Book Review of Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Title: Glimmerglass

Author: Jenna Black

Release Date: May 25, 2010

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, Dana decides she’s had it with being her mother’s keeper, so she packs her bags and heads to stay with her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn’t just an ordinary teenage girl—she’s a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, she finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone’s trying to kill her, and everyone wants something from her, even her newfound friends and family. Suddenly, life with her alcoholic mom doesn’t sound half bad, and Dana would do anything to escape Avalon and get back home. Too bad both her friends and her enemies alike are determined not to let her go . .

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: This is one of those books that I felt like I did not really hear a lot about and I kept putting it off to the side in lieu of other books that were getting more buzz.  I have to say though, after reading it I am not really sure why it is not getting more attention.  I really enjoyed it.  One of the things that caught me off guard from the very beginning was the fact that humans are aware of Fae, not like in a myth kind of way.  As in, they know they exist and actually on some occasions live with them, in the city of Avalon.  This is not something I am accustomed to reading, so I found that whole concept very intriguing.

As the book begins we are almost immediately taken on a journey with Dana to the city of Avalon.  Many events transpire in a very short about of time and you almost get a head rush just reading about it.  I don’t mean that in a bad way though, it was nice to be taken on a journey so quickly and skip what I call “the fluff factor.”  If you cannot guess what “the fluff factor” is then I will explain further.  I view it as unnecessary information that just takes up pages to fill the space.  It does not advance the plot, tell you about the characters in any way and is well, boring.   The fluff in this book was very minimal and I greatly appreciated that.  You are given quite a bit of information in a short amount of time, but I would not call it fluff.  I think it is all very important to the story, it is a wealth of information coming at you very quickly and you will have to pay attention to keep track of it all.

Another interesting plot twist in Dana’s story was who to trust.  There are so many people Dana meets at the beginning and you are left just as confused as she is.  Dana knows nothing about these people and therefore you do not either, so it is hard to pick up on everyone’s motives and intentions.  I thought I had it pretty well pinned, but then some new information arose and I was left guessing again.  I do like Dana though, and I think she made good choices, based on the information that she was given.  At the end of the story you are still left wondering about some people, but I think if all the mysteries were solved then it would not be fun.

One of those mysteries would Ethan and his sister Kimber.  I thought I had those two figured out at one point just to be thrown a curve ball a couple of pages later.  I do like being kept on my toes though, and those two are doing a good job of keeping me there.  Ethan also plays a little bit of a love interest for Dana, which you will have to read about to decide if that is a good or bad thing.  I will say though, I do see a potential love triangle that might form later in the series and I am already leaning in one direction.  But that is something you will have to decide for yourself, so I am not going to try and sway any opinions.

I have seen online that there is going to be a second book in this series called Shadowspell, which I think will be great.  This is a good book and I really enjoyed it.  I feel like there is still more exploring to do in this world and while Glimmerglass did lay some excellent groundwork I will be eager to see what Shadowspell will bring.