weave a circle round

3 stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was hard to rate. The writing is good, but the story didn’t interest me. The story centers on Freddy, a young girl that tries very hard not to be noticed. Her sister Mel is very confidant and brilliant. Her stepbrother Roland is deaf and not a fan of Freddy. He spends most of his time avoiding her and creating roleplaying games for his group of friends.

The family’s world is turned upside down when new neighbors move in next door. Cuerva Lachance and Josiah are definitely not “normal”. Weird things tend to happen around them, including the interior of their house changing shape. Much to her consternation, Josiah begins to follow Freddy around school and cause scenes that draw attention to Freddy. Exactly what she doesn’t want to happen. When Freddy gets sucked into a time traveling adventure with Josiah with no end in sight, she begins to learn more about the nature of her new neighbors, as well some hard truths about herself.

The story starts out good, but once the time traveling beings, it becomes a bit confusing and muddled. The pace also starts to drag a bit. I was ok with the book until about 60%, and then I really started to lose interest. I stuck with it, but the last 20% of the book just seemed to go on and on forever.

The book is well-written and the characters are fleshed out fairly well. I’m sure there is an audience for this book that will really enjoy it.