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'A PICKPOCKET WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL GIFT
A PRISONER OF EXTRAORDINARY VALUE
AN ORPHAN HAUNTED BY DREAMS OF THE MYSTERIOUS DARK LADY
Henry is an orphan, an outsider, a thief. He is also a fifteen-year-old invested with magical powers ...'
I didn't love this book.
I went into this book after reading Natives by Akala, unfortunately I was a little disappointing by his debut novel for teens The Dark Lady.
While I feel that Akala is a natural storyteller this book just didn't work for me. I had issues with the pacing at the beginning of the story which made it difficult for me to stay engrossed with the story. This problem was resolve during the second part of the novel when the paced pick up and the story started leading somewhere.
I also had a real issue with the old Elizabethan language and slang used in this book. Most of the story was easy to read yet the flow was interrupted by the addition of words and phrases that were unfamiliar to me. I had to continuously turn to the glossary at the back of the book to find out what was being said. This caused a stop start issue for most of the story.
As for the story itself, I feel like it was suffering from an identity crisis. There felt like there were two stories being told. Each of these stories could have been interesting but they didn't really mesh well together. I found myself moved by the emotional human side of the story but the magical elements just seem slightly unnecessary.
I think there is definitely people out there who will absolutely love this book, I am just sad that I am not one of them
The Dark Lady by Akala is a magical yet very human story that needs to be read to be believed.
Published by Geramie Kate Barker
4 years ago 
