Review – Sprite

Title: Sprite

Author: Leigh Michael

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: CreateSpace

Publish Date: April 30, 2012

ISBN-10: 1468184415

Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

From Goodreads:

Annabelle Walsh thought she had it all. She was the star of her swim team, had a loving family, a great boyfriend, and to top it off, she’d be starting at UCLA in the fall. One day, she’d be referred to as Dr. Annabelle Walsh.

She was living every girl’s dream – until her life was turned upside down. All starting with finding out that she’s not just a human, but also a water spirit. Half-human, half-sprite to be exact. Although not just any sprite, Annabelle is prophesied to be the only one who can save both the sprites and mankind.

With a mix of current events, anecdotes from Greek mythology, tidbits of folklore, and Leigh’s own imagination, we join Annabelle in her journey to restore order beneath the sea. Each step of the way her mind, body, and soul are pushed to the limit begging the question, how much can one half-human, half-sprite take?

Review:

The Good:

I thought this story flowed evenly. It moved along nicely. The rhythm alone could have kept my interest up. The action was quick-paced and there was never a dull moment.

It had some interesting concepts to the story. There were some mythology points that I’m not sure were true or not but they were still interesting.  There were some character types that were interesting like the encantado, men who turn into dolphins, to selkies, men who could turn into seals.

The Bad:

I had a lot of problems suspending belief in this short novella. This story takes place underwater, yet they talk. With their vocal chords. You need air moving through your vocal chords to speak which is why I have such a hard time believing this is possible.

Another thing I had a hard time believing was when she saw someone’s tear falling down their face underwater. Wouldn’t that tear simply be lost in all the water?

Then there was the incident with her writing a letter with a pen underwater. How do you get a pen to work underwater? I suppose they have special pens and papers. I suppose I can let that one go for the sake of the story.

I also had problems with character development. Annabelle had a tendency to use sarcasm in all the wrong spots causing her to sound like a petulant child. The other characters weren’t very well developed causing them to appear shallow and one dimensional.

Finally there was the cliffhanger. The story just ends with no real resolution. You’re left with only questions left unanswered.

All in all a most unsatisfactory read.

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