REVIEW: "Entangled", by Cat Clarke.

Entangled, by Cat Clarke.

Format: Kindle eBook.

Pages: 374

Release Date: January 6th 2011

Publisher: Quercus Publishing Plc. 

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads.

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

A story of dark secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction.

Review

I don't know what to say about this one. I read it in a night and couldn't put it down. I was desperately fixated by Grace's "tangled life" and wanted her to be able to wipe her slate clean. I empathised painfully with her. To an extent.

There was a lot about Grace that I didn't like. It seemed like in every scene she had a drink in her hand and she wasn't a pleasant drunk. Her recounted story about how she lost her virginity in a grotty park play-structure made me feel kind of sick with disgust. Her coldness towards her mother made me cringe. There were reasons for all of these things but I couldn't help but feel like Grace was exacerbating her "victim" status in a self-flagellating way. But then I suppose that was part of Grace's character. She lives wild and she lives painfully in order to be able to feel something, anything at all.

To say Grace was "rough-around-the-edges" would be an understatement. And yet, Cat Clarke weaves Grace's story in such a way that we can see how she has become such a fallen figure. We might not exactly like Grace to begin, but we learn to at least sympathise with her. The uncomfortable moments are there deliberately, and Grace's depression is dealt with as a serious, psychological condition. She makes herself hurt because without that pain, she feels she has nothing. 

As the story progresses, I started to see Grace as the tragic figure she was. I figured out what I think was meant to be the plot twist quickly, but this added to the tension of the novel. It made me want to scream at certain characters and to punch others in the face. These characters will have you hyperventilating with rage, trust me. The allow Grace to get a taste of what it means to be at peace with herself and almost happy! Then...they take it away. Her fall is so much harder after she allows herself to be lifted up briefly by love and hope.

I am desperately hoping that there will be a follow-up to Entangled, but haven't seen any news of one. I want this follow up because the ending of this book made me feel sad and scared and hollow. Grace has her weaknesses, but she doesn't deserve the pain she and others put her through. Seriously, Ms. Clarke. Even a short story would do!

*Makes puppy dog eyes*

There has been a lot of discussion recently about what content belongs in YA fiction. I'm sure that many might view Entangled as one of those bad influences. I disagree. The idea of self-harm and suicide is not glamorised or made to sound like any kind of escape: Grace's actions disgust ever herself, let alone the reader. The sexual content is discussed with warnings of pregnancy on the one hand, and the idea that you can think you know someone without having a clue on the other. The audience will wish that Grace could have held onto her morals a little more tightly. Her promiscuity only exacerbates her self-esteem issues and makes her feel worse.

Overall, Entangled is a powerful read that I would recommend to older YA readers due to its content. There's a part of me that really wants to give this 5 stars, but I'm withholding one of them until I hear of a coming sequel! A hostage star...think it'll work?

Lx

Addendum

 

The lovely Cat Clarke has said (via twitter) that my hostage star might as well make itself comfortable. He he. Guess my hopes for a follow-up are dashed! Sob...

 

In all good conscience I can't hold back a star this book thoroughly deserves. So: