Fangirl Friday - The Identity Thief
It has been a while since I've done a NetGalley review so... I got this book, The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant, in the "Read Now" section of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. There may be spoilers in my review. This is the first book in a series.
I'm not saying I picked this because the author describes his book on the blurb as being better than three mangoes but maybe I did.
Trigger warnings
The copyright page includes a link to a website that lists the trigger warnings of the book. Currently these are listed as:
ableism; autism; biohorror; bullying; decay; death; epilepsy; excessive violence; fungi; gore; kidnapping; infant death; insects; lookism; mental illness; mentalism; police brutality; racial discrimination; racially motivated violence; religious discrimination; spiders; worms.
After getting in touch with the author, homophobic microaggressions have also been added to the list. Can more books do this please?
Plot
Sorcery exists. Cuttlefish is a sorcerer who, a decade ago, unleashed carnage on London. Now Cuttlefish appears to be back, trying to track down a series of books, but Cuttlefish is basically a shapeshifter so can be anyone or anything. Also a group of schoolchildren get caught up in it all.
Characters
Firstly I have to point out something that I love - the character names. There's Hector, Helen, Cassandra, Persephone, Jason. Persephone (Foni) is a doctor of Ancient Greece. How can I not love this book just from that alone? Some of the characters do feel more like cardboard cut outs than fully formed characters, but it's not a huge problem. The main group - Cass, Tori, Jess, Hector, Helen, and Foni - all felt three dimensional. There are a few moments where it becomes a little obvious that only a handful of characters have a strong voice, but I'll happily say that it is worth reading anyway.
I do consider the setting of a novel to be as much of a character as the rest of the cast. I will admit a certain bias: I've always lived in North London, where the book is set. I know the real world locations in this book. That did help to ground it, but I'm not overly convinced that a reader who isn't familiar with the real world locations would have that same strong sense of setting.
Format
This isn't something I comment on often, but this is something I love. The novel is mostly told in first person by Cass, but there are chapters of third person narration. I have a soft spot for that blend of following one narrative through the eyes of one character, but also reading things that the character wouldn't have any way of knowing. Combine that with the newspaper clippings, extracts from books, and information posters, you have the perfect recipe for a book.
Overall
I kind of love this book. Putting aside my love of Classics, I really enjoyed reading this. If you're familiar with my reviews you'll know that I'm very open when I dislike something, and yes there are things that can be improved. Some of the characters do feel a little flat, and there are moments that I can criticise for petty reasons. I just lack the spoons to do that right now. Yet none of that diminished how much I enjoyed reading the book, or how I shushed someone who was trying to talk to me because I wanted to read more.
This is the first book in a series of hopefully seven which I am very excited to keep reading.
Enjoyed with: green tea with pomegranate juice, and a small packet of Haribo
Would recommend: this book feels like it was written for me because it has everything I love in one novel, so I'd recommend it to anyone who'd listen
Quick notes: LGBTQ+ representation!
Time it took to read: two and a half hours
Goodreads: review
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