Book review - Plain Kate by Erin Bow

I'm a big fan of YA as you know, plus it's hard to resist a book that has your name in the title. I bought Erin Bow's debut novel, Plain Kate, on Friday and I finished it Friday evening.

I bought it for a whole bunch of reasons:

1. Of course I loved the title.

2. The cover is even more gorgeous in person than it is in this blog.

3. The inside cover blurb blew me away.

4. Erin Bow lives in Canada.

I actually walked away from the book - it's in hardcover and I try not to buy too many books in hardcover as I already spend wayyyy too much money on books - and hardcover books are expensive. But in the end, I went back and bought it.

And I loved it. I loved the characters - Plain Kate and her cat Taggle, the wizard Linay and the gypsies she encounters throughout her journey. I loved the writing, deceptively simple, it draws you in without a single jarring moment. I love the story from beginning to end, even when I'm worried that something terrible will happen, I have to keep reading. And the ending? It's sad and perfect at the same time.

This book is worth buying in hardcover - and I'll read it again. Soon.

Kate