this theme re-surfaced in this novel. You just need to read this book. Take off the dust jacket and read! I hope you enjoyed this book review; I have to cut myself off now because if I don’t, I’ll never stop typing. Next month I will begin to read and review........
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass! Have a booktastic week!
–Teenage Bookaholic