The Good Luck Girls

From the first few chapters I was unsure about where this book was going and whether or not I would enjoy it. The world building is handled in an efficient manner that allows the reader to put their own stamp on it whilst giving you the bare scaffold to build upon; this is surprisingly effective and I found that it sucked me in to the place. Characters unfold on the page in a gentle manner and develop nicely as the novel moves on. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It is a difficult book to describe accurately and certainly one the defies clear categorisation. The overarching feeling I got from this tale was that it was an old-fashioned Western told from the female perspective. Indeed, the costumes the girls wore, the places they lived in and travelled through I imbued with that Old West feel. This was vindicated when I read the Author's acknowledgments and she listed some of the background reading she had done. Then there is a strong Fantasy element with Ravener's, Vengeant's and the myth of Lady Ghost. Throw in a coming-of-age element, a little gentle romance, a little bit of criminality and a strong dose of rebellion and it really is a mash up of genres. One that works surprisingly well. The only thing that spoilt it for me was the way the Girl's would get in to a situation and then miraculously escape. Particularly at the end of the book it did feel a little like things were stretched too thin for believability but I still kept reading enthusiastically. The main characters are all part of a Welcome House - the Good Luck Girl Aster and her sister Clementine, the Head Girl Violet and two Daybreakers, Tansy and Mallow. When Clementine is due to go through her Good Luck Night and become a fully fledged member of the house she kills her brag, leaving the five no option but to flee. Meeting up with the enigmatic Zee gives them a lifeline and the necessary skills to survive the Scab and it's surrounding wilderness as they try to escape to find Lady Ghost at the borders with the free state of Ferron. Narrated by Aster the plot flows well and sucks the reader in. Dialogue is sparse but realistically executed - I love that rip (and all it's derivatives) is used as a multi-purpose curse. The six travellers all develop during their journey and learn a lot about each other but also about themselves along the way and it was a joy to follow along with them and watch them grow and blossom. Overall, an enthralling read that not only entertains but has some good themes of personal development.

Wonderful debut!