Whichwood

by Tahereh Mafi

Hardcover, 2017

Status

Available

Call number

FIC MAF

Call number

FIC MAF

Description

Laylee, thirteen, is nearly worn out from washing and packaging corpses for the Otherwhere and being shunned by villagers when two strangers, Alice and Oliver, arrive determined to help.

Publication

Dutton Books for Young Readers (2017), 368 pages

Original language

English

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member jmoncton
This book has a few very unusual elements in it. The story is told like a Persian fairytale, so it's descriptive and lyrical. The characters are in their early teens, so the target audience is middle grade, but the most unusual part is that the heroine, Laylee washes corpses for a living. When I
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get behind on work, my emails overflow and my desk is a mess. But when Laylee gets behind, things happen like body parts fall off when she washes the corpses, and much worse things happen to the ghosts and souls of the departed. This odd mishmash of plot elements sort of works to make this an interesting fairytale. Although, I'm not sure if a young middle grader, or anyone who is squeamish about death, would find this that appealing.
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LibraryThing member JLSlipak
Description:

A new adventure about a girl who is fated to wash the bodies of the dead in this companion to Furthermore.

Our story begins on a frosty night…

Laylee can barely remember the happier times before her beloved mother died. Before her father, driven by grief, lost his wits (and his way).
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Before she was left as the sole remaining mordeshoor in the village of Whichwood, destined to spend her days washing the bodies of the dead and preparing their souls for the afterlife. It’s become easy to forget and easier still to ignore the way her hands are stiffening and turning silver, just like her hair, and her own ever-increasing loneliness and fear.

But soon, a pair of familiar strangers appears, and Laylee’s world is turned upside down as she rediscovers color, magic, and the healing power of friendship.

Hardcover, 368 pages
Published November 14th 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
ISBN 1101994797 (ISBN13: 9781101994795)
Edition Language English
Series Furthermore #2

MY BOOK REVIEW:

First, let me just say, this is one of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen on a Middle-Grade read.

I received this ARC from Dutton Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Dark and filled with death, yet quirky and oddly strange. This book held my attention right up to the end. A strange twist on a morbid subject for middle-grade/teen readers, this book had me perplexed at times yet peculiarly fascinated.

The characters were abundantly strange with their bizarre and outlandish behaviors, especially the Protagonist who had a definite and very regimental routine for washing and burying the dead so spirits can leave this world in peace. If the routine is not abided by within the proper time constraints, then you have them seeking “other skins” to wear…
I couldn’t stop reading it although I wanted to put it away a few times. The author’s injections of sparse explanations for those who didn’t read the first book, Furthermore, (I am one) was effective but sometimes annoying. (Only because I wished I had read the first)

If you look at the premise, this book is really quite extraordinary in its originality. The author’s voice is clear, transitioning from one element of her story to the next in a smooth and easy-flowing manner. The plot is well defined, thank goodness, and there’s a few plot twists to add a bit of morose appeal to an already twisted adventure.

The settings are involved, especially the Protagonist’s home, but the world-building is lacking and would be confusing if not for the author’s additional explanations. In all, I followed along without hesitation moving from one avenue of setting to the next almost like I was being fatalistically led to an impeding doom. As the characters develop, you see growth, but I found it took a long time for most of the secondary characters to be clear and their purpose in the story defined. The Protagonist is done well, with her character developing steadily as the story progressed.

Of course, I would have benefited from a copy of the first book. However, even without it, I was able to understand everything transpiring within the pages thanks to the author’s clever infusions that helped clear away some of the muddier spots. And, although these insertions were helpful, and vaguely annoying… I was glad they were there.

What struck me the most was the author’s voice. It’s originality and story-telling ability made this book enjoyable. It’s worth a read.
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LibraryThing member BillieBook
Bronson Pinchot (yes Cousin Balki Bronson Pinchot) has, with this book, become one of my new favorite audiobook narrators. I am going to be actively seeking him out, especially for books for younger readers. He has a wonderful storyteller's style and spending time listening to him was an absolute
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delight.

The book itself is also definitely a four-star book, maybe even four-and-a-half, but I can't get over my pleased surprise at Bronson Pinchot.
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LibraryThing member deslivres5
Whichwood is a magical fantasy tale of loss and friendship. I really enjoyed the beautiful language throughout this book: Laylee's world is vividly described. I also enjoyed the smattering of Farsi phrases as well.
I was a bit surprised that it is categorized as YA by my public library: the story
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felt more like a middle-grades juvenile fiction book, especially the asides to the reader which spoil the suspense by warnings of what was to come, lest they be frightened. YA probably for the deaths/destruction.
I haven't read Furthermore, which is its precursor, but I have placed it on my to-read list.
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LibraryThing member Jennifer7089
3.75/5 stars. While I did read this in one day, I did not like this one as much as I did Firthermore. It did not engage me as Furthermore did. It was a good book, just liked Furthermore better. Again Alice and Oliver were my favorite characters and it was their relationship that I was more
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interested in. Over all I would recommend.
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LibraryThing member Tip44
I just couldn't get into it.
LibraryThing member reader1009
children's middlegrade magical realism adventure (with lots of grisly corpses and ghosts, with only a hint of a boy-girl crush since this is a middlegrade novel after all). Great storytelling from one of my fave authors (even though WARNER!), featuring a Persian-looking heroine living in a magical
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city #WeNeedDiverseBooks #ownvoices. It has been skillfully written in a way so that it can easily stand alone as a companion book to Furthermore (which I haven't read yet), but also features some familiar characters and details the further adventures of Alice and Oliver from the first book, so it also works as a sequel. Or you can read them out of order, since you'll likely want to read Furthermore afterwards if you haven't already.
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ISBN

1101994797 / 9781101994795
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