How can you find your soul mate, when you don't have a soul?
Iris lives in a world ruled by The Order. Inspectors police the population by keeping careful watch over people's souls. If they shine their lanterns on you, your soul is projected for the world to see... and judge. But Iris has a deadly secret ... she is a hollow, a person with no soul.
She must hide from the Order at all costs, scraping a living in the shadows. But when she's sent to steal a ring from a lady of nobility, she is reunited with her Spark - one of the five parts that make up her own missing soul.
Now she must rely on the help of a young scholar named Evander Mountebank to track down the other four missing pieces of her soul, all the while evading The Order. Will she be able to protect her heart as well as find her soul?
The Girl with no Soul combines a fabulous concept, a swooning love story, and intoxicating world building in one glorious package. Perfect for fans of Alice Broadway and Leigh Bardugo. Morgan Owen is a bright new talent in the YA world.
second read: read again to get me out of a book slump & loved it more the second time 🫡 thank u morgan owen for catapulting me out my slump <3
STOP the way this was the best ya fantasy i have read in such a long time. READ IT.
this book is just *chef's kiss*. here's what you need to know:
- lost identity trope - the twists! the turns! the reveals my god. - iris is a thief with literally no morals because she can't feel anything. i love her. - more angst. family angst? check. relationship angst? check. identity angst? double check. (i live for this) - action!!!!!! i was holding my BREATH - my fave type of ending and the RIGHT ENDING i don't make the rules - VIBES i cannot tell you how atmospheric and vibey this book is, you just have to experience it
thank you so much to scholastic for sending me this bc this has so reignited my love for ya fantasy and now i need MORE.
My, what a disappointing book, but the cover is so beautiful The premise sounded intreasting but fell flat quickly. The world building was confusing and was not explained enough. The characters I couldn't connect to single one of them they were flat and boring. The only interesting characters were mmc Dad, the romance between the fmc and the mmc was boring and underdeveloped the fmc was so boring she has no personality I know she has no soul in the story but she didn't seam intreasting also she was stupid and didnt think before doing something and the mmc was not intreasting he was your typical mmc arrogant it has your typical ya tropes atleast there are no love triangle CONLUSION it was an okay read but not memorable
Un roman très original et extrêmement addictif. J’avoue que je ne me suis pas beaucoup attachée aux personnages, ce qui fait que certains plot twist ou révélations ne m’ont sans doute pas touchée autant que ce qui était prévu… Mais ça reste un roman bien construit, qui change de ce qu’on lit habituellement en YA. Bref, une belle découverte. (et c’est un one shot, ça, de temps en temps, ça fait plaisir.)
SHUT UP!! This is the first fantasy book for April and I genuinely enjoy it so much <3 Everything about this book is enchanting and mysterious.
Read this if you love: - lost identity troupe - angst love story -Family found troupe or more like family angst (*crying*) - More action!! -A good and satisfying ending - Memories troupe - Beautiful friendship - Enchanting world building - Well balanced between fantasy, mystery and Romance?
Imagine a world where you don't have a soul and that the Order is exist to hunt people who go against them (including those who are more powerful and of course a hollow human). This is a world where you can't have your own freedom. Everything you do been monitored by the Eyes of the Observers (From the Order). Your soul can be seen through by the Order's Lantern. If your soul is Shadow, The song, the spark, the heart or the spirit, then the lantern glowing green. If the person is hollow, then the lantern remained dark.
Our MC Iris, her soul is broken, and she doesn’t know why or how, all she can remember is the last few months on the streets, thieving for survival. Something that happen makes her believe she can retrieved back all 5 parts of her soul. Sound very typical for YA fantasy, but this is more than that.
This book manages to draw me in from the very first pages until the end. I thought it would have some parts that are dragged or lost in their plot. But the author just prove me wrong. This book is incredibly fast paced (Usually the fantasy I read have a slow start and even takes time for the plot to kicking in). But this one does not waste any time. It immediately showing the interesting worldbuilding from the very first page. Interesting and refreshing. I finish this in just 3 days (Could finish this less than a day if only I didn't control myself sksk)
The premise of this book just fascinating! it was interesting how the worldbuilding element was consists on the idea of souls being 5-dimensional in which a stronger attributes for one of the five parts of the soul would entail the person belong to one of the five ruling houses of the city. LOVE how each of the five house have their own characteristics.
Also, the writing in this book suprisingly does not impressed me much. I usually used to a 'lyrical' and 'poetic' kinda writing in fantasy book. But in this one, the writing were really simple, and straightforward. But do I hate it? of course NOT. The writing itself help to build up the plot and the scenes. This shows how a simple writing could still draw you to read. I guess it balanced well, which is the writing helps the plot, while the plot helps the writing so much.
The mystery, the enchanting worldbuilding just helps a lot. It is a pages turner book which makes it a lot more enjoyable to read! I love mystery genre, hence when it mixed well with a fantasy of course I would be falling in love. Kudos to the author for balancing the genre so well.
Furthermore, I love Iris so much. She's a Queen. I love a badass MC like her, like she knows how to fight, she knows that weakness won't help her to retrieve her soul. Despite the painful past, and the reality, she choose to be strong and won't let herself to indulge in negative emotions. I wanna hug her so bad. Evander, this tall charming man. Do I have to say more? Why is he so sweet and romantic gosh. I love the romance between Iris and Evander. The way the twist just reveals make my jaw dropped. I did expect it at first but the author brilliantly putting some other ideas in me that I could not think of that simple matter. Their love story are achingly beautiful, so much angst but yet a sweet first love. I need more of them ngl.
Honestly, I have been thinking for the whole day on my ratings. I wish I could give it 5 stars however I realized that this book also have so many flawed that I overlook at first.
1. Even though it mention about the 5 main house for the soul, it did not explore more on 3 others house. It could have been more interesting if they takes times to have all 5 house to the battle. Its understandable why the author didn't do that.
2. So much character, and the potential is there. But you could say the author wasted it all. Maybe because her focus is more on our protagonists and their stories, hence it happened.
3. The worldbuilding is outstanding ngl, but I realised how the magic system or how their soul works is a bit unclear especially on Iris's Spark soul work. I am a bit confused for her power at the end. Its a little lackluster,I understood the gist of it but I need more explanation.
Anyway, I would not complain much about it though cause I could not stop praising how wonderful this book are. Despite all the minus marks, I would still recommends it to everyone I know. This is also the first standalone book that I want it to be a trilogy/duology. It have so much potential to be a series. But the ending is a proof that its the good ending.
Dans l’ensemble j’ai vraiment beaucoup aimé ce one-shot. Les personnages sont attachants et l’histoire hyper prenante.
On va suivre l’histoire d’Iris, une jeune fille qui ne possède pas d'âme. Elle est vide. Si cela lui permet d'échapper à la vigilance des Inspecteurs, c'est aussi ce qui l'empêche d'éprouver des sentiments et de se souvenir de son passé. Pourtant, au contact d'un bijou appartenant à une riche famille au pouvoir, son Étincelle, l'une des cinq composantes de son âme, se réveille. Des sentiments qu'elle pensait ne jamais éprouver surgissent et, avec eux, un désir irrésistible de découvrir d'où elle vient.
Pendant toute ma lecture j’avais énormément de théories quand au dénouement de l’histoire. Plus j’avançais, plus le mystère s’épaississait. J’avais tellement de questions et si peu de réponses. Et d’un coup, on a eu plein de révélations qui m’ont permis de faire plein de nouvelles théories. Ce roman m’a vraiment tenu en haleine tout le long, je l’ai pratiquement lu d’une traite tellement j’étais à fond dedans !
C’est avant tout une dystopie mais il y a aussi une petite romance qui est vraiment hyper mignonne et ajoute une petite touche de charme au livre.
Quoi qu’il en soit c’est un livre que je vous recommande. Il se lit très rapidement et il est vraiment cool !
Una distopia que creo que hubiera disfrutado si la hubiera leído hace algunos años y no ahora.
El libro en si no es malo pero jamás logró atraparme, hubo partes que de plano no entendí y si esta interesante la verdad pero fue demasiado predecible, y los personajes no me gustaron del todo. Tiene demasiado potencial, tiene todas las vibes que me gustan de un libro (La elegida, interés romántico antihéroe, rebelión, poderes) ósea si es para mí, pero algo tuvo que de plano no, no creo continuar con el siguiente y este acabo bastante bien así que no sé cómo es que tiene una continuación pero en fin.
Diría que le den una oportunidad porque tienes toques muy buenos solo que yo nunca logré conectar.
At it's core, The Girl With No Soul is a mysterious and enchanting YA title. However, I couldn't help but feeling pretty Meh about it.
What I liked: 1. The premise and idea of the story: it was interesting how the world was founded on the idea of souls being 5-dimensional. A stronger affinity for one of the five parts of the soul would entail the person belong to one of the five ruling houses of the city. Though the book didn't go into too much detail of three of these houses, two were given precedence as our two main protagonists belong to them. 2. Some of the characters had relatively interesting background stories.
What I disliked: 1. For a book shelved as YA, it felt like it was written a bit younger. I didn't like this so much. It felt a bit TOO easy for me. 2. There were moments in the story where I felt that things jumped way too fast from one paragraph to the next. There was a scene in the underground where the cast were fleeing. One moment they were described as within their household and witnessing the damage being done outside, and the next they were in some sewer tunnels heading out to the above, without any indication of them having left the house. I noticed this a couple of times where context got suddenly jumped to and fro, and that jarred me a little. 3. Some of the characters were pretty pointless, even in the main circle of MC's 5 friends. 4. Predictability: I usually have no qualms about being able to predict a story's ending. Heck, sometimes you want to expect the story to turn out a certain way. In this one, being able to predict the ending felt a little dull. 5. While the worldbuilding had some bone to it, it was not totally fleshed out as it could have been. For settings: there were a number of locations being used as plot settings in the book, but I couldn't recall even one being fleshed out so well that I remembered its details. As for the magic system: it was a little lackluster, I must say. I understood the gist of it, but much like the settings, it didn't feel so very detailed.
It's not totally a bad book. I did get some enjoyment out of it, just not as much as I had anticipated. I could see this being one of those books to get someone into starting fantasy titles as it is short, fast and a relatively easy read.
Younger me would've loved this. It is simple and easy to understand. However, current me thinks that it could've been so much more. I had high expectations in the beginning but alas, I was mildly disappointed when I finished it. I felt like it needed a bit more OOMPH in the plot and the writing. It was extremely difficult to connect or relate with the characters. I highly recommend it for young readers but for me, personally, I expected more.
1.5 ⭐ Questo libro è partito bene, con una premessa originale, ma da pagina 50 è diventato un brutto collage di fantasy letti e riletti, senza alcun senso né originalità. Ma partiamo dall'inizio (con spoiler)
Perciò, non perdete il vostro tempo a leggere questo libro. Non ne vale la pena
*Thank you to Scholastic for providing me with a copy of this book to review!*
This is hands down one of the prettiest books I own now, absolutely obsessed with the cover of this one to be honest.
For the get go, this book was fast paced and very easy to dive into. You pick up the characters very easily and following along initially is straightforward. It has such an intriguing premise and storyline, you can’t help but want to read more and figure out what’s going on.
Sadly for me, I did find this book a little bit confusing. World building wise, I’m not actually sure I fully understood the world or how things worked in their entirety. It wasn’t explained very clearly in my opinion, but even without full comprehension of what I was diving into, the story somehow slotted itself into place and I could pick up the pieces and kind of put it together.
There were a lot of characters, and while the group of misfits was a fun moment it was very brief and I feel like more could’ve been done with that. We don’t get to see a lot of the other characters, just mainly the protagonists. I didn’t particularly care for either of them or their romance so I was just left feeling very indifferent to the twists and turns that this story took them in unfortunately.
The romance initially was so confusing to me, especially Iris and her mad jealousy and alamo insta-love for this random boy. Without saying too much and spoiling the entire book, it does eventually resolve itself but reading that for the first time confused me to say the least.
While the ending plot twists were somewhat predictable, I liked how everything resolved itself in this book. It was very satisfying and it made sense to the story. If you want something fast to read with enough substance to make you actively think, this is the book for you. It’s pretty light and well written, and overall fun.
La prima parte è anche piuttosto intrigante e immersiva ma poi s’intreccia in un’accozzaglia di luoghi comuni (con rimandi clamorosi a Harry Potter e all’Attraversaspecchi) che fanno proprio alzare gli occhi al cielo. Prevedibile e stereotipato, non mi ha raccontato nulla di nuovo.
Chiaro che se è il primo fantasy di sempre può anche funzionare, ma se siete già avvezzi al genere non è niente di diverso o di originale. Peccato!
I'm actually contemplating between 4 and 5 stars because one part at the ending feels too abrupt, but who cares because I will definitely reread this story😤❤ You know that feeling when you wish the story was longer but at the same time you're grateful that it's a stand-alone? yeah, I'm feeling it rn hahahhaah
Rating-DNF (Physical Book) DNF at page 116 I was really looking forward to reading this book as it sounded really cool and different from a lot of the fantasy that is out. But I sadly had to dnf this book. While the premise of this book sounded really cool, a fantasy dystopia world, I really struggled to relate to the characters or become attached to them. There were parts that reminded me of Divergent but did have unique points. At times I did feel confused on certain parts of how things worked.
I do think that this book is aimed at a younger audience and is perfect for people who are looking to get into fantasy. The writing and plot felt too basic and I was easily predicting what was going to happen. I think that it is a perfect start for people wanting to get into fantasy. I do believe that younger me would have loved this.
Pues ni tan mal. No sabía muy bien de que trataba y es básicamente fantasía. Una sociedad que se rige por el alma de las personas. La cual, está dividida en 5 partes que conforman un todo. Personaje intrigantes y bastante variedad de ellos. Me ha gustado bastante.
P.D: No se porque me recordaba al estilo de L. Bardugo en su mundo Grisha (salvando las distancias).
When I read the first few pages of The Girl with No Soul by Morgan Owen, I was immediately hooked by the compelling voice that draws you immediately into the world of the Order. And then, for the next week, I couldn't put it down. I didn't have much time to read, but I kept carrying it round with me, sneaking a few pages whenever I could. The Order's lanterns can see your purity, which is a huge problem for a Hollow girl. Her soul is missing, and she doesn’t know why or how, all she can remember is the last few months on the streets, thieving for survival. But when she is sent to hunt down and steal a ring, she discovers it could be the first step in reuniting her with the other fragments of her soul and her past. Together with Evander, a scholar plagued by darkness that she finds herself drawn to, Iris decides to hunt down the other reliquaries that hold pieces of herself. The romance between Iris and Evander is heart-aching, and I really loved how that thread through the story. In the very best ways, this reminds me of the classic era of YA -- the dystopia, the big sweeping romance, the twists, turns and action feel like a great callback. Providence gives me vibes of Scion from the Bone Season with the sensorily rich and lush aesthetics of The Belles mixed with the movie of Howl’s Moving Castle, which is kind of *my shit* frankly. There’s some particularly sinister stuff in the final third of the book as the secrets are revealed in twists and turns galore, and we learn more about the Order -- like guys there’s a place called “the oblivion room”. It's out on the 3rd of March, and I hope hope hope we get to see more from Iris and Evander in the future! The Girl With No Soul gives us sweeping romance, a girl with no memories or soul, and a dystopian society combine together in this addictive debut that calls back to the best of classic YA.
La chica sin alma captó mi atención desde que vi su portada y leí su sinopsis. Se resume como una sociedad totalitaria que juzga el alma de las personas que está dividida en 5 partes, y que solo admite personas con el alma completa y pura. Una sociedad que me transportó a 1984 de George Orwell y la mayoría de disocias del 2012 en que sus autores mezclaron ciencia ficción y fantasía.
Es una historia que se lee muy rápida, pero capaz de que con la misma rapidez que lees el libro te aburras en ello. Una protagonista (Iris) sin alma y sin recuerdos que trata de recuperar todas las partes de su alma y a medida que lo consigue yo fui perdiendo interés en ella. Las escenas de acción y moviendo rápido están a la hora del día, pero son ta predecible que lo único positivo que lograron fue que terminara el libro rápido. La autora no tiene ninguna intención en profundizar en el mundo que ha creado, tampoco en el sistema de ciencia ficción o magia, pero tampoco en la complejidad de sus personajes y todo sucede de manera muy vaga solo con la idea inicial del libro donde se repiten una y otra vez las cosas con el fin de que no las olvidemos.
La construcción de los otros personajes son super vagas, algunas incluso carecen de sentido y su relación con la protagonista es incluso estúpidamente con un ''Te conozco desde hace una día y siento que eres mi mejor amiga'' ¿es en serio? ¡Por favor! Sin embargo el personaje de Evander fue el que mas me gustó a pesar de los predecible que fue.
Es una pena que el material de este libro este organizado con diálogos dispersos en los que se ve lo poco realista de su estructura y pureza porque si tiene una buena primicia para desarrollar la historia y los personajes que estuve esperando. Lo mejor de este libro fue que me transportó a 1012 año en el que estábamos inmersos en grandes historias juveniles de ciencia ficción y fantasía.
You know what, I really liked this at the start. But about halfway, I just found myself losing interest and I didn't connect to the characters as much as I'd hoped.
I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either - it was just okay.
And I'm not sure why or how but it felt like the first half of the book was a different book to the other half.
Another reason was because I randomly guessed the plot twist (as a joke, actually) so early into the book and got it right. If I, an actual moron who never guesses the twists in books got it, then....well, that's not great.
Saying that, I'd still recommend this but perhaps to teens on the younger side. It's not a bad book, I just don't think it was for me.
I'm really sorry to say this, but all this story was childish. it felt like I was seeing a children show, where everything end up well and the two lovers get together. in this book, everything was unbelievable : she escaped like 4 times the "bad guys" (and win !!!) even if it's impossible. and don't get me started about the fact that the magic was really badly built : I didn't get how the characters had powers and how it worked, maybe because this was bad written. and the romance ? simply a romance for 12y people ! but there were some good things, like the fact that the plot-twists were cool and unpredictable, but that didn't affect me because I was simply not attached to the characters
Este libro es perfecto para iniciar a leer distopias. Es autoconclusivo, tiene romance, tiene su misterio, tiene su magia. It's ok, es simple pero funciona.
Honestamente el inicio me gustó mucho más que su desenlace, esperaba un desarrollo de historia tal vez un poco más crudo/directo, como más de rebelión. Quedé con ganas de más de eso. Probablemente porque mi mente lo relacionó un poco con divergente y esperaba un camino similar.
Me gustó mucho el universo que se creo para la historia, el tema de el alma y sus partes me parece re interesante.
I hardly know what to say without spoiling anything but nothing and no one are as they seem. Contains found family, forgotten memories, powers, and more.
I’m depth world building, similar to 1984, or the 2012-16 era of teen dystopian lit.
The girl with no soul est un roman de fantasy jeunesse dont le résumé et la couverture m’ont tout de suite fait de l’œil lorsque Babelio me l’a proposé dans le cadre d’une Masse Critique privilégiée. L’univers est original avec cette société totalitaire qui juge la pureté des âmes, composées de cinq parties, et n’accepte que les âmes parfaites. Je dois dire que le début était très prometteur et intriguant.
Mais si le roman se lit vite, je me suis rapidement ennuyée et sentie agacée par cette lecture. Pour moi, l’autrice ne fait pas d’effort de développement de son univers. Elle en pose les bases au début mais par la suite les évènements et ressors scénaristiques se succèdent pour faire avancer uniquement la quête de l'héroïne. Tout manque de description, d’approfondissement, d'explication, de complexité qui viendraient étoffer les personnages, les pouvoirs et l’intrigue. Le rythme est effréné, les scènes d’actions et retournements de situation (prévisibles) se succèdent à toute vitesse au détriment de l’intrigue et de la construction des personnages.
La protagoniste, Iris, est une sans-âme, elle peut donc paraître peu attachante au début mais ça se comprend. Malheureusement, au fur et à mesure qu’elle récupère les morceaux de son âme je n’ai pas trouvé qu’elle gagnait en intérêt. Elle évolue peu et je l’ai trouvé égoïste et agaçante. Les autres personnages sont plutôt survolés, à part Evander qui est touchant et qui est celui que j’ai préféré. Les relations d’amitié et de confiance qui se tissent entre les personnages vont beaucoup trop vite (« je te connais depuis deux jours mais tu es ma meilleure amie ! ») et la romance est trop centrale à mon goût. J’ai également été très déçue par le méchant qui est caricatural et sans aucune nuance.
The girl with no soul est un premier roman et ça sent à la lecture. L’écriture est simple et m’a semblé brouillonne par moments, avec des dialogues peu réalistes manquants de fluidité. Je n’ai pas détesté mais j’avais tout de même hâte de passer à une autre lecture. C’est bien dommage car le matériau de base est intéressant mais dans la réalisation c'est maladroit et ça manque de développement. Une déception pour ma part mais beaucoup d'autres lecteurices ont adoré donc ne vous arrêtez pas à mon avis !
Super bello questo fantasy, mi è piaciuta molto l'impostazione del mondo e dei poteri e lo svolgimento della storia è stata fatta bene. Secondo me un finale un po' troppo sbrigativo e surreale e in alcune parti della narrazione ho sentito un po' di pesantezza ma nel complesso mi è piaciuto un sacco e sono curiosa di leggere il seguito perché il finale è mega aperto (e perché il secondo potrebbe essere su Evander????? Mio protetto). Sto fatto poi che l'anima sia divisa in 5 parti e il libro pure >>> molto slay
1.5 Persona x : Ciao chat GPT, mi faresti un libro di 300 pagine unendo l'Attraversaspecchi, Harry Potter e Hunger Games? Tranquillo, non deve essere per forza interessante. O è così, o non mi spiego. Le idee originali magari c'erano, ma sono state sepolte da fin troppe scopiazzature. Mi spiace, ma non lo consiglio. Poi non so (perché non ho approfondito) se è la traduzione o proprio il libro in sé ad avere uno stile di scrittura pesantino.
Avant de commencer la rédaction de cette review, je tiens à remercier Babelio et La martinière jeunesse pour l'envoi de ce roman dans le cadre de l'opération Masse critique privilégiée. Merci à eux de m'avoir envoyé cette merveille, de m'avoir permis de lire cette œuvre qui est désormais pour moi un coup de coeur.
"Je me sentis soudaines ramenée à la réalité, comme brusquement tirée en arrière par une laisse. Forcée à regagner le vaisseau de mon corps. Au sein d'une nouvelle réalité. J'étais vivante. J'existais, et c'était très étrange." 4.5☆|5
Nous suivons ici Iris. Iris vit à Providence, monde où rien n'a plus d'importance que votre âme. Celle-ci doit être parfaite, et l'Ordre s'en assure. Seulement Iris présente un défaut impardonnable, dans ce monde où l'âme est représentée comme cinq éléments assurant ensemble une perfection absolue, elle n'en possède aucun. À vrai dire elle n'a pas d'âme. Seulement, pour vivre, Iris est une voleuse. Et un jour, alors qu'elle dérobe une précieuse pierre, appartenant à une famille puissante, elle récupère une partie de son âme, son Étincelle. Elle va alors tenter de retrouver les quatre manquantes et de comprendre, qui lui a volé son âme.
Waw. Ce livre est extraordinaire. Sur de nombreux points. Sublime est le premier mot qui m'est venu à l'esprit en le recevant. Et c'est, je pense, celui qui vient à l'esprit de quiconque regarde un instant cette couverture. C'est la première chose que je dois admettre, l'objet livre est magnifique. Sublime donc. Le premier mot qui me vient avant même ma lecture mais également celui qui demeure lorsque j'en tourne la dernière page. J'ai adoré ma plongée entre ses pages, l'aventure assurément unique que celle-ci m'a procurée.
Ce livre est envoûtant. Ce type de livre envoûtant qui nous rend incapable de le lâcher, de sortir de ces pages. C'est le type de livre qu'on saisit un jour pour ne le redéposer que quelques heures plus tard, après être passé par de nombreuses émotions qu'on ne saurait pas forcément toutes nommées. À vrai dire, si ce livre nous emporte autant, c'est en très grande partie grâce à son univers. On y plonge littéralement. On se retrouve face à un monde de dystopie, une dictature qui pourrait faire penser à 1984 de part les Yeux, partout dans les rues pour scruter l'âme de la population. Providence représente un monde effrayant mais terriblement envoûtant également.
J'ai sombré pour Evander dès sa première apparition. C'est le type de personnage qui me plaît terriblement et, cela n'a pas manqué aujourd'hui , je l'ai trouvé fascinant. Il envoûte tout bonnement les lecteurs, du moins me semble-t-il. D'un autre côté, j'ai adoré Iris. C'est une excellente protagoniste, intriguante à souhait et avec de volonté et un brin de prestance. J'ai adoré évoluer à ses côtés, me faufiler avec elle au sein de réceptions et de bâtiments gardés. Et à côté de ces deux là, il y a leurs amis. Moi qui raffole de la trope de la found family, j'ai été aux anges. Ceux-là se sont trouvés parfaitement, et j'ai trouvé les liens entre eux extrêmement bien écrits et tissés.
Même si j'accorde une immense importance à l'univers et aux personnages, un livre ne serait pas grand chose sans son histoire. Et quelle histoire dans celui-ci. Plus l'on progresse, et plus l'on veut savoir. On veut savoir, tout comme Iris, qui elle est et ce qui lui advenu. Alors nous nous aventuerons dans les dédales de l'histoire et savourons chaque révélation, souriant un peu peu plus à chaque page, ou effaçant vite une larme perlant sur notre joue.
Ce livre est donc à mes yeux, je pense que vous l'aurez compris, un merveilleux coup de coeur et je ne peux que vous le recommander en espérant que vous puissiez, comme moi, y plonger en un clin d'œil et ne plus vouloir en ressortir. Il sort en France le 21 octobre 2022 aux éditions la martinière jeunesse et je vous le recommande extrêmement fort.
Ok... giuro che non è andata male come sembra. Alla fin fine l'unico vero problema che ho avuto con questa lettura è che si tratta di un esordio, e la cosa purtroppo è lampante. Il problema non è il contenuto, ma l'esecuzione. Tutte le idee dell'autrice sono belle e originali e la trama è molto interessante. Soprattutto il concetto alla base della divisione dell'anima in 5 parti: secondo me ha qualcosa di geniale ed è stato affrontato molto bene anche nelle sue implicazioni. Allo stesso modo la ricerca da parte della protagonista dei vari pezzi della sua anima mi ha affascinata: l'Ombra corrisponde all'inconscio e ai sogni, il Cuore alle emozioni, lo Spirito alla memoria e così via, e man mano che Iris le recupera capiamo il significato di ciascuna parte e assistiamo alla sua trasformazione. Da poco più di un semplice corpo, la protagonista torna ad essere una persona, e infine torna ad essere pienamente se stessa. Estremamente apprezzata anche tutta la ricerca della sua identità e il progressivo recupero dei ricordi, ma del resto io ho un debole per le amnesie e le storie d'amore dimenticate. Ciò non toglie che con queste cose ci voglia poco a cadere nel trashume, mentre qui almeno la storia di base è interessante, sebbene molto semplice e un po' prevedibile. Detto ciò, è tutto estremamente acerbo. La scrittura è promettente ma al momento fin troppo immatura. Saltano all'occhio le tipiche difficoltà dello scrittore inesperto: mal gestione dei tempi, problemi nelle transizioni da una scena all'altra, un capitolo in cui i personaggi secondari espongono a turno la loro storia a beneficio del lettore (con tanto di incitazione "raccontate la vostra storia!"). E per l'amor del cielo, qualcuno trovi un nuovo editor a questa donna! ("Illusione e realtà si mescolavano come latte e succo d'arancia..." eh??? Ma che stai a di??? Perché nessuno la ferma?). Caratterizzazione dei personaggi molto essenziale per i protagonisti, inesistente per i personaggi secondari. Ci sono delle morti che vorrebbero essere toccanti, ma cosa vuoi che me ne freghi di gente che ho conosciuto tre capitoli fa? (E sorvoliamo sul momento canto della rivolta, per carità...). Il worldbuilding voleva probabilmente essere qualcosa di vittoriano-steampunk. All'inizio mi hanno confusa i furgoni che passano in mezzo alle carrozze, ma poi ho capito che è stata una scelta deliberata, probabilmente perché si addice di più a un regime dispotico. Tutto sommato mi va bene. I poteri legati all'aspetto predominante dell'anima invece sono un po' un casotto. Iniziano come poteri relativi ai 5 sensi, e fin qui tutto bene. Poi lei inizia a sparare fuoco, lui a teletrasportarsi, le ombre diventano mostri, la psiche diventa materia e chi più ne ha più ne metta. L'autrice li gestisce bene, ma è un po' too much, soprattutto perché i poteri dei poveri compari di Iris non servono assolutamente a niente. Un grande guru del fantasy una volta ha detto: se dai dei poteri ai tuoi personaggi, LI DEVONO USARE. Ma giustamente annusare l'anima non è molto utile in battaglia. In conclusione quindi un libro carino, ma viste le premesse avrebbe potuto essere qualcosa di più. Forse in mano a un'altra autrice, o alla stessa autrice ma con un po' di esperienza in più.
Quando questo romanzo è uscito ha suscitato molte reazioni, tra cui: MA È LA COPIA DELL’ATTRAVERSASPECCHI? Ebbene, miei cari sciocchini, ovvio che no, sebbene le vibes siano quelle. L’Attraversaspecchi è un fantasy. La Senzanima sembra un fantasy con delle vibes distopiche, ma in realtà è un distopico con delle vibes fantasy. Insomma, è più simile a un libro della Roth che a uno della Dabos. Come romanzo d’esordio non è male. Lo stile scorre bene, anche se potrebbe soffermarsi di più sull’introspezione e la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, ma intriga abbastanza per catturare il lettore. Ho apprezzato molto gli accenni sul worldbuilding. In una società dove i cittadini vengono catalogati in base alla loro anima, le dinastie fondatrici (Cuore, Canto, Ombra, Scintilla, Spirito) governano Providence sotto il controllo del cancelliere Ombra, che possiamo definire come il cattivo di turno o un appassionato del Grande Fratello, dato che ha occhi ovunque. Ed è proprio grazie al fatto di essere senz’anima che la nostra protagonista riesce a passare sotto i suoi radar. Almeno finché, durante un borseggio, un pezzo della sua anima frantumata ritornerà da lei, rendendola un bersaglio mobile. Ebbene sì, Iris scoprirà ben presto che la sua condizione non è un caso, così come i suoi vuoti di memoria. Tutto è collegato a “la Sera che non è mai esistita”. Ta ta taaan. Durante la sua ricerca, si uniranno a lei diversi personaggi interessanti, tutti con un’anima difettata e poteri vari. E, man mano che la storia proseguirà, pericolosi segreti daranno la giusta spinta alla narrazione... e alla love story. Insomma, ho trovato l’idea di base molto semplice ma ben pensata, anche se è scivolata male sul finale. Leggerò comunque il sequel, anche se a mio avviso poteva concludersi qui. Spero in una maggiore spiegazione del worldbuilding. Aggiungo anche che la love story poteva essere gestita un po’ meglio, ma l’ho trovata adorabile. Un esordio di tutto rispetto.
*2,25/5* Io purtroppo questo libro l'ho trovato parecchio insipido. L'idea generale e, lo ammetto, la copertina mi avevano molto intrigata, ma questo interesse è andato presto perdendosi. Il world building e il sistema magico sono mooolto derivativi (un mix di grishaverse con spruzzate di Attraversaspecchi e un tocco di Hunger Games + una palese ispirazione potteriana per un elemento fondamentale della trama); nonostante questo, però, l'assemblaggio pareva promettente e anche alla fine della lettura non ritengo che sia da buttare ma sicuramente da rivedere perché ci sono molte ingenuità e tanti aspetti lasciati al caso. Per me, comunque, il problema più grande sono i personaggi: ho già dimenticato i nomi e non sono neanche mai riuscita a imparare le caratteristiche fisiche. Il carattere, a parte quello accennato della protagonista, inesistente per chiunque. Sono delle figurine, non c'è sostanza. Iris non è così terribile ma perché di fatto anche lei non viene approfondita e gran parte della narrazione è fatta da dialoghi o flashback, non si riesce mai davvero a empatizzare. Senza contare che per buona parte del libro lei ha questi sentimenti di gelosia che sono una grande, enorme red flag. Insieme ai personaggi, il dramma per questo libro è il ritmo: i limiti di velocità sono stati oltrepassati di molto. Non ci si riesce mai a soffermare su niente, è tutta una rincorsa e un susseguirsi di azioni (a volte ripetitive) e situazioni che cascano lì per inerzia e per far procedere la trama. Quest'ultima tra l'altro viene a costruirsi quasi per caso o, meglio, avrebbe un senso ma è talmente rapido il susseguirsi di eventi che questi appaiono insensati e senza pathos. Ne consegue che la storia perda di credibilità. Resta in ogni caso una lettura leggera e scorrevole quindi non la sconsiglio del tutto.
Dès le début j’ai été absorbée par l’écriture. Une écriture poétique, envoutante. Je suis vraiment tomber en amour pour cette plume qui dès les premières lignes m’a dit fait comprendre que ce serais un coup de cœur. Au début l’histoire semble plutôt légère, des actions que je ne comprenais pas toujours ou que je trouvais trop rapide. Mais plus on avance, plus ces actions prennent sens. Plis elles deviennent importante et clair. Et surtout, plus je prends conscience du talent, de la beauté et de la profondeur de l’écriture de l’autrice.
Une intrigue que je n’avais jamais vue, jamais lu. Une intrigue qui nous transporte et à un côté assez spooky avec un soupçons de mystère. Une genre d’enquête à résoudre. Une intrigue qui est tellement profonde. Une quête de soi, de souvenir. Une intrigue qui vous prends au tripe et vous fait rêver. Une intrigue qui vous donne des amies, une famille. Qui vous fais pleurer, rire et vous apporte un confort. Une intrigue avec de vrai méchant, avec de vrai profondeur.
Un protagoniste juste incroyable. Une force de caractère, attachante avec de la repartie. On apprends à la connaitre en même temps qu’elle se découvre, au fur et à mesure des pages. Des relations entre les personnages si puissante et profonde. Si bien veillant.
Un livre qui m’a fait rire, Ma fait pleurée (oui oui j’ai versé une larme) Ma amener à réfléchir, Ma rassurer, Ma bercé dans un cocon.
Je n’ai pas les mots pour décrire cette lecture que j’ai déjà envie de relire.