The term “read-alike” is oh-so-useful for readers and librarians. For authors, being compared to another may or may not feel helpful.
My intent, bringing you this Laini Taylor read-alike, is not to compare or measure, but only to align good books with readers who want them!
You’ve heard me extoll the writing of Laini Taylor, author of young adult fiction—often fantasy adventure fiction with lots of myth and magic swirled in. Her use of language is surprising, memorable, impactful, even magical. Some might say it’s poetic.
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This week I read a book that felt like a Laini Taylor “read-alike” to me. The Road to Ever After, by Moira Young.
The book opens with these lines:
There are times that are blind to such as angels. There are towns that are blind to them, too.
If—by some chance or high design—an angel had tumbled from the blue, it would have lain, unseen, in Brownvale’s dry gutters till its mighty wings parched into dust.
The times were, indeed, just such times. And Brownvale was just such a town.
I had to read it two or three times to gather the meaning, but it certainly got my attention. This was clearly not your run-of-the-mill children’s book.
The book jacket says this is: “A magical and moving adventure about an unlikely friendship and an unforgettable journey.”
Featuring:
Davy David—orphan and artist who draws Renaissance angels in the dirt, and unlikely adventurer—a stray dog named George, and an old woman named Miss Elizabeth Flint, who hires Davy and George to escort her on one last adventure.
The story unfolds in a vivid but dream-like way—impossible things happening that we take in stride as we wait with baited breath for the next unexpected, magical event.
Angels, death, the weight of memories, sadness, the mystery of what lies beyond, life as it should be lived—in great gulps—all these things and more inhabit the pages of The Road to Ever After.
Refreshing turn of phrase:
Moira Young has a delightful knack for language—this is part of what made me draw the parallel with Laini Taylor. Here are a couple of lines that caught my attention:
Limp clothing danced jigs on the drooping clotheslines. The wind rattled the flimsy stovepipes in tinny song.
This is only a small example of Young’s deft skill
In summary:
I definitely recommend you pick up The Road to Ever After, by Moira Young, and enjoy it at your leisure—it would make a good read-aloud book for adults, or for a child unafraid to read about death. You decide if it is a Laini Taylor read-alike or not!
Sweet and surprising reading to you!