Book Review: Compulsion by Martina Boone

Author:  Martina Boone

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: October 28, 2014

433 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

I’ve been excited about this book for months, but I just never got my hands on a copy. So when my #ReadingMyLibrary Challenge rolled around, I couldn’t wait for Compulsion to come in so I could check it out!

Let’s do a things I liked and things I didn’t like list. I’m in the mood for a list today.

Things I liked:

– Watson’s Landing. I’m a sucker for an amazing setting, especially if it actually affects the events within the story, coming alive almost as if it were its own character. Watson’s Landing is like that. A meandering river, surrounding forest, old plantation home that’s falling apart and being put back together. *sigh* I loved it. Boone did an incredible job of bring the place to life.

– The names. Maybe this is a silly thing to point out, but I loved the names. Barrie’s name is actually Lombard, “that served as a reminder of Lula’s bitterness. Lombard, after San Francisco’s crooked street, and in memory of Wade Colesworth, Barrie’s crooked father (page 53).” Yessss. Also, the other family that Barrie’s family was close to are all named the same, so instead of being called their name, they’re called “Seven” and “Eight”. I LOVE this.

– The mythology. I can safely say that I was not going into this book expecting Native American mythology, but there it was. From the Fire Carrier who unspools fire like yarn to the yunwi, little ghosts who behave like children, running around Barrie’s feet and wreaking havoc across all of Watson’s Landing. Very, very cool and super interesting.

– The supporting characters. From flamboyant and fabulous Mark, to solitary and sad Aunt Pru, to falsely sweet cousin Cassie, Boone’s cast of supporting characters are interesting, developed, and far from perfect, which I liked.

Things I didn’t like:

– The book was a little long, coming in at over 400 pages. There were times when I felt the book was dragging a little bit, and it took me like 3 days to read the first 100 pages. But then I did race through the next 200 pages of the book at work, so I’m not really complaining that hard, am I?.

– Barrie’s whole backstory is a little convoluted. Her mother just died and revealed that she has this whole family she never knew, including her aunt who never knew she existed either because Barrie’s mother was thought to have died in a fire 18 years ago during which her father actually did die. And that’s not even half of it. It takes a while to get it all.

The bottom line: I’m looking forward to the next book. I’m ready to learn more about this deep-rooted family feud, these lonely ghosts, the intriguing mythology, and Barrie, a girl who’s just now figured out who she is.

Rating: 7 – pretty good