The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
September 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Hardcover, 518 pages
Purchased
Book Synopsis
Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship. Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand. .....(GoodReads)
Memorable Quote
Seriously, when your day includes making a list to see if you’re crazy or not, there is not much further downhill things could go.
Pg. 148
Review
A wonderful, Gothic southern tale of a small town full of secrets and old traditions about to meet its match.
Sylvie Davis has spent her seventeen years as a ballerina; her life is consumed with dancing until a devastating accident leaves her leg severely broken and the dream of dancing professional shattered. Sylvie is so overwhelmed with the loss, depression sets in and her mother not wanting to put a dent in her summer long honeymoon decides the best thing for Sylvie is not to be alone. So Sylvie is sent to spend the summer with her cousin, in a town her father ran away from when he was young and a town drowning in tradition, mystery and superstitions.
Sylvie is shocked when she sees her cousin’s home is a great mansion, one that she should by all rights be the owner of. But Sylvie isn’t out for money, the death of her father left Sylvie a huge inheritance, but Sylvie never knew about where her father came from, or that her father's family was such a dominate figure in the town. Intrigued to find out the truth of her father’s mystery, Sylvie dives deep into the journals she has found and begins to put the pieces together. But there are others that want Sylvie for complete different reasons, and not until the very end will she discover the true danger that surrounds her.
The Splendor Falls has a great title because that’s what it feels like reading this book, like you slowly fall into its magic.Beautifully written and deeply layered, Clement-Moore delivers a southern dish of love, magic and mystery. Can Sylvie get past the loss of dancing, can she solve the puzzle surrounding her father, can she not get freaked out by the lurking ghost in the window or will choosing between two beautiful but extremely different guys be the death of her.
Rating
Content includes mystery, ghosts, witchcraft, depression, mild drinking, mild if any language, delicious food that make you hungry and a very cute dog. Suitable for 15 and up, but be warned readers, those of you looking for quick brain candy are not going to get it coming in over 500 pages, this is a thick, well written, researched novel that will keep you up at night and craving some serious southern cooking.
4/5- YA-Ghosts, Mystery
sounds like a good book-must add to the reading pile. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe cover matches your blog design :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this one, I read it a while ago, but I can still remember parts of it, especially after having read your review! :) Wonderful...
Awesome review! I really enjoyed this one, I'm glad that you did too :)
ReplyDeleteSplendid! I never know about the book.Now I'm adding to my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteExcellent review! I have yet to read this one (bought a copy ages ago), but I'm really looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't finish this one, to much detail for me. I keep reading reviews hoping it will spark me to try again.
ReplyDeleteI read this one a while ago and wasn't that crazy about it. I'm not sorry I read it but I'm not sure that I would recommend it to everyone. I'm glad to see that you liked it :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this book too! Totally agree about it not being brain candy though. I think you have to be in the mood for it but when you are, it's totally satisfying. Great review!
ReplyDeleteOh, I soooo loved this book, and now I'm super excited to read your review and seeing you liked it as well. It's so neat, humorous and...splendid :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this book and I am an 11 year old girl. It was exciting, thrilling and it really suited my taste especially as my idol is DARCEY BUSSELL and I love baller. I have been doing it since the age of 1 1/2 !
ReplyDelete