100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Raven Birchfield is new to the small town of Half Horse, Illinois.  Raven, her mother and little brother, have inherited her Aunt Bestla's house along with all of it's belongings.  Now Raven is the new kid at school and just wants to fade into the background.  However, Raven attracts the attention of popular and pretty Janelle all too quickly when she is caught staring at Janelle's boyfriend, Dex.  To make matters worse, Raven has dug up a strange box in her backyard, opposite a graveyard.  The box contains a book of children's stories and a necklace.  After Raven finds the box she begins to hear whispers of the name Mary in the wind and becomes very attached to a watering can in her shed.  Eventually the force of Mary takes over and Raven learns what it's like to have her every desire granted. 

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary is a young adult fantasy that creatively uses nursery rhymes as a vehicle for suspense and a tool to help facilitate change.  The story is fast paced a quick read.  The preface quickly interested me in the story as Raven said that she was the Mary in the nursery rhyme, whether she liked it or not.  Raven's character is a junior in high school and she is facing a lot of the same issues a typical high school does.  However, the story is narrated from her point of view and her voice and inner-monologue seems a little more juvenile than the age she should be.  Although, through becoming Mary, Raven does grow and I hope to see the impacts of this in the next book. I did like the device of the nursery rhyme characters, the book and crystal transporting Raven.  There is some explanation of how it works and why, but I hope there will be even more questions answered in the rest of the series.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.