Review 76: Snowflake, AZ

Snowflake, AZ by Marcus Sedgwick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is hard to rate. There is such oddness in the book, and it isn't the main topic of the type of illness either, it's the way the book is written.

First of all the narrator, Ash, calls him/her self a kid. (It is never firmly stated if Ash is a boy or girl, I'm going with girl for pronouns sake.) Early on Ash says she is 18, but the way Ash thinks is more like aged 12. It's way off, the age and the writing level and the extreme immaturity. So I found myself continually asking, how old is Ash?

Another weird thing was the relationship with the step-brother. I get the closeness, but there's a point where it seems like it's going beyond that, maybe. It's just odd. Or written different than intended.

And there's this repetition, particularly in the beginning, of certain phrasing gets old very quick. But I understand this is a young adult book and maybe it plays better there, for the younger side of YA. There are other little things as well, in the writing style, it just didn't work for me.

Not to persuade that the book is all awful, because it isn't. For instance the main topic of the book is something that is not talked about, or very little, about these illnesses that affect people and doctor's don't know much about them. I'm certain there is truth in the book about the various illness and things that affect the people making them sick or not, such as products that exude toxins. It's not that new either (and below). People have different sensitivities. I have some sensitivities for some smells, mostly with laundry such as soaps, dryer sheets and fabric softeners. Also "air freshener" sprays. UGH! Anyway, people can get illness that are hard for doctors to determine what is going on. Just think about all the chemical spills into the water supply that takes a while to be discovered, (like Flint, MI) and what that might be doing people's health.

In any case, the main issue addressed in the book is a good one. The delivery, the writing style, it was more difficult. The main protagonist, Ash, is written in an odd way. Maybe younger people will connect more with the book than I did. I also have to say that I absolutely hated the ending.

Book rating: 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Also, for anyone who many be interested in another fictional take on the environmental illness side there was a movie called Safe that came out in 1995. It's a bit odd too, but in a completely different way.


Thanks to W.W. Norton/Norton Young Readers and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.