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Rusalka
Something in Prague is trying to kill Madelyn Richards—as if being the new girl wasn't bad enough. She'd hoped to spend her study abroad flirting with the cute Czech violinist next door, but when the wooden figures on the Old Town Clock come to life before her eyes—and no one else’s—the plan changes. Now, plagued with nightmares and stalked by watery footprints, it’s clear Madelyn has become the target of someone—or something—with deadly motives. The city itself seems out to destroy her, and with her peers turning their backs, no one could be more alone.
Unless Noah Johnson counts as company. Mysterious and introverted, he's the only one who's actually seen the would-be killer, but he's not talking. As the harrowing legends of the city begin to awaken in form of mysterious crimes, each hitting closer to home, Madelyn will have to confront not only Noah, but all she knows about reality, love and belief. Can she decipher death’s swift approach? More importantly, can she halt it?
Unless Noah Johnson counts as company. Mysterious and introverted, he's the only one who's actually seen the would-be killer, but he's not talking. As the harrowing legends of the city begin to awaken in form of mysterious crimes, each hitting closer to home, Madelyn will have to confront not only Noah, but all she knows about reality, love and belief. Can she decipher death’s swift approach? More importantly, can she halt it?
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 12, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2013
Rusalka is an interesting debut novel from Megan Olsen. I thought it had definite strengths and flaws, which I will try to elaborate on without any spoilers. First of all, be aware that I do not think that I am the target audience for this book. The genre is (I think) gothic chick lit. That doesn't mean it's for gothic chicks, but that it's for women and has gothic/horror themes.
First let's go over the book's strengths. There is no doubt in my mind that Megan is more than familiar with the Czech Republic. She paints beautiful pictures of the area and displays, even brandishes, an intimate knowledge of the cities, castles, towns, and culture. I felt transported to the area without difficulty and was impressed with the author's ability to paint scenes and settings with vivid descriptions. The portions of the book that flowed best was when the author used the Czech scenery and history to push the narrative.
Second, I felt the author did a good job of getting me into Madelyn's head. The strongest character of the book, however, was Jenna. For whatever reason that I can't explain, Jenna was my favorite character. I think it was because I felt I knew her the best. She was the most consistent, colorful, and interesting character, and I was sad that she wasn't involved to an even greater level.
I enjoyed that the book did not feel bound by a certain genre or plot device. There was no riding off into the sunset or perfect guy in the book, which was refreshing. I did find myself wondering at times why relationship building scenes between Beck and Madelyn weren't fleshed out. All but one or two scenes between them felt like window scenes where I was browsing their relationship quickly. I wanted to hear them banter, tease, and go deeper than it did. However, towards the end of the book, this made a bit more sense to me.
One of my complaints early on in the book was that the "school-like" feeling hadn't been established very well. However, toward the end, my thoughts changed as I thought the school aspects of the story became more developed. I wouldn't have minded a bit more: test or studying scenes, late nights doing homework, etc.
Now I'm going to discuss my opinion of the book's weaknesses. Keep in mind that these are my opinions as a male reader and that some of this may come down to taste. My first gripe is the overabundance of similes and metaphors. I thought this could have been toned down quite a bit to give, what I thought, were some of the more beautiful ones more weight and meaning. When it seemed like there were so many in some parts of the book, the ones that worked best got lost in the mix. Some of them seemed so abstract that they didn't work as well.
I also felt that the author, at times, relied too much on weak supporting characters. Cole, Trent, Katie, and the teachers seemed somewhat on the stereotypical side. I realize how difficult it is to develop a story with a class-sized cast, but perhaps Cole and Katie could have been developed to not seem like complete tools. In fact, it seemed that everyone in the class besides Jenna, Madelyn, and Noah were all a bunch of jerks.
My biggest complaint about the book was what I perceived at plot weaknesses. Skip the following paragraph if you want to avoid some SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS.
The whole geminus thing was something that I still don't understand. When I read this part of the story, I got excited (YAY, SUPERPOWERS!) but even now I don't really understand anything about it. I was disappointed that this wasn't somewhat more developed, or the concept the school knew about it and was covering it up. Why? To what end? What are the limits and drawbacks to these abilities? So many questions and almost no answers. I also struggled with the arrest of Dolezal. Why did the police never search his office if he was a suspect? In fact, why would the maestro have even been their prime target initially? What type of evidence did they find in his office to convict him? Did he write it in his journal? Did he keep a lock of her hair? Not sure. The whole Cole/Trent/Jenna thing was also frustratingly underdeveloped. How was Cole using Trent? What was Cole so worried about?
END OF SPOILERS
To me, these details are so important and really make or break a book for me. However, to some readers, they will probably be nothing.
Overall, I felt that the book's biggest shortcoming was that it needed to be longer. I would have been happy to read a longer book if it had meant more development on some of these questions. However, I also applaud the author for incredible use of her strengths to write a unique story for a debut novel.
First let's go over the book's strengths. There is no doubt in my mind that Megan is more than familiar with the Czech Republic. She paints beautiful pictures of the area and displays, even brandishes, an intimate knowledge of the cities, castles, towns, and culture. I felt transported to the area without difficulty and was impressed with the author's ability to paint scenes and settings with vivid descriptions. The portions of the book that flowed best was when the author used the Czech scenery and history to push the narrative.
Second, I felt the author did a good job of getting me into Madelyn's head. The strongest character of the book, however, was Jenna. For whatever reason that I can't explain, Jenna was my favorite character. I think it was because I felt I knew her the best. She was the most consistent, colorful, and interesting character, and I was sad that she wasn't involved to an even greater level.
I enjoyed that the book did not feel bound by a certain genre or plot device. There was no riding off into the sunset or perfect guy in the book, which was refreshing. I did find myself wondering at times why relationship building scenes between Beck and Madelyn weren't fleshed out. All but one or two scenes between them felt like window scenes where I was browsing their relationship quickly. I wanted to hear them banter, tease, and go deeper than it did. However, towards the end of the book, this made a bit more sense to me.
One of my complaints early on in the book was that the "school-like" feeling hadn't been established very well. However, toward the end, my thoughts changed as I thought the school aspects of the story became more developed. I wouldn't have minded a bit more: test or studying scenes, late nights doing homework, etc.
Now I'm going to discuss my opinion of the book's weaknesses. Keep in mind that these are my opinions as a male reader and that some of this may come down to taste. My first gripe is the overabundance of similes and metaphors. I thought this could have been toned down quite a bit to give, what I thought, were some of the more beautiful ones more weight and meaning. When it seemed like there were so many in some parts of the book, the ones that worked best got lost in the mix. Some of them seemed so abstract that they didn't work as well.
I also felt that the author, at times, relied too much on weak supporting characters. Cole, Trent, Katie, and the teachers seemed somewhat on the stereotypical side. I realize how difficult it is to develop a story with a class-sized cast, but perhaps Cole and Katie could have been developed to not seem like complete tools. In fact, it seemed that everyone in the class besides Jenna, Madelyn, and Noah were all a bunch of jerks.
My biggest complaint about the book was what I perceived at plot weaknesses. Skip the following paragraph if you want to avoid some SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS.
The whole geminus thing was something that I still don't understand. When I read this part of the story, I got excited (YAY, SUPERPOWERS!) but even now I don't really understand anything about it. I was disappointed that this wasn't somewhat more developed, or the concept the school knew about it and was covering it up. Why? To what end? What are the limits and drawbacks to these abilities? So many questions and almost no answers. I also struggled with the arrest of Dolezal. Why did the police never search his office if he was a suspect? In fact, why would the maestro have even been their prime target initially? What type of evidence did they find in his office to convict him? Did he write it in his journal? Did he keep a lock of her hair? Not sure. The whole Cole/Trent/Jenna thing was also frustratingly underdeveloped. How was Cole using Trent? What was Cole so worried about?
END OF SPOILERS
To me, these details are so important and really make or break a book for me. However, to some readers, they will probably be nothing.
Overall, I felt that the book's biggest shortcoming was that it needed to be longer. I would have been happy to read a longer book if it had meant more development on some of these questions. However, I also applaud the author for incredible use of her strengths to write a unique story for a debut novel.
July 30, 2015
Ok. This book was incredible. I am not just saying this because my sister-in-law is the amazingly talented author, either. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this story. It was a combination of my favorite things! Romance, mystery, Europe, and history. Although I am not the "young adult audience" necessarily, I totally loved this book. Although I haven't read too many gothic fiction novels, It brought back fond memories of reading my favorite scary stories, Nancy Drew books, and even Harry Potter with death and love in a historical, mysterious/magical setting. I appreciated all the Czech history and legends, too. I would Google search each setting as I read along, and now all I want to do for the rest of my life is travel in Europe.
Great job, Megan! I hope you continue with these characters in a sequel or series! :) ...I just have to say, that I appreciate that this book was angst-free. I just finished listening to the Divergent series, and this was refreshing. The characters were great and the plot was intriguing. I was on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down!
Great job, Megan! I hope you continue with these characters in a sequel or series! :) ...I just have to say, that I appreciate that this book was angst-free. I just finished listening to the Divergent series, and this was refreshing. The characters were great and the plot was intriguing. I was on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down!
July 9, 2013
As a young adult novel, this one excels in its use of an interesting setting, historical and cultural details, and a creative plot. It is also refreshing to see a strong, intelligent girl as the lead character. Having been to Prague, the setting for the story, I especially enjoyed the details about the city and its history. The author has obviously done her research. I hope we see more young adult novels from Megan Olsen.
Want to Read
January 18, 2013I'm actually really excited to read this, seeing as I know the author. Yay Megan!!
September 26, 2016
Despite the danger looking around every corner, this book definitely made me wish I’d done a study abroad. The narrative conveyed an exceptional sense of beauty and wonder and desire for Czechoslovakia, as well as incorporating folk tales in a meaningful way. It left me with lots of questions, though – mostly about when the next novel is going to come out so that I can figure out more about this school (this appears to be a school for at least slightly peculiar children). How does the twinning thing play out? Does Cole have some special controlling ability? What the heck is up with Trent? Just how peculiar are these students? All in all, it was a delightfully gothic ghost story, with all the pathos of young love, and a very real effort (especially at the end), to see how to create cooperative partnerships, not just romances, across the genders. I’m excited for the next installment – Do these kids get to travel every semester?
March 6, 2013
Rusalka is a stunning new story with a folk tale twist. I loved the beautiful descriptions, the unique characters, and the fact that the book did not follow the typical YA read. The author still kept me guessing until the very end.
I enjoyed reading about the school and characters and would love reading from more characters perspectives. I wonder is there a sequel in the works that explains more of Madelyn's story or continues on with Jenna and Cole?
I enjoyed reading about the school and characters and would love reading from more characters perspectives. I wonder is there a sequel in the works that explains more of Madelyn's story or continues on with Jenna and Cole?
April 8, 2016
An excellent YA novel with a Czech emphasis. Among the descriptions of places and buildings and art which I loved, is a fast-paced mystery. I have read many of my kids' books and I like this one better than a Rick Riordan or a Gordon Korman because it not only has great suspense and pacing, but the characters actually progress and confide in their friends and seek help from adults and mentors (which seems to be a novel concept in children's literature right now).
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews