Friday, January 22, 2016

Review - The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle


The Accident Season
Series: Standalone
Genre: Magical Realism
Source: Purchased
Published: Corgi Children’s (2015)
Hardcover – 304pgs / Audiobook – 7hrs 24mins

Rating: 5/5 

It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?


This is a fantastic atmospheric story that includes lovely characters, a slow delicious plot and beautiful prose. This was my favorite book of 2015. It took me completely by surprise at the end of the year and I adored it.  The magical realism, slow build and interesting writing reminded me of The Raven Boys, which is another one of my favorite books, and I think fans of that story will also enjoy The Accident Season.

The writing is very beautiful. There is so much magic in the sentences and turns of phrase the author used. The descriptions and visuals were stunning. That being said, I think some will find this book confusing or too flowery. The writing can blur reality and fantasy and there were times I got a little lost in between.  However, the way Fowley-Doyle writes made me believe magic could happen.

While this story is short, the characters are well-developed and full of life. I loved them and their quirks and am still thinking about them weeks later. The characters were so easy to relate to and I found them very realistic as well. Throughout the books all the friendships felt authentic and the struggles they went through seemed to affect their relationships in realistic ways which is always a plus. There is a slow building romance in this story I didn’t know I wanted until very close to the end, but I am exceptionally please with how it turned out.

Throughout the book the story if mysterious and haunting without being scary. The tone of the novel felt much more mature than many of the young adult books I’ve read. Fowley-Doyle crafted a story that featured some serious issues, but she didn’t talk down to her readers about them which I really liked. I am stunned by this debut.

If you are interested in this story, I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you have the opportunity. The narration added to the haunting feel of the story and I was completely wrapped up in the audio. I cannot say enough good things about this book and anxiously await the next novel Fowley-Doyle puts out. 

Happy Reading

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