Fourteen-year-old Aster and eleven-year-old Poppy have lost their mother. The cancer took her away from them after a long fight. Now the girls are to be taken care of by a scientist-aunt, mother’s younger sister, with whom they have not had contact for a long time. However, this is not the only change in their lives. To live with their last remaining relative, they must move to New Zealand. Aster, who has been struggling with panic attacks for a long time, is especially overwhelming at the prospect of a new place, new people and the lack of a mother. Fortunately, a girl can always count on a little sister, and after all, Auntie herself has always been fine with them. What can go wrong?
I like diving, so I will write about water!
Lindsay Gavin is an American writer for whom Hellen was a debut novel published thanks to a grant from The Authors Foundation. In the information about the creator, she admits that she left part of her heart under water, because she spent many hours diving in Thailand. It is not surprising then that the ocean is the background of the events in her story.
Families are not chosen, but you can choose your heroes
I had absolutely no problems getting involved in the story presented to me, as its beginning has the right pace and the amount of explanations that even for me (even though I am not the target group) turned out to be enough to make me feel interested. Although there are two sisters, we learn about the events primarily from the elder’s point of view. What I like about Aster is her tendency to explain her behavior (eg, “I won’t yell at someone now because I won’t get any benefit from it”), and the consistency in taking actions and decisions. Her strong sense of responsibility for her sister and the pursuit of her goals is also admirable. Every few chapters we also get a brief look at what is happening in the sixteen-year-old Sam, whom the girls meet, who also plays a specific role in this story. Apart from these characters, it is also worth mentioning the girls’ aunt, who is the key to the whole story, because it is thanks to her that their lives change forever. The woman’s motivation is reasonably explained, and she herself is sketched so much that one can develop specific feelings towards her (whether positive or negative depends on the reader). The other characters aren’t very expressive, and there’s not much you can say about them – except that they’re there. whether the negative already depends on the reader). The other characters aren’t very expressive, and there’s not much you can say about them – except that they’re there. whether the negative already depends on the reader). The other characters aren’t very expressive, and there’s not much you can say about them – except that they’re there.
A little mystery, a little fairy tale, a little too long
As for the plot, as long as the beginning is properly balanced, the further into the story, the whole reveals unnecessary debts. Descriptions of oceanic nature, islands and a long-dragged mystery take away the speed events. On the one hand, we wonder what it is all about and we even suspect something, because the description on the cover suggested it, on the other hand, no one explains anything. I do not know if it was a deliberate attempt by the author to better reflect the situation in which Aster found herself (without spoiling, I will say that it is quite unusual), but I get the impression that it was possible to compile the whole thing more and thus give the story a faster pace. Referring to the extraordinary creatures mentioned on the cover – the story interestingly uses the theme known from mythology, and for that a plus.
But nice!
Although you do not judge a book by its cover, I have to admit that I really like the cover of this novel (it was it that made me reach for this publication at all). The printed rays appearing at the beginning of the chapters also nicely complement the content and its character.
I have no more questions
In conclusion, the book was quite nice. I definitely consider it a light reading and I don’t regret reading it. It does not evoke particularly strong thoughts, although the subject she mentioned is not the lightest one. Very nicely published, with an interesting history (although with the aforementioned debts). Teenagers should like it.
