ORENDA
Ruth Silver
232 Pages
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Release Date: April 12, 2014
Rating: 1 STAR
Ruth Silver
232 Pages
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Release Date: April 12, 2014
Rating: 1 STAR
Join forces with a parallel universe.
Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda. Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds. Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can't exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream. With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.
A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action-packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages. Orenda is the first novel in the Orenda series.
Looking at the cover for ORENDA, and reading the synopsis, made me think that this was a book I would really enjoy; however, almost everything about this story was just wrong. ORENDA moved extremely quickly, which meant that Ruth Silver was unable to set up either of the worlds. Everything in Orenda is supposed to be opposite from what is in the real world. This idea intrigued me, and I would have really loved to see the drastic differences, but was unable to do so. Because the novel moved so fast, it was also easy to get confused as to what character was speaking or who was doing what unless it was clearly stated.
The characters were severely underdeveloped. I saw no change in them from the beginning of the novel to the end. I enjoy being able to tell when a character has grown and learned from all of the experiences he/she has gone though, but Silver did not provide this. There was also no difference from the initial characters and their doppelgangers. Everybody seemed to act and speak the same way, so at times it was hard to differentiate between them.
Silver had a wonderful idea for ORENDA; unfortunately, it just was not executed to the full extent that it should have been. I did encounter a few passages that were humorous, but it was not enough to save the novel. The cover for ORENDA is absolutely beautiful, it is what first drew me to the book, but it is very misleading. It gives me the impression that Lil can see Orenda through the river/pond she is looking in, or perhaps even use the body of water to travel to the world, but neither of these possibilities are true. Silver has authored several novels, and I am open to the idea of giving another a try. She seems to have good concepts, and I would like to see whether or not she is able to carry them out fully in a different novel.
The characters were severely underdeveloped. I saw no change in them from the beginning of the novel to the end. I enjoy being able to tell when a character has grown and learned from all of the experiences he/she has gone though, but Silver did not provide this. There was also no difference from the initial characters and their doppelgangers. Everybody seemed to act and speak the same way, so at times it was hard to differentiate between them.
Silver had a wonderful idea for ORENDA; unfortunately, it just was not executed to the full extent that it should have been. I did encounter a few passages that were humorous, but it was not enough to save the novel. The cover for ORENDA is absolutely beautiful, it is what first drew me to the book, but it is very misleading. It gives me the impression that Lil can see Orenda through the river/pond she is looking in, or perhaps even use the body of water to travel to the world, but neither of these possibilities are true. Silver has authored several novels, and I am open to the idea of giving another a try. She seems to have good concepts, and I would like to see whether or not she is able to carry them out fully in a different novel.
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