The opening paragraph of the third book in The Gateway Chronicles may seem a bit mundane, but this story is anything but mundane. In The White Thread, we delve more into the prophecy of the six who are to rid the evil from Alitheia.
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| July 2018; 78-1722331764 ebook, print (306 pages); YA, fantasy |
I mentioned in my first review of The White Thread back in 2011, that it wasn't my favorite book in the series. If pushed came to shove, that is still probably true, but I did enjoy it more this read through. Perhaps it was the changes Hoyle made. Since it has been 3 years since I read it, nothing jumped out as really obvious changes. That's good as the new bits flowed well with the original text. But I did feel different about the book - that I liked it more than I remembered.
Looking back at the read along I did in 2015, a change in the story did stick out pretty quickly. In the read along, I mentioned that chapter 2 started off a bit more melodramatic for my taste (okay, I actually said that my eyes rolled when I read it). When I read the section quoted, I realized I didn't remember that reaction. This time I did check, and yes, that is one of the subtle changes made to the story. Follow the link above to read the original text and here is how chapter two begins in the new edition,
Later, Darcy lost herself in a magical land of opportunities - a land where she could shed the teasing and the heartache of the school year and become an entirely different person. A place where reality was turned on its end. Darcy became not the outcast on the margins of society, but a girl with amazing friends and dangerous secrets. pg. 8
The Gateway Chronicles is a young adult series, so a bit of teenage silliness is expected but this new edition feels more mature in its tone, which as an adult reader I appreciate. I wonder if other places that I had felt were "over the top" were also toned down or if it is just the overall editing and clean-up of the manuscript. Either way, I'm loving this series even more this time around.
When I was reading this edition, I thought that Perry and Darcy's budding relationship was a little less and now being aware of the change in chapter two I think my suspicion is right. I almost laughed when it was mentioned they had been dating as they had barely held hands. While this relationship didn't get as much attention, another relationship did get a little more page time. I won't spoil it as I know many fans will be excited about this extra scene between two favorite characters.
In my first review, I thought that the role this book plays in the series is to really lay out the puzzle pieces for the rest of the series. The Six and The Oracle were about introducing the characters and the world of Alitheia. The White Thread sets the stage for The Six and Tellius to fulfill the prophecy that brought them to Alitheia in the first place.
To follow up on a couple of points that I brought up in my review of The Six and The Oracle a couple of weeks ago...
Dean - I still think he is an invisible character. I actually thought at one point during The White Thread that I knew more about Banyard than I did Dean. K. B. Hoyle addressed this issue on her Facebook page and I was right that it is tied to his role as The Spy. But can't we know a bit more about him - his favorite food, best subject in school?
Tellius - he is a bit more front and center in The White Thread. I bemoaned in my review two weeks ago that he was almost non-existent. We get to see more of him in this book. I'm not sure if it because I know what the future holds or because he is seen more in this edition, but I'm all Team Tellius. He's so sweet. I do have to say that I'm anxious for Darcy and Tellius to get on the same page, but I don't find myself yelling at them to 'grow up!' as I remember feeling the first time through.
While I wait for The Enchanted to be ready I already want to go back and restart the series again. Alas, other review books need my attention.
Buy The White Thread at Amazon
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
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This looks like it might be good Donna; thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing...I am now curious! And thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteSounds good. I should look into this one more. This week I am featuring A Study in Death by Anna Lee Huber. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThis is a new-to-me series. Glad you're enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteWell that opening got my attention and the fact that you are re-reading it again says this is a series that has a lot going for it.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning drew me right in. And I ofetn enjoy rereading a series that swept me up. Have fun:)
ReplyDeleteMy TT from The Book Of M
What an interesting experience - rereading a rewrite... Thank you for sharing it:)
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting experience. After I finished this book the author asked if I noticed the new scene and I didn't. It has been 3 years since I read it. But I think I remember more about how books make me feel than actual details of the books. I kind of realized that when I was looking at my niece's reading list this summer. I remembered reading many of the books but not any of the real details of why it made me feel the way I did.
DeleteGood intro. Since you are re-reading, it must be good.
ReplyDeleteHmmm interesting breakdown of your reactions (power to you; I can't imagine reading one book or series three times). Reading your post I wonder if I'm reading between the lines that the book/series was put out prematurely and that this version is the version that should have made it to publication in the first place. Or am I reading too deep? As a writer/editor, I'm still not sure about the book but I found this to be an interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI've lost count of how many times I've read Harry Potter. And this series is just as good. I don't think it was a matter of premature release and the changes are quite small and undetectable. The first release was self-published, the second release was by a small press, and now the third release is again self-published. It's not unusual for there to be changes made when a book is re-released. None of the major plot points have changed.
DeleteI remember a time when that kind of re-release was nearly unheard of. Was the opening paragraph changed? It's a good one.
ReplyDeleteHi Donna!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, I am really intrigued now.
Thank you also for coming to visit my blog. x
If I had more time, I would probably have read this series more than 3 times. My niece has read it a dozen times or more.
ReplyDeleteI generally don't read a book more than once, simply because my TBR pile is already so far out of control, that I just can't justify the time.
ReplyDeleteIt might also annoy me a little if I knew a book I had read, had been changed and updated, even though I appreciate that reading trends among the YA group, have matured and changed quite rapidly over the past few years.
The opening paragraph is actually quite intriguing though.
Happy Reading :)
Yvonne
xx
I re-read favorite series when I need a break from all my review copies. It's fun to try to spot changes, but so far I haven't been sucessful. Mostly it is because the changes don't change the plot.
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