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    Feather Bound
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    Feather Bound
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    Feather Bound
    Ebook263 pages4 hours

    Feather Bound

    By Sarah Raughley

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    When Deanna's missing friend Hyde turns up at his father's funeral to claim his corporate empire and inheritance, she is swept into his glittering world of paparazzi and wealth.

    But re-kindling her friendship and the dizzying new emotions along for the ride are the least of her concerns. Because Deanna has a secret - and somebody knows. Someone who is out to get Hyde. And if she doesn't play along, and help the enemy destroy him...she will be sold to the highest bidder in the black market for human swans.

    Now Deanna is struggling to break free from the gilded cage that would trap her forever...

    Feather Bound is a dark debut reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez's A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, and the twisted truth behind the fairy tale of Cinderella.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateMay 6, 2014
    ISBN9781908844910
    Unavailable
    Feather Bound
    Author

    Sarah Raughley

    Sarah Raughley grew up in Southern Ontario writing stories about freakish little girls with powers because she secretly wanted to be one. She is a huge fangirl of anything from manga to sci-fi fantasy TV to Japanese role-playing games and other geeky things, all of which have largely inspired her writing. Sarah has been nominated for the Aurora Award for Best YA Novel and works in the community doing writing workshops for youths and adults. On top of being a YA writer, Sarah has a PhD in English, which makes her a doctor, so it turns out she didn’t have to go to medical school after all. As an academic, Sarah has taught undergraduate courses and acted as a postdoctoral fellow. Her research concerns representations of race and gender in popular media culture, youth culture, and postcolonialism. She has written and edited articles in political, cultural, and academic publications. She continues to use her voice for good. You can find her online at SarahRaughley.com.

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    Reviews for Feather Bound

    3/5

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    • 3/5
      Trigger warning: slavery, sexual abuse.

      The author isn't clear on how swans have come about or which humans turn into them; the worldbuilding is lacking. But it is very clear what can happen to swans: if their feathers are taken then they become forced to obey the one who holds their feathers. In this world this most often means slavery and sexual abuse.

      At the funeral of a friend of the family Deanna finds out that her childhood friend Hyde, whom she thought was dead, is back and ready to take over his family's business upon the death of his father. Days later Deanna finds out that she herself is a swan, and she find herself being blackmailed in a plot to discredit Hyde.

      There are some awful, terrible, secrets that come out in this book. Such as, where was Hyde if he wasn't dead? Why did he leave? And basically everything to do with swans.

      I can't tell if I liked it or not. It's a hard book to like because of all the things that are done to swans. The writing is good and the fairy-tale parts of it got to me, but the horrible things makes it so I will likely never read it again. (Provided by publisher)
    • 3/5
      I would like to thank NetGalley and Strange Chemistry for the opportunity to read this e-ARC. Although I received the ebook for free, that in no way impacts my review. When Deanna's missing friend Hyde turns up at his father's funeral to claim his corporate empire and inheritance, she is swept into his glittering world of paparazzi and wealth.But re-kindling her friendship and the dizzying new emotions along for the ride are the least of her concerns. Because Deanna has a secret – and somebody knows. Someone who is out to get Hyde. And if she doesn't play along, and help the enemy destroy him…she will be sold to the highest bidder in the black market for human swans.Now Deanna is struggling to break free from the gilded cage that would trap her forever…Feather Bound is a dark debut reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez's A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, and the twisted truth behind the fairy tale of Cinderella.A creative blend of original and modern fairy tale, this story holds all the horror of the original tales and all the luxury and wish fulfillment of today's modern tale. Deanna rediscovers her childhood best friend, resurrected from the grave. Though he clearly wants to reconnect, he is also hiding something from Deanna, and the not knowing is driving her crazy.Before they can make any real headway in rebuilding their friendship, and quite possibly more, Deanna undergoes a shocking transformation at one of the worst possible places and times. Though she thinks she got away with her deception, to her horror she discovers that she was indeed caught. And the one who caught her is nothing short of evil. In the blink of an eye her life goes from normal to terrifying as she is blackmailed into destroying her one true friend to save herself.After a period of almost catatonic shock she begins to recover enough to put the blackmail plan into action. But she just can't see herself hurting Hyde, however she also can't seem to find any way out of the mess she's been caught up in. Even if she does escape this situation will she learn to live her life without always looking over her shoulder for the next threat?Like any good fairy tale this one has an underlying message or two. Will Deanna be rescued by her fairy godmother at the last moment? Will her knight in shining armor arrive in time to sweep her off her feet while single-handedly slaying the evil villains? Or will something more important happen?Filled with a fascinating protagonist or two, an excellent supporting cast that are easy to relate to, as well as antagonists that are evil personified and you have the makings of a solid story. Add in a bunch of unexpected twists and turns and suddenly you have an exciting plot. Lace it with morals and lessons to be learned and suddenly you have an entirely new fairy tale, all wrapped up in a pretty package. These lessons aren't like the ones from childhood nursery rhymes or school, instead they are at once more subtle and more transparent. Well told, with a creative and unique take on a fairy tale/myth, this quick book is definitely worth the read.
    • 3/5
      OK, first off – I don’t think that the marketing blurb advertising this book as “reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez” was a good idea (although it got me to grab the book). It creates unrealistically high expectations – and no, this book simply does not resemble Márquez. Nor does it try to. Stylistically, this reminded me a lot more of YA books such as Scott Westerfeld’s ‘Uglies’ series, or even Malorie Blackman’s ‘Noughts and Crosses.’ And I think the audience for those books would like this one very much.

      The story takes its inspiration from the folk tale of the ‘swan maiden’ who can be captured and made a wife, if her feather cloak is stolen. Here, in an alternate modern-day NYC, the ‘swans’ are not shape-shifters. But, somewhere between the ages of eight and eighteen they do sprout feathers on their backs – and if someone steals those feathers the ‘swan’ is magically enslaved to that person’s will. Clearly, the potential for abuse of this vulnerability is huge, and ‘swans’ are commonly forced into sexual relationships, used as slave labor, prostitutes, etc. Unsurprisingly, most of the 3% of the population who may be ‘swans’ keep it well-hidden, although there are some activists who wish to ditch the shame associated with the condition and go public. The parallels with our gay rights movement are made explicit, as well as, of course, the real-world evils of human trafficking.

      In this world, we are introduced to a struggling family from East Brooklyn – who just happen to be tied by marriage to one of the wealthiest families in the city, who own a publishing conglomerate. Brooklynite Deanna’s childhood best friend Hyde was the tycoon’s adopted son. Hyde was missing and presumed dead nine years earlier – but now he’s reappeared, and is prepared to take over the business empire. And absence seems to have made the heart grow fonder, where Deanna is concerned. Of course, no romance can blossom without obstacles… and Deanna, against her will, is swept into a vicious intrigue concerning control of the business, and before it’s over, quite a few secrets, dirty and otherwise, will see the light.

      It’s not bad at all. Overall, it’s a little more juvenile than I prefer, but this is clearly marketed for a YA audience. (And I do think that some kids may find some of the scenes excitingly ‘adult.’) I could do without Deanna being so very law-abiding. (“I don’t drink because I’m under 21 – and by the way, so are you.” [paraphrase] Really? Ugh. How about, “I don’t drink ‘cause my dad’s an alcoholic and I have no interest?” That works.) However, my biggest gripe with the book was just about my perspective as a New Yorker. I doubt it would bother anyone from elsewhere. OK, Deanna’s supposed to live in East Brooklyn (in a ‘shack’). But Sterling and Underhill, the address that’s supposed to be conveniently close to her house, is hardly in East Brooklyn. That’s Park Slope, and a crazy pricy neighborhood. For a supposedly financially-challenged family, they do an awful lot of routinely calling car services (which they call ‘cab’s, and never differentiate between cabs and car services.) Seriously, no one, let alone a non-wealthy person, would catch the subway *and then a cab* to get to Chrystie St. (Whatever train you caught from Brooklyn, that’s a max of a 5-short-block walk.) And NO ONE who had grown up in Brooklyn would say, at the age of 17, “Let’s try the rides… the Cyclone looks pretty bad ass,” unless there were some kind of convincing and unusual reason that they *hadn’t* been at Coney Island every summer since they were too young to remember. OK, I don’t want to go on nit-picking, but it never feels like the perspective of someone who grew up in Brooklyn. It just seems that the personal experience, and also something about the city’s rich and diverse mix of cultures is missing. I ended up just saying, “Well, this is alternate-world Brooklyn, and it’s different.”

      That said, I think this book definitely has the potential to do well, and displays Raughley’s promise as a YA writer.

      Review copy provided by NetGalley.