3 out of 5 stars
Unfortunately, this book was not worth its salt. It’s actually a great story, and the writing is okay, but the author overuses similes. I’ve never read a book with so many similes and metaphors. There were often two or three on EVERY page. Like anything, similes are fine in moderation, but they became distracting very quickly.
The author’s similes and metaphors were quite clever and interesting, but there’s a limit to how much any literary element should be used. Just because you’ve written a brilliant sentence doesn’t mean it should be in your book, especially if it detracts from the plot and point of the book. As a reader, sometimes I just want to know what something is, I don’t want everything compared to everything (that’s what poetry is for).
Overall, it was kind of disappointing. I sold it back to Half Price Books with a stack of other books shortly after finishing it. If an author overusing similes and metaphors won’t bother you, I’d recommend it. The story is good and it has valuable lessons threaded throughout. I’ll just never read it again, and sadly it makes me wary to read anything else by that author.
Between Two Poles 