Release Date: June 11/2013
Adquired: Ebook copy provided via NetGalley
Goodreads: ADD
Purchase: Amazon/Indigo/Book Depository
When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .
Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.
He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.
He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.
Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.
Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.
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There is only a very small space in my being that has been sectioned off for books that affected me to the core of my soul. Charm & Strange was intense in the most subtle way. Intensely powerful, with words and a main character that both frustrated me, and shifted the planes of my thoughts for good. Stephanie Kuehn is a master, an absolute master of her craft, and I am so insanely happy that I read this book. What proceeds will be vague, this books DESERVES to not be spoiled by reviews.
Andrew Winston Winter, "Win" is what his schoolmates fittingly call him. He seems to battling the most strange war within himself. Is it what we think it is? Is it what HE thinks it is? You are handed this atmosphere of paranormal uncertainty. I grew increasingly frustrated with his moods, his reactions, and his inability to immerse himself in the world around him. I wanted to understand, so badly, yet even more so, I wanted Win to understand himself. I wanted answers in the worst way, and by the end of the book, I was shell-shocked.
I don't usually hand out 5 stars based on a conclusion, but my own personal logic flew of out the window during those last 15 pages. Stephanie Kuehn strung her words together with the intention of creating an impact. And my GOD did she succeed. The flow of her thoughts throughout the entire plot, the weaving of words-so subtle, and vague, and mind-numbingly beautiful. Charm & Strange were two powerful stories mixed into one, yet only one of them was real. Only one of them guided it's characters to their brink, while the other skewed their reality. You spend the entire time thinking you know exactly where this book is headed. The entire time. I was so unprepared for this book. I was so unprepared for the beginning, the middle, and especially, the end.
It took me forever to get myself in front of this computer to write this review. Which is only an indication of amazing. I couldn't get this book out of my head. I still can't. I don't think I ever will.
Recommended for Fans of: Paranormal, Magic Realism, Contemporary
Andrew Winston Winter, "Win" is what his schoolmates fittingly call him. He seems to battling the most strange war within himself. Is it what we think it is? Is it what HE thinks it is? You are handed this atmosphere of paranormal uncertainty. I grew increasingly frustrated with his moods, his reactions, and his inability to immerse himself in the world around him. I wanted to understand, so badly, yet even more so, I wanted Win to understand himself. I wanted answers in the worst way, and by the end of the book, I was shell-shocked.
I don't usually hand out 5 stars based on a conclusion, but my own personal logic flew of out the window during those last 15 pages. Stephanie Kuehn strung her words together with the intention of creating an impact. And my GOD did she succeed. The flow of her thoughts throughout the entire plot, the weaving of words-so subtle, and vague, and mind-numbingly beautiful. Charm & Strange were two powerful stories mixed into one, yet only one of them was real. Only one of them guided it's characters to their brink, while the other skewed their reality. You spend the entire time thinking you know exactly where this book is headed. The entire time. I was so unprepared for this book. I was so unprepared for the beginning, the middle, and especially, the end.
It took me forever to get myself in front of this computer to write this review. Which is only an indication of amazing. I couldn't get this book out of my head. I still can't. I don't think I ever will.
Recommended for Fans of: Paranormal, Magic Realism, Contemporary
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Stephanie Kuehn is a YA writer who grew up in Berkeley, California, which is a quirky sort of a place with a ton of wonderful bookstores. Her very first job was working in one of those bookstores, and she's been a freakishly avid reader for as long as she can remember. Stephanie's other passions include mental health advocacy, social justice, and sports of all kinds. She's currently living in Northern California with her family and their wild menagerie of pets.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Thank-you to the Shane @Itching for Books for hosting this tour, and to St. Martin's Griffin Publishers for sending me the book via NetGalley.
CLICK HERE to follow the rest of the tour
This book sounds wonderful. I would love to read it.
ReplyDeleteAmy! You should definitely read it. If you enjoy darker plot lines in your YA fiction, you will love Charm & Strange.
DeleteGreat review. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Shane, I am SO honoured to have been a part of this tour!
DeleteTrue, you don't often give 5 star reviews. Your book review is awesome, and the book sounds gripping.
ReplyDeleteAnna, I am absolutely flattered that you keep track of my 5 star reviews, that honestly makes my day. I have to feel very strongly for a book before I do that. Thank you for your kind words, and I hope you get a chance to read this one!
DeleteWow, sounds like a real powerful read. I've been seeing this book on some blogs now and have been interested fora while. Definitely reading this book soon. Interesting cover too.
ReplyDelete