BOOK REVIEW: Plain Kate
Title: Plain Kate
Author: Erin Bow
After the death of her father, Katerina “Plain Kate” Svetlana is kicked out of her home and forced to live in the stall where she and her father once sold their carvings. She manages to survive off of her own impressive skill with woodworking, but it’s a tough life with no luxuries. Her one comfort is her cat, Taggle. Unfortunately, the people around her are superstitious by nature. When life gets hard, they begin to suspect that Plain Kate, who has never really fit in, might be a witch. Kate knows the fate of suspected witches, and having no wish to be burned alive she makes a dubious deal with a stranger for a chance at a better life. All she needs to do is give up her shadow.
Plain Kate is a standalone young adult fantasy novel that I got as a gift a couple years ago but haven’t gotten around to until just recently. Now that I’ve read it, I must admit that Plain Kate was a book that surprised me. I went it to it expecting a nice little read about a tough heroine and her pet cat, but what I got was something more. I was immediately pulled in by Bow’s poetic writing style and wonderful sense for atmosphere. There were several scenes in particular (such as one that takes place on a boat) that were so strongly visual that I found myself wishing that someone would make this book into a movie. Still, what really kept me turning the pages were the characters, and their relationships to each other. By the end, I was so moved by a particular character’s death that I found myself crying in the Laundromat, and crying in public is not something I do lightly.
I think what really ended up grabbing me about the characters is how they end up being more complex then you’d expect at first. Kate is a tough and practical protagonist, but with a shy streak that means she occasionally gets talked into doing things that she doesn’t want to do. The books main villain, Linay, is another example of one that surprised me. At the beginning, he’s mostly just creepy, but as you begin to learn more about him, you really begin to feel sorry about him. You still want Kate to foil his plans and save the day, but he’s much more than your typical bad-to-the-bones villain. Like many readers, my favorite character would have to be Taggle the cat. I’m a sucker for animal companions, especially ones that talk! Taggle receives his gift of speech several chapters into Plain Kate, and it’s interesting to see how his ability to communicate impacts him, as well as how it deepens his friendship with Kate. It’s also worth mentioning that despite the cheerful cover image, Plain Kate does have some truly dark moments. Multiple characters die throughout the course of the book, and the magic can be quite creepy. The dark moments worked well for me, but it explains why this book is typically shelved in the young adult section, and not the middle grade one.
Final Thoughts: Thanks to the attractive Russian inspired setting, the author’s poetic writing style and sense of atmosphere, and the wonderful characters that populated its pages, I must admit that I truly loved the novel Plain Kate. It’s a book that I could see myself really getting drawn into as a teenager, and it impacted me on the same level as an adult. I would highly recommend this if you’re a fan of traditional fantasy for young adults, especially if you also happen to be a cat lover. Five Stars
Author: Erin Bow
After the death of her father, Katerina “Plain Kate” Svetlana is kicked out of her home and forced to live in the stall where she and her father once sold their carvings. She manages to survive off of her own impressive skill with woodworking, but it’s a tough life with no luxuries. Her one comfort is her cat, Taggle. Unfortunately, the people around her are superstitious by nature. When life gets hard, they begin to suspect that Plain Kate, who has never really fit in, might be a witch. Kate knows the fate of suspected witches, and having no wish to be burned alive she makes a dubious deal with a stranger for a chance at a better life. All she needs to do is give up her shadow.
Plain Kate is a standalone young adult fantasy novel that I got as a gift a couple years ago but haven’t gotten around to until just recently. Now that I’ve read it, I must admit that Plain Kate was a book that surprised me. I went it to it expecting a nice little read about a tough heroine and her pet cat, but what I got was something more. I was immediately pulled in by Bow’s poetic writing style and wonderful sense for atmosphere. There were several scenes in particular (such as one that takes place on a boat) that were so strongly visual that I found myself wishing that someone would make this book into a movie. Still, what really kept me turning the pages were the characters, and their relationships to each other. By the end, I was so moved by a particular character’s death that I found myself crying in the Laundromat, and crying in public is not something I do lightly.
I think what really ended up grabbing me about the characters is how they end up being more complex then you’d expect at first. Kate is a tough and practical protagonist, but with a shy streak that means she occasionally gets talked into doing things that she doesn’t want to do. The books main villain, Linay, is another example of one that surprised me. At the beginning, he’s mostly just creepy, but as you begin to learn more about him, you really begin to feel sorry about him. You still want Kate to foil his plans and save the day, but he’s much more than your typical bad-to-the-bones villain. Like many readers, my favorite character would have to be Taggle the cat. I’m a sucker for animal companions, especially ones that talk! Taggle receives his gift of speech several chapters into Plain Kate, and it’s interesting to see how his ability to communicate impacts him, as well as how it deepens his friendship with Kate. It’s also worth mentioning that despite the cheerful cover image, Plain Kate does have some truly dark moments. Multiple characters die throughout the course of the book, and the magic can be quite creepy. The dark moments worked well for me, but it explains why this book is typically shelved in the young adult section, and not the middle grade one.
Final Thoughts: Thanks to the attractive Russian inspired setting, the author’s poetic writing style and sense of atmosphere, and the wonderful characters that populated its pages, I must admit that I truly loved the novel Plain Kate. It’s a book that I could see myself really getting drawn into as a teenager, and it impacted me on the same level as an adult. I would highly recommend this if you’re a fan of traditional fantasy for young adults, especially if you also happen to be a cat lover. Five Stars