Title: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Date Read: 21.February.2012
On TBR for: 38 days
Format: Paperback
Source: Gift
Challenges: 2012 Outdo Yourself
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker starts with six children being called by some mystical creature who has chosen them to be The Guard. Their task is to fight demons and evil spirits and generally save humanity. Oh, and they must also wait and prepare for the coming of a seventh one, someone so powerful that will ensure they win their battle against the evil ones once and for all, The Prophecy (cue to dramatic music and lightning).
Flash forward some time, well, about 18 years, and we have young Percy Parker entering the prestigious Athens Academy (even if she is a little older than the majority of applicants). She is intelligent and a genius when it comes to languages. Maths, however, befuddle the poor girl (this point is so stressed out that I was surprised she could even do sums). And since Miss Percy Parker is the main character in this book, she had to have something else to set her apart, wouldn't she? Well, she does have a lot to set her apart. For starters, she is an albino, which means everyone thinks she is a ghost at first. And then there is the fact that she can see and talk to real ghosts and other unseemingly creatures. All of this means this girl is a pretty much a loner, even if she manages to make a couple of good friends throughout the book.
And all along The Guard are still fighting the evil ghosts and demons, and looking for the The Prophecy (even if they are losing a bit of hope on this part).
This book caught my eye because it combined mythology, gothic elements and Victorian Era, which in itself is not a strange combination but it just appealed to me. However, it turned out to be a disappointing book.
What bugged me most with this book was the writing style. I can't really explain why it didn't work for me, but it just didn't. And then, after reading the prologue, I already had a fairly good idea how the story was going to play out, so the next 300 and so pages seemed a bit pointless.
So, what did I like about this book? The characters did grow on me (eventually), especially Alexi and Percy. I liked to read about their romance, and I did think they deserved each other. And, in a way, the fact that the Big Bad Guy and lackeys seemed like something out of Sailor Moon did score some points with me, just because it made the story as silly as it should have been. I did like the mythology and how it was woven in the story, both Persephone and the Firebird.
But in the end it was not enough to make me like this story much. So, that's it for me regarding Miss Percy Parker and her tales.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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