REVIEW: The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

118. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
Publication: Putnam Juvenile (October 4, 2011), ARC paperback, ?pp / ISBN 039925627X
Genre: MG/YA Sci-fi/Fantasy, Adventure

Read: October 4-5, 2011
Source: BEA 2011

Summary from the book’s website:

It’s 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. There, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and becomes fascinated by his son, Benjamin Burrows—a boy who isn’t afraid to stand up to authority and who dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin’s father disappears, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary’s ancient book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping those secrets out of the hands of Russian spies. Discovering transformative elixirs they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending nuclear disaster.

Review

I’ve become fond lately of YA books set during the Cold War, probably for the same reason that I’m so fond of YA book set during the Interwar period. Besides the fact that the books are excellently written, of course, the period between wars is always full of terrifying emotions and, if you’re lucky, some really great adventures. In The Apothecary we get all of that plus some wonderful characters and the “stranger in a strange land” thing I also adore.¹

Janie is a great protagonist. Even ignoring that fact that she’s a GIRL, in the role that I think normally the boy character would occupy, I really adore her. She’s not snarky, she’s not headstrong, and she’s not really all that extraordinary, but she’s fantastic all the same. She acts like a real person would act in the sort of situations she gets into, and by that I mean she doesn’t pretend to be a superhero. She’s incredibly ordinary, and it works in her advantage.

The author

Basically everybody is ordinary in The Apothecary. I think that might disappoint some readers, those readers who want characters to shine as brightly as a thousand suns instead of just one. But even one sun is still pretty bright, and is still able to do a lot of important things, and I think letting ordinary people have adventures is just as important as letting extraordinary ones do it.

Anyway, the ordinariness of the people really helped center the UN-ordinariness of the story, in my opinion. I mean, alchemists and magic and people turning into birds? It could have been really silly and like every other fantasy book out there, but because the people were, as I said, ordinary– well, it was a lot more effective. The magic actually felt like something special and weird, and getting that feeling in a world full of YA fantasy books is kind of rare.²

The story itself was a lot of fun, of course. It’s got spies and action and thriller-y moments, and there’s quite a few chase scenes that kept the excitement high. The beginning is a bit slow, but by the time Janie gets to England the pacing picks up and the story gets more dazzling.

There’s a tiny bit of romance, but for once it didn’t annoy me. I actually really liked it; it was completely adorable and totally in character, and though the ending was somewhat sad I didn’t really mind.

I think there’s going to be a sequel– I HOPE there’s a sequel, anyway!– and I can’t wait to read it. There’s a lot of possibilities for more adventures with Janie and her friends, and I’d really like to see them.

Rating

Bit dodgy in the beginning, but the rest of it is a big pile of FUN and LOVELY. And while it could be cute, it’s not! Which I think might be a good thing for you folks who don’t like cute books.

Buy

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Other reviews

Book Dads: “There was great balance in the story. Even while there was an underlying tension in the story where the main characters were struggling to save the apothecary and solve the mystery, there were also light moments of humor thrown in to keep readers wanting more.”

Beyond Books: “This book was an excellent read. It’s one of those intelligent type YA books. It makes you think. Whether you’re thinking about what happened in the past or thinking about what sort of consequences will happen in the future, you’re still thinking. It’s not the kind of thinking that makes your head hurt, either. It’s more… reflective.”

Notes

The trailer is kind of neat:

Should I be mentioning if my books are signed or not? Well, anyway, this one is! I met MM at BEA and she was really nice and I loved her hair and she reminds me of someone I saw on TV once, though I can’t remember who.

Footnotes