White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

“You are the devil. You are the devil!”

When a faith driven priest meets the twisted doctor Barriuex they orchestrate an unholy chain of events which changes the future for everyone. Rebecca, new to the town, meets the elusive and mysterious Ferelith and her life changes as dark secrets are dug up when they are best left alone. When both the past and the present come together, it exposes the macabre research which was carried out in order to discover whether there is indeed life after death. Through the grim ordeals of the candle room neither characters lives will ever be the same again.

The book is written from Rebecca, Ferelith and the priest’s point of view and I think that Sedgwick’s unique style of writing really contributed to the overall gothic feel of the book. Although the book contained many different characters, I think that it wasn’t over-complicated due to Sedgwick’s enticing style which for me made the book very difficult to put down! At some points during the book however, I felt that Rebecca’s feelings towards Ferelith changed a little too dramatically and that in real life Rebecca would probably take more time to change her opinion. Aside from that the book was really interesting from both the historical and the gothic side and I think that is a very good accomplishment.

I really liked this book as I enjoyed the contrast between what we believed in the past and what we believe in present day. If you like historical gothic horror stories with a surprising twist in the tale, this book is for you!

I think that Sedgwick showed that he was in very good command of the plot as his ability to keep on top of the complicated storyline involving several characters’ conflicting viewpoints simultaneously was executed extremely well.

I give this a ten out of ten rating. By Imogen