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Monday, July 13, 2015

The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle ARC Review


The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
paperback ARC, 293 pages
Published by Kathy Dawson Books
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Synopsis: It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?

The Accident Season is a haunting and whimsical story about a family with a lot of secrets.  For one month every year Cara’s family batters down the hatches of their home to prevent as many accidents as they can. No matter what they do, each year they experience accidents that will break bones, leaves scars, and some years death.

The plot and the characters in this book are very complex. Moïra Fowley-Doyle writes very beautiful prose but doesn’t include a lot of dialogue between her characters.  I love all of her characters and found myself worrying about their well-being but I think they could have been developed further and better if there were more conversation between them. As for the paranormal aspects of this novel, I found them a bit confusing. Instead of getting down to grit of the story, the author writes metaphorical fantastical scenes to hint to the reader about the underlying happenings. I wish that Moïra Fowley-Doyle had cut back on these a bit. They were distracting and left me with more questions than answers.

I don’t regret reading this book and I’d be willing to read more books written by Moïra Fowley-Doyle.

Strengths/Likes:

1) I loved all of the characters. I felt for them and their struggles. Usually, I pick a select set of characters I like and could not care less about what happened to the others. In this book, I cared about all of them. Even when I found myself annoyed by something they did or said.

2) Moïra Fowley-Doyle's writing style is very poetic. She knows how to write every day struggles and make them sound beautiful and intricate.

Weaknesses/Dislikes:

1) Lack of dialogue. The plot and didn't suffer from it but I think dialogue is crucial in any story. You get a lot of information in the things left unsaid between the characters but there was a lot that needed to be said.

2) The idea of the accident season still confuses me. Is the family doing this to themselves? Are they cursed? Or is this family just so overwhelmed by all of their secrets and grief that these accidents are just amplified?

3) I could have lived without the fantastical character changelings. I don't feel as if they added to the story. They just made it more confusing. I kept asking myself why are they important. After reading it I realize their purpose (I won't say since it'd spoil everything) but I think that the plot would have survivedif not been better—without it. 

Favorite Quotes:

1) "We stopped my mother from hiding the electric kettle two weeks ago. We are content to live without sharp knives and the gas burner, but living without tea is just impossible."

4 comments:

  1. I really like the sound of this book. The plot sounds so intriguing! Can't wait for August; I'll definitely give this one a try.

    Sophie @ Seamless Reader

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    1. It really is an interesting concept. That's what drove me to read it. I hope you like it =)

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  2. To be honest, I had no interest in reading this book until I read this review. Now I'm curious.

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    1. Really? Wow. I'm flattered that my review was able to sway you. I look forward to discussing what you think of it if you find time to pick it up.

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