Gone

Gone - Julie Elizabeth Powell This story takes you into the realm of Avalon, full of fantastic characters and colorful experiences. Every chapter encourages the imagination to stretch a little wider, while echoing profoundly honest doubts and feelings most would try to bury. Creating a unique take on the after-life, this story raises questions about life after death, and sheds light on the basic fears of the unknown.

Full of wonderful and colorful characters, this story mixes fairy tale and mystery. While the main character embarks on an incredible journey, she meets a wild cast of creatures who help her find herself, and the key to her future. Leaving the book with a sense of hope, these characters help teach invaluable lessons.

Much like the mind of the main character, the writing style of this book seems confused, and is a bit maddening. Not necessarily that it's poorly written, but rather the character we're following is full of confusion and madness. Reading this story gave me the distinct feeling that each time I grasped the feel, began to understand what was going on, I was spun in another direction and confusion returned. Because of this dizzying style, this book left me in a love/hate funk, and I have yet to land on any decided emotion.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It's honest, and while it did leave my head spinning a number of times, I think that's part of the point. Life is confusing, and this author did a fantastic job of showing the reality of pain and fear, mixed with the fantastic world her imagination created.

*I was given an ecopy of this book, from the author, to read in exchange for an honest review.