Jaime Reviews: Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour
By Katherine Harbour
Published on June 24, 2014
Published by Harper Voyager
Source: Library
Published by Harper Voyager
Source: Library
They call us things with teeth. These words from Lily Rose Sullivan the night of her death haunts her seventeen-year-old sister, Finn, who has moved with her widowed father to his hometown of Fair Hollow, New York. After befriending a boy named Christie Hart and his best friend, Sylvie Whitethorn, Finn is invited to a lakeside party where she encounters the alluring Jack Fata, a member of the town's mysterious Fata family. Despite Jack's air of danger and his clever words, Finn learns they have things in common.
One day, while unpacking, Finn finds her sister's journal, scrawled with descriptions of creatures that bear a sinister resemblance to Jack's family. Finn dismisses these stories as fiction, but Jack's family has a secret—the Fatas are the children of nothing and night, nomadic beings who have been preying on humanity for centuries—and Jack fears that his friendship with Finn has drawn the attention of the most dangerous members of his family—Reiko Fata and vicious Caliban, otherwise known as the white snake and the crooked dog.
Plagued with nightmares about her sister, Finn attempts to discover what happened to Lily Rose and begins to suspect that the Fatas are somehow tied to Lily Rose's untimely death. Drawn to Jack, determined to solve the mystery of her sister's suicide, Finn must navigate a dangerous world where nothing is as it seems.
My Thoughts
Thorn Jack was utterly spellbinding. Dark, creepy, confusingly perfect. Finn is a brilliant character, full of brokenness, and Christie the womanizer with the heart of gold and Sylvie the best and coolest girl, are the definition of perfect secondary characters. Jack Fata, dark and brooding, was a wonder to behold. His transformation was chaotic. Thorn Jack is a book I went into without reading reviews, only scanning the synopsis, and I am glad for it. This is most definitely a story to go blind into. It is such a compelling story, and I cannot wait for the sequel.
There are many, many characters in this story, but Katherine Harbour has done a fantastic job of writing every single character in a way that you just KNOW THEM. From the first encounter, they are forever imprinted on your mind. From Reiko Fata, to Caliban, to Absalom, these are some of the most compelling, interesting, multi-faceted characters that I have ever read.
The friendship between Finn, Sylvie and Christie is immediate and full of faith and trust. I loved watching them learn and love each other, protect each other. Jack and Finn's relationship was hot and cold, back and forth, but there was no doubt about either ones true feelings. The relationships are all complicated and twisted.
Thorn Jack is not a book to read lightly. You have to think, and remember, and read carefully or you will miss the tiniest thing that makes the largest difference. Poetry abounds, and it is all important. Twisty, that is definitely the right word. I would absolutely recommend Thorn Jack. If you like dark, twisted stories, this is a book that you will love!
*****
