Review: Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Lament
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Children's Books, an imprint of Scholastic Ltd
Year of Release: 2008
ISBN: 978 1407 12031 7
Source: Purchased
Number of Pages: 356
Sixteen-year-old Dee is a cloverhand- someone who can see faeries. When she finds herself irresistibly drawn to beautiful, mysterious Luke, Dee senses that he wants something more dangerous than a summer romance. But Dee doesn't realize that Luke is an assassin from the faerie world. And she is his next target.

This book has the most incredible plot. I loved it! It may seem like a childish book, as we have been taught that faeries are for children. They're small, sparkly winged creatures that dance around between flower petals and have a fascination for little kids. They're friendly. These faeries however, are not the faeries you and I are used to. In this sequence, Maggie Stiefvater puts a deadly twist on the original faerie lore. Though we believe them to be kind little things, the faeries in this book are dangerous beyond belief. They can be nice, but rub them the wrong way and you're a goner. They still have the characteristics associated with normal faeries- they like pretty things, music, dancing, flowers etc. but they're possessive. They see a pretty girl and they want to own her, to take her away and keep her forever. They also love games. With humans, that means toying with them. Making them so confused that they don't even know what day of the week it is and then stealing them away. A pretty, musically talented girl called Dee lives an ordinary life playing her harp and performing at gigs, but is put on the faerie's radar, essentially putting her life and the lives of those around her at risk. When she meets a mysterious boy called Luke and falls for him,  she has no idea that he has an ulterior motive- kill her. See, he's an assassin from the faerie world and she's got no way of knowing that she is his next target. Chilling, right? Throw in a heart-breaking love triangle, some strange telekinetic abilities and a malicious faerie queen hell-bent on having Dee destroyed, and ta-da! There's a book that won't leave you disappointed. This isn't the first time I've read this book either. I read it once before, when it was first released, way before I was writing this blog. I was younger then too, so I don't think I fully understood it. Now that I do, I can safely say that if you're looking for something different to read, give this book a go. The sequel, Ballad, has already been released and I will be reviewing that next for you.