100 Books, #13: Alyzon Whitestarr

[osprey_archer]

If I had to recommend one Isobelle Carmody book, it would be without doubt Alyzon Whitestarr. I couldn’t put hand to heart and swear it’s the very best thing she’s written, because how could I ever decide between all the good things she’s done? But it does have the unconquerable benefit of being a standalone, which, as Carmody has completed none of

Comments

[ladyherenya]

I concur!

Except I'm not sure I would describe Alyzon as an "average" teenager, (although perhaps it depends on your definition of average?). Between her family and her attitudes, she's slightly out of the ordinary even before her accident.

Anyway, I think this is the novel of Carmody's I remember the most vividly. They're all vivid, but with this one, I have a better memory of how all the pieces fit together.

[osprey_archer]

Averageish? At any rate, I think it's fair to say that Alyzon doesn't start out knowing she's special: her first chapter ends in a sort of lament that she's the least interesting one in her family, the "chook in a house of peacocks."

I do remember this book very vividly. The scene where Alyzon makes herself a risotto just as she's getting well from her accident and almost falls to the floor, it's so intense - I wish I could have worked that into the entry, but there's so much going on with this book, I had to prune somewhere!