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Madapple (2008)

by Christina Meldrum(Favorite Author)

3.38 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0375851763 (ISBN13: 9780375851766)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Knopf Books for Young Readers

review 1: Move over Martha Stewart and make way for Madapple!I enjoy reading books about home economics. From crafting to cleaning, I’m a sucker for domestic life! As often as I dream of being June Cleaver or Bree Van de Kamp and living in a clean and organized home, I lack enthusiasm in the process of getting there. I have a toddler, so when I clean, I’m cleaning the mess that I just cleaned up 2 hours before. Until recently (don’t get your hopes up, our house is a work in progress)…I made a deal with myself that I would only read Madapple while cleaning (audible download). I was a good girl and followed this and started looking for things to clean. I ironed a table cloth more than 20 minutes before it was needed. I cleaned and organized a nail and screw carrier – who doe... mores that!?! ME, apparently. Madapple cast its spell on me and I was like Cinderella enjoying her chores because dammit, I’m going to the ball!Aslaug is a young, sheltered adolescent who knows little of the world as her mother refrains from participating in society. They rely solely on home education and plants/herbs contribute to their health and well-being. Unfortunately, mother unexpectedly dies and Aslaug tries to pick up the pieces of her life and learn who she really is and where she came from. Her journey is filled with horrifying truths, spiritual awakenings, and various forms of love.The author does a wonderful job laying out the events in the story so that the reader is compelled to find something else to clean! Madapple motivated me more than Martha!! Perhaps I should add this book to my Domestic Bliss shelf ;-)
review 2: It's all a bit far-fetched, isn't it? At some point (in a court room scene) someone refers to the events in this book with a quote similar, and I can relate to that. A bit too much, a bit too constructed for my liking.And then there is the botany aspect...Well, this book is divided into the chapters in 1st person narration from the female protagonist's (Aslaug) perspective going through the events of her mother's death and how she came to live with her aunt and her 2 cousins and what happens there, and the dialogue narration of the court room investigation accusing Aslaug of being responsible for the death of mentioned aunt and her female cousin in a fire. This split narration is one of the few things I really enjoyed, slowly unraveling the events and trying to solve the mystery of what truly is going on and what might just in Aslaug's mind. But with that came the disappointment of an ending that was not as twisted as the novel could have been. And even though we get a lot from Aslaug's POV I felt like there was more insight into her character needed, she grew up so isolated which was very important in the beginning of the novel, later it was pushed more into the background due to current happenings. I really didn't get her motivation sometimes and wanted her to act out more. The supporting character's were intriguing and all a bit crazy but I felt the same way, in the later parts I was sometimes baffled by someone's motivation in doing or not doing things (like the aunt, she got mostly removed from the story...). The story dragged for me and I still thought it too be underdeveloped.The style, language and, yes, the never-ending plant references, metaphors and tangents, all of that kept me at bay instead of letting me dive in deeper, I felt rather alienated and started to skim read more and more in the 2nd half. It supported the image of being too much and too far out there, too unrealistic, nope, I didn't connect and I didn't get invested. All in all, not my cup of tea. less

Download links for: Madapple

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