Patchwork is a YA novel which combines mythology, time
travel, friendship and vengeance.
Renata Lake is lucky enough to consider her friends very,
very close to her. She has a boyfriend who loves her, a best friend she can
share anything with and the rest of the Amaranthine Society with whom she can
pull pranks on unsuspecting victims. Prom night's prank is a doozy - throw a
mannequin overboard the cruise ship they
are on and make people believe that someone is actually drowning. Cue a
fireball explosion and Renata finds herself in the water where her whole world
changes. She enters into the time travelling world of Patchwork where she is
thrown into scenarios that have already happened in her life and where she
knows the outcome. Surely if she knows a bad ending is coming she can change it?
As she stumbles blindly through the maze that is Patchwork, not knowing exactly
how the rules work, she realises that someone is after her. Someone strong
enough to move between the Patchwork worlds with her. But who is this person
and what do they want with her? As Renata continues to try and change the
future she realises that some things are meant to be and that she might not be
part of the future at all.
The book was mainly a hit for me. I enjoyed the idea of
Patchwork and the blending of mythology as well as the phoenix concept that ran
through it. To be able to go back in time and try to correct a wrong that may
have happened is definitely a plus - but since we all know what happens with a
butterfly effect it might be best to leave it alone. The writing was very good
- simple enough that you didn't have to stumble over words or bad editing but
complex in weaving together a story that had to be joined from so many angles.
Renata came across as an up and down character; very selfish
and wrapped up in herself at times and then trying so hard to save her friends
that she lands up flubbing her good intentions. I guess bearing in mind that
this is a YA novel, some important morals must come through and maybe a reader
will recognise some "iffy" qualities in the way they treat people
themselves and take a good look in the mirror. Each of her friends had a great
supporting role and it was interesting to see each scenario when you had
hindsight into it. I did however find Patchwork and the concept of time travel
confusing at times and I was wondering exactly how many scenarios we would have
to go through before finding out who the killer was.
I would definitely recommend this for a quick read where
what you see is not exactly what you get.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review the book.
