"Never-Contented Things" by Sarah Porter

Never-Contented Things is a dark YA fantasy novel by Sarah Porter. And, when I say "dark" I do not mean that there is an evil faerie prince in the story who falls in love with a human heroine. Porter's faeries are creatures of nightmares and pure evil. They are utterly devoid of feeling, and are more akin to the folk stories about them, heartless beings who steal human children in the night and replace them with counterfeit changelings.

Our main characters are Ksenia and Joshua, two foster kids growing up in a small American town, who very soon will be separated because Ksenia is about to turn 18. That is until Joshua makes a deal with faeries and gets both of them spirited away into Nowhere.

I have seen quite a few negative reviews by readers who received advanced copies of the book from the publisher. I honestly do not understand that. I loved this book. The plot was unexpected, dark, interesting and wholly unlike the cookie-cutter YA fantasy that is being churned out by the publishing industry nowadays.

The story felt like an allegory for being stuck in a dark abusive relationship, or a situation you cannot get out of. Ksenia, for all intents and purposes, is dead to her friends and foster parents. But she is very much alive and suspended in a parallel world of faerie where she is kept by Josh and his twisted obsession for her. She feels powerless in this situation because she is vulnerable. She was hurt and abused as a young girl, and is starved for love and affection. She also has an appallingly low self-esteem and feels utterly undeserving of love. Josh, under the guise of saving both of them, robs her of her ability to make choices for herself. This is a startlingly accurate description of how a dominating abuser might be justifying the way he treats his partner.

Ksenia starts finding her way to who she is only when Lexi appears. Lexi is the one who truly loves her in a completely unselfish and genuine way. She does not see Ksenia as someone broken and requiring constant care. Lexi's ability to precisely voice her feelings, set boundaries and allow others and herself to make choices, fascinates me. There is a lot I can learn from her.

Overall, I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars. I took my time reading it and I enjoyed every minute. An e-ARC was provided to me by NetGalley.

The Classics Challenge: Reading an Australian Classic

Continuing my efforts to incorporate more classics into my reading, in February I picked up an Australian classic called My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. The novel is considered to be semi-autobiographical in nature and is set in the late 19th - early 20th century in the South-East of Australia. The main character is a seventeen year old girl named Sybylla. She is head-strong and unruly, she is also vivacious and a tomboy. I definitely appreciated the author's stance on women's place in society, her desire to break away from the expected role of wife and mother, and her rebellion against the proper look and behavior for a young woman.

There were, however, other aspects of the novel that I did not enjoy as much. For example, for all her yearning for independence in life, Sybylla is for the most part shallow and immature. She is utterly insecure and has such a low self-esteem that no matter how many young men shower her with attention, she still professes to be ugly and undesirable. Her behavior towards Harold is odd to say the least. She flirts with him, and then goes out of her way to try to make him jealous simply because she wants him to exhibit his passion and admiration for her. In the end, she hurts him over and over again, the person who truly loves her. I do understand her desire to be independent, but I don't think asserting one's independence lies through hurting those who care for her.

In the end I rated this book at 2 out of 5 stars. I am glad I read it, but the heroine definitely did not live up to my expectations.