Official Review: The Forest of Evergreen: Lost in the Wil...
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Sarah Clay
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Official Review: The Forest of Evergreen: Lost in the Wil...
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Forest of Evergreen: Lost in the Wilderness" by Teresa May B. Bandiola.]
1 out of 4 stars
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I had the privilege to read and review Lost in the Wilderness by Teresa May B. Bandiola. This young adult novel ties together themes of heartbreak, deceit, and love through the story of a teenage Pacific Islander, Sophia Vabueretti.
The novel begins with an intricate description of birdlike creatures (Vangkekans) that band together in separate tribes. After this section, we are plunged into the life of Sophia, who struggles to live her life in the wake of burning heartbreak. She was forced to leave behind an old flame four years previous as she left her childhood town of Forest Green. In an attempt to forget her old boyfriend, Jericho, she agrees to date Giovanni in her new town. Later, while on her way home from a concert, distraction results in a devastating crash which leaves Sophia without memory. Will she ever regain her memories, or will the mystery of her long-lost loves consume her?
First off, I’d like to comment that I greatly enjoyed the setting of this book. I rarely read novels that take place outside of America or the UK, and it was refreshing to dive into a world I’ve never experienced before. The Pacific Islands serve as a beautiful backdrop for the story. However, other than the setting, I come away from this reading incredibly disappointed.
There is a good amount of characters (perhaps too many), but each of them come out flat in the same ways. Each fall to stereotypes and clichés common in young adult fiction. For example: Sophia is described as a beautiful goddess on more than one occasion, and Nadine (the younger sister) is seen as adorable and innocent. The dialogue does not help; the majority of the character’s words end with exclamation marks, giving each of them a happy outlook in inappropriate times. I could not help but picture each of them, including the adults, as juvenile due to the over use of strong punctuation. The way they spoke sounded like it came from happy robots that knew how to switch words around to make them sound more intelligent. Inconsistency is also a prevalent fault in the characters. One moment, the mother will be loving and kind, but she’ll be raving and screaming in the next, forfeiting any traces of love within her.
I found the grammar and mechanics to be greatly lacking. Due to the imbalance of description, the pacing was either way too fast or way too slow. I rarely knew what the setting of the scene looked like, and it was hard to keep the character descriptions straight. I found comma splices frequently throughout the book along with other grammar errors. In addition, the point of view jumped from character to character, making it confusing as to what was going on.
There isn’t much I can say on this next matter without giving up spoilers. The prologue was slow and unneeded. If I hadn’t already downloaded the book, I might have given up on the book completely. The beginning paragraphs sound like something from an encyclopedia. This tone lessened as I proceeded, but again, I found it hard to keep track of the names and information. It would have worked much better if Bandiola had incorporated the information as the story progressed so that it didn’t seem so unnecessary in the first half. In fact, I feel that this book would have greatly benefitted from leaving the birdlike tribe out all together; in the course of the story, it doesn’t make much sense.
Lastly, I found the plot in general to be disjointed and lacking. Again, without giving up spoilers, there isn’t much I’m able to say. The tribe does not connect to the first part (or any part, really) of the book, and the ending of the book was vague and frankly did not work well with the contemporary side of the book.
In conclusion, I gave Lost in the Wilderness 1 out of 4 stars. I pondered on this for a long time because I hate giving bad reviews. However, if I’m going to be honest, I can’t give this book higher marks. The undeveloped writing and weak elements cannot be looked over, as much as I wish they could be. I believe that this selection could benefit from some more work.
******
The Forest of Evergreen: Lost in the Wilderness
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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1 out of 4 stars
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I had the privilege to read and review Lost in the Wilderness by Teresa May B. Bandiola. This young adult novel ties together themes of heartbreak, deceit, and love through the story of a teenage Pacific Islander, Sophia Vabueretti.
The novel begins with an intricate description of birdlike creatures (Vangkekans) that band together in separate tribes. After this section, we are plunged into the life of Sophia, who struggles to live her life in the wake of burning heartbreak. She was forced to leave behind an old flame four years previous as she left her childhood town of Forest Green. In an attempt to forget her old boyfriend, Jericho, she agrees to date Giovanni in her new town. Later, while on her way home from a concert, distraction results in a devastating crash which leaves Sophia without memory. Will she ever regain her memories, or will the mystery of her long-lost loves consume her?
First off, I’d like to comment that I greatly enjoyed the setting of this book. I rarely read novels that take place outside of America or the UK, and it was refreshing to dive into a world I’ve never experienced before. The Pacific Islands serve as a beautiful backdrop for the story. However, other than the setting, I come away from this reading incredibly disappointed.
There is a good amount of characters (perhaps too many), but each of them come out flat in the same ways. Each fall to stereotypes and clichés common in young adult fiction. For example: Sophia is described as a beautiful goddess on more than one occasion, and Nadine (the younger sister) is seen as adorable and innocent. The dialogue does not help; the majority of the character’s words end with exclamation marks, giving each of them a happy outlook in inappropriate times. I could not help but picture each of them, including the adults, as juvenile due to the over use of strong punctuation. The way they spoke sounded like it came from happy robots that knew how to switch words around to make them sound more intelligent. Inconsistency is also a prevalent fault in the characters. One moment, the mother will be loving and kind, but she’ll be raving and screaming in the next, forfeiting any traces of love within her.
I found the grammar and mechanics to be greatly lacking. Due to the imbalance of description, the pacing was either way too fast or way too slow. I rarely knew what the setting of the scene looked like, and it was hard to keep the character descriptions straight. I found comma splices frequently throughout the book along with other grammar errors. In addition, the point of view jumped from character to character, making it confusing as to what was going on.
There isn’t much I can say on this next matter without giving up spoilers. The prologue was slow and unneeded. If I hadn’t already downloaded the book, I might have given up on the book completely. The beginning paragraphs sound like something from an encyclopedia. This tone lessened as I proceeded, but again, I found it hard to keep track of the names and information. It would have worked much better if Bandiola had incorporated the information as the story progressed so that it didn’t seem so unnecessary in the first half. In fact, I feel that this book would have greatly benefitted from leaving the birdlike tribe out all together; in the course of the story, it doesn’t make much sense.
Lastly, I found the plot in general to be disjointed and lacking. Again, without giving up spoilers, there isn’t much I’m able to say. The tribe does not connect to the first part (or any part, really) of the book, and the ending of the book was vague and frankly did not work well with the contemporary side of the book.
In conclusion, I gave Lost in the Wilderness 1 out of 4 stars. I pondered on this for a long time because I hate giving bad reviews. However, if I’m going to be honest, I can’t give this book higher marks. The undeveloped writing and weak elements cannot be looked over, as much as I wish they could be. I believe that this selection could benefit from some more work.
******
The Forest of Evergreen: Lost in the Wilderness
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Sarah Clay's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "The Lob Mob" by Tell Tale
