Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this creepy mystery is full of mature themes including teen pregnancy (there are three pregnant teens here), teen sex (fully described), incest, divine birth, controversial religious beliefs, and the usage of plants for medicinal and experimental purposes. A young teen girl is wrestled to the ground violently and tied up on a regular basis, and people die from poisoning.
Families can talk about the use of plants in medicines. How were some common remedies discovered? Why are plants so important in medicine? Families can also discuss differences in religious beliefs. What religions hold similar beliefs about the birth of prominent religious figures? What are the differences between the religions featured and your own?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Terreece Clarke
Strange. Disturbing. Detailed. Creepy. Poetic. Christina Meldrum's MADAPPLE is a rolling, twisting, odd mystery tale that wins on many levels. Obvious care has been given to researching botany, religious theology, and science. The novel switches with each chapter between Aslaug's telling of her version of the events and witness testimony at her murder trial. The switch teases and encourages readers to continue on Aslaug's winding journey.
Where the novel disappoints is in the sheer amount of detail. There is so much information -- plant descriptions, Latin classifications, and uses, along with overwhelming amounts of religious theory and a tangled family history that may or may not be incestuous, divine, or just dysfunctional. At times it feels as if Meldrum, a former litigator, has compiled her facts and figures and heaps them exhaustively on readers as if trying to convince them of the novel's validity. The novel has potential, but the potential gets lost in the details and ends a little too tidy. Parents may find much of the subject matter disturbing.
From The Book
Sara lifts Maren's hand from the stalk and turns Maren toward her. "Tell me what's wrong," Sara says. "This isn't about me. Why did you ask us to come? You said you were leaving Denmark to start a new life, but now you want to bring your life in Denmark with you here?"
"I want you here. And Sanne. And your new baby," Maren says.
"But why? What is wrong? Is it something about Fader?"
"Don't tell Fader."
"Don't tell Fader what, Maren?"
"I'm pregnant, too."
Plot Summary:
Aslaug Helig isn't sure about much of her past and is uncertain about her future. Her father is an unknown mystery her mother refused to solve. After her mother's death Aslaug learns she has relatives that may hold the secret to her origins. Could she be more divine than human?
Related Books:
More Creepy, Mature Reads:
Breathe My Name by R. Nelson
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd
Reviewed: 05/27/2008
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentA girl has sex with a boy and describes it, including penetration. Three teen girls have babies. A girl describes her body as it changes with puberty. There is a discussion of the parentage of a child and it's suggested she's a product of father-daughter incest. |
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ViolenceA young teen girl is wrestled to the ground violently and tied up on a regular basis. A woman dies and her deformed body is described. A girl is suspected of murder. Two people die from poison and a church is set on fire. |
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LanguageSeveral f-bombs are dropped, "s--t" is also used, as well as other milder forms of swearing. The words are mainly used by a teen who is trying to shock her mother and others with her behavior. |
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Social BehaviorThere are characters who treat others cruelly; who engage in incest, baby-stealing, forced adoptions, kidnapping, alcohol and drug use. The majority of the characters use religion or God as an excuse for their behavior. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoAlcohol and drug use is featured throughout, most of the substances are home-grown using various herbs and plants -- but, the effects are the same as any commercially made alcohol or street drug. |
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