Inland, by Kat Rosenfield

Inland, by Kat Rosenfield

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary. Paranormal

Rating: 2/5 stars

Publication: June 12, 2014, by Dutton Juvenile

Format: Hardcover Edition (borrowed)



Goodreads Summary: The psychological labyrinth of a young woman’s insidious connection to the sea, from the Edgar Award nominated author of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone.

Callie Morgan has long lived choked by the failure of her own lungs, the result of an elusive pulmonary illness that has plagued her since childhood. A childhood marked early by the drowning death of her mother—a death to which Callie was the sole witness. Her father has moved them inland, away from the memories of the California coast her mother loved so much and toward promises of recovery—and the escape of denial—in arid, landlocked air.

But after years of running away, the promise of a life-changing job for her father brings Callie and him back to the coast, to Florida, where Callie’s symptoms miraculously disappear. For once, life seems delightfully normal. But the ocean’s edge offers more than healing air … it holds a magnetic pull, drawing Callie closer and closer to the chilly, watery embrace that claimed her mother. Returned to the ocean, Callie comes of age and comes into a family destiny that holds generations of secrets and very few happy endings.

Review:

DNF @ 110 pages.

"Her husband could have her body, but not her heart. Never her heart. That was how it would happen, because that was what she'd planned. Because her heart had been claimed by another. It always had been, and would be forever. It was as she had promised, that first night on the shore, still in her bone-white wedding gown."

   I haven't become the black sheep with this book. Many people have disliked this book, and I agree with all of you out there. I almost didn't pick this book up at the library, but then decided to because the psychological premise caught my attention. I usually adore those sorts of books, but this was just a downer, sadly. 

    Callie Morgan is pretending to forget. Pretending to forget about the drowning death of her mother, a death that Callie actually witnessed. Her father moved them away from the trouble and from the setting of that day, and they've been moving around ever since, but never to the water. They unexpectedly move to Florida, where Callie's symptoms go away. The ocean's pull begins to draw Callie closer to the water that holds many secrets.

      

        This book was very strange and messed up. I didn't enjoy it, adding to the fact that it was strange itself and I saw something more than psychological... I get the fact that there was some paranormal aspects included, but it was all too strange and confusing for me to handle. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for something dark and deeper than expected. The concept wasn't built up straight, and from the 110 pages that I read, I had no idea what was happening. So I just left the book, and I didn't care how it would end up.

          One of the things I did love was the beautiful writing. Not many authors write like this, and Kat Rosenfield is definitely a unique writer. The way she writes is very flowingly and gorgeous. It sounds very historically inclined and dark, suiting the subject.

           The book bored me. I just didn't care what was happening or who it was happening to. If you get those sort of signs when reading, that really means that you should gear yourself away from the book. 

             Of course, Callie was a very weak character, especially coming from her condition. She wasn't strong and intelligent, and wasn't too likeable. 

              I vowed that I would at least read 100 pages before giving up, and that's when I did. I recommend this if you're a person who doesn't give up on bad books easily, because who knows, maybe it would improve for me if I kept on going.