Comments on: Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

By: mee

mee — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:53:20 +0000

Tiny Librarian, thanks for first time commenting! Many people could not get pass the incest part and the dialect, so you’re not alone in this. I’m kinda sitting on the fence for this book. I haven’t read many YA at all to compare, but it seems that many people have problem with this being a YA book. In my opinion it really depends on the maturity of the kids.

By: Tiny Librarian

Tiny Librarian — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:52:30 +0000

I actually had this on my list for the Book Awards Challenge and I just couldn’t do it. I could not get past the incest right from the get-go and was actually a bit worried that some day I’ll receive a challenge about it at my library! And the dialect got annoying quick. I think maybe this should be adult fantasy instead of YA – I probably would have stuck with it longer if I hadn’t been picturing a 14-year-old reading it.

By: Bookie Mee | Mid Year Challenges Wrap-up

Bookie Mee | Mid Year Challenges Wrap-up — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:10:20 +0000

[...] Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (4/5) [...]

By: mee

mee — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:21:35 +0000

claire, so now you know my main problem with the book (apart from the dialect, yes I had problem with that too). I tried to analyze why there were so many elements that didn’t sit quite right with me. This is the best I could come up with :).

By: claire

claire — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:15:25 +0000

Di, loved what you said here: “Who in the real world would ever be able to conveniently run away from everything and come back to successfully take revenge? Isn’t that a misleading illusion to how the real world works?” I know this is meant to be fantasy but seeing as how it’s marketed as YA, young readers learn to deal with real-life struggles from the books they read. Clean slates and all.

I love fantasy, love fairy tales, love Snow White and Rose Red, but like we already talked about, so odd that I found the writing most unappealing, of all the elements in the book.

By: mee

mee — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:52:42 +0000

Bellezza, like I mentioned to Frances above, the whole YA label thing is very confusing. But YA or adult, the book has conflicting elements that made it hard to categorize as one or another. I agree with the positive points you mentioned above. All the sexual elements are quite vague and rarely explicit. Not many authors are brave enough to try to deal with such topics, so I commend her for it.

By: mee

mee — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:37:48 +0000

Kailana, the cover is fantastic alright! It’s illustrated by my hero Shaun Tan ;D

By: mee

mee — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:36:50 +0000

Frances, I agree. The thing is, this whole YA thing is very confusing. What does it mean exactly? What’s the age range of the target? It’s a confused genre and I think everybody is unsure, including the author. I tried to see pass the YA label but it was hard not to. For me it rather lacked in depth as an adult book, so YA seems to be appropriate. But then all the sexual elements are too conflicting for me to recommend the book to any kids (young adults?).

By: Bellezza

Bellezza — Sun, 30 May 2010 00:36:25 +0000

“Liked it with some reservations” is where I’d fall. I thought her vocabulary was atmospheric, the way that she created words with a bit of a medieval feel…I was interested in how she veered around distressing topics such as rape and bestiality with a vagueness that almost let you make up your own mind. But, as Frances mentions, that this is for Young Adults seemed hugely inappropriate to me. These are topics that many adults don’t want to read about or can’t fully grasp.
.-= [Bellezza´s last blog: Tender Morsels] =-.

By: Kailana

Kailana — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:32:46 +0000

What a fantastic cover! I like it better than the one I have... I really need to read this book, but haven't got to it yet! .-= [Kailana´s last blog: Cool Water by Dianne Warren] =-.