The main character Amy is going through an inner conflict between the normal behaving world and the magical nature of her her family. She has put up an invisible wall between these two worlds and does not allow herself to be open to the magical side of herself. This all stems from an experience she went through as a child, and her father's threats of taking her away because of this. Not much back story is told of her father or mother which I found somewhat disappointing. However, I liked the quirky nature of the Goodnight family overall and their close relationship. The family presented a strong female presence. I also liked the tension between the main character Amy and Ben McCulloch, whom she meets while ranch-sitting in Texas for her aunt. The ensuing ghost mystery is also interesting. The only thing that did not make this a perfect book for me is the fact that some of the story lines did not feel fully developed. As previously stated, I felt that the author could have given a little more back story on Amy's parents. I had the impression that her father was unbelieving in magic. Nothing is said about what became of him or what sort of relationship Amy and her sister had with him. Also, not much is explained about their uncle Burt, other than he is a ghostly presence on her aunt's ranch, although not the ghost involved in the mystery of the book. Overall I really enjoyed this book and my disappointment in the lack of back story for the male members of the family is minor.
Armchairdreamer
I aspire to read classic and literary books, but always seem to fall back on the entertaining easy reads! I would really like to broaden my reading interests.
The main character Amy is going through an inner conflict between the normal behaving world and the magical nature of her her family. She has put up an invisible wall between these two worlds and does not allow herself to be open to the magical side of herself. This all stems from an experience she went through as a child, and her father's threats of taking her away because of this. Not much back story is told of her father or mother which I found somewhat disappointing. However, I liked the quirky nature of the Goodnight family overall and their close relationship. The family presented a strong female presence. I also liked the tension between the main character Amy and Ben McCulloch, whom she meets while ranch-sitting in Texas for her aunt. The ensuing ghost mystery is also interesting. The only thing that did not make this a perfect book for me is the fact that some of the story lines did not feel fully developed. As previously stated, I felt that the author could have given a little more back story on Amy's parents. I had the impression that her father was unbelieving in magic. Nothing is said about what became of him or what sort of relationship Amy and her sister had with him. Also, not much is explained about their uncle Burt, other than he is a ghostly presence on her aunt's ranch, although not the ghost involved in the mystery of the book. Overall I really enjoyed this book and my disappointment in the lack of back story for the male members of the family is minor.
