I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When My Heart Was Wicked by Tricia Stirling Published by Scholastic Inc. on February 24th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Family, Stepfamilies, Fantasy & Magic, Fairy Tales & Folklore
Pages: 192
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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"I used to be one of those girls. The kind who loved to deliver bad news. When I colored my hair, I imagined it seeping into my scalp, black dye pooling into my veins. But that was the old Lacy. Now, when I cast spells, they are always for good." 16-year-old Lacy believes that magic and science can work side by side. She's a botanist who knows how to harness the healing power of plants. So when her father dies, Lacy tries to stay with her step-mother in Chico, where her magic is good and healing. She fears the darkness that her real mother, Cheyenne, brings out, stripping away everything that is light and kind. Yet Cheyenne never stays away for long. Beautiful, bewitching, unstable Cheyenne who will stop at nothing, not even black magic, to keep control of her daughter's heart. She forces Lacy to accompany her to Sacramento, and before long, the "old" Lacy starts to resurface. But when Lacy survives a traumatic encounter, she finds herself faced with a choice. Will she use her powers to exact revenge and spiral into the darkness forever? Or will she find the strength to embrace the light?
When My Heart Was Wicked by Tricia Stirling is a super short book with an intriguing plot summary. Also, that cover is one that is totally eye-catching. So, despite this book being unsolicited and not exactly a book that I sought out, I decided to give it a shot. Afterall, it is 192 pages, so not exactly a huge investment if I am not really into it.
Essentially, Tricia Stirling’s book is about this girl named Lacy. Lacy currently lives with her step mother in Chico. There, she is happy. She does good magic using plants. She has friends, life is good, except for the fact that her father died. Unfortunately, her mother, Cheyenne shows up and takes Lacy from the life that she knows and moves her to Sacramento. There, Lacy begins doing dark things again while under the influence of her mother.
Lacy is one of those characters that definitely comes across as unlikeable. I mean, it is easy to have sympathy for her situation. Her biological mother is pretty terrible to her. Cheyenne isn’t straight up abusive, but she is manipulative and kind of controlling. So, it makes sense that Lacy would turn to the magic that hurts people. I don’t know, I just was not the biggest fan of her. That’s okay though, I am sure despite this, other people will enjoy her characterization.
I think that the characterization probably lead to me thinking of When My Heart Was Wicked as just a mediocre book. Also, the writing contributed to that feeling as well. I thought this book was paced SO SLOWLY. I found myself really bored through a lot of what I was reading. Typically I could probably whip through a book like this in a matter of hours, but this one just stretched on and on. Like, yeah I did read it all in a day but man, it felt SO MUCH LONGER than it was.
Other reviews of When My Heart Was Wicked by Tricia Stirling:
- Not Yet Read – “it was an ok read“
- Auggie Talk – “Uplifting ending, despite everything“
- Reading Teen – “I was a little bored with what was going on“
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