Saturday, December 23, 2017

‘Claws’ by Mike and Rachel Grinti

Cover, 'Claws' by Mike and Rachel Grinti. Image depicts tree foliage through which peers a girl with straight black hair, brown eyes, and beige to brown skin, in the bottom of the image frame. Near the top of the frame, peer the gold eyes and partial face of a cat with black-on-gray tabby markings.
Emma, a young girl, occupies a world very much like our own — except that creatures of mythology exist as second-class citizens, lumped together by the slang term “Crag.”

Emma’s family has been in upheaval since her older sister went missing; her father sacrificed his career as a chef to pursue any possible leads into Helena’s disappearance.

The family has moved to a trailer park inhabited by various enchanted creatures, and shortly after their arrival, Emma meets a cat named Jack. He has a plan for how Emma can find and rescue her sister, but in doing so, Emma embarks upon becoming a magical creature herself.

This story appealed to me for its depiction of creatures of mythology living alongside humans in a modern-day setting that includes web browsing and the Internet. The “CragWiki” facts of the day add an interesting framework at the start of each chapter as well as added dimensions to the types of mythological characters.

Disclosure of material connection: My taxes support local libraries’ acquisition of this and other resources. I consider the access I enjoy to be a “priceless” return on my investment.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Robust debate and even unusual opinions are encouraged, but please stay on-topic and be respectful. Comments are subject to review for personal attacks or insults, discriminatory statements, hyperlinks not directly related to the discussion and commercial spam.