Review: The Poison Diaries



3 Stars



Title: The Poison Diaries

Author: Maryrose Wood

Series: Poison Diaries

Published: May 2010

By: HarperCollins Children's Books

Opening line:~ Grey skies; the rain came and went all morning.

Closing line:~ I am alive

Favourite quote:~ "If there is one thing I have learned from loving Jessamine and even from the evil tasks you have made me do, it is that all forms of life are worthy of compassion. There is no life without death, true, but needless killing is an abomination."

~Weed~

An intriguing story!

I was captured from the start of this book because of how different it is to anything I have read recently.

Jessamine lives with her father in a run down isolated 'cottage' on the out skirts of the Alnwick Castle grounds where she is often left alone when her father is called away to tend to the sick with his natural remedies. Thomas Luxton, Jessamines father, is obsessed with his plants and even more so with his poison garden which no one but he is allowed to enter.

Jessamine often finds herself feeling lonely, that is until Weed, a strange sort of boy, is bought to her home.

I liked that this story was based around botany and at times it made me think of the world of Harry Potter. Don't misunderstand me though, I am in no way comparing The poison Diaries to the Harry Potter books, they are completely different. But with the way the plants, both good and evil, speak to Weed it gave the book a real magical feel.

I will admit it took a while to into the story but there was something in the writing that had me hooked. Wood's descriptive detail and authentic use of language gave the story a whole other meaning that kept me reading into the early hours

I really warmed to Jessamine and her coming of age storyline and I gained an instant soft-spot for Weed.

Even more so as his character developed throughout the story with the help of Jessamine. He grows from the wild, strange boy into a man with new a meaning and outlook on life. His 'gift' is an intriguing one which only adds to this tale of love and poison.

The twist at the end of the story will certainly shock some readers but if, like me, you recognise the workings of an evil genius you won't be shocked!

I am looking forward to the next instalment, Nightshade, which promises to be even darker!!