Lightland by HL McCutchen
Lottie is a little ā¦ different. So is her best friend, Lewis. She has an impeccable memory. She can remember everything, even from when she was still in her mother's womb. Because of this, Lottie's father builds her a Storybox; a safe place to store her memories.
One night, the box starts glowing. And out pops a bird.
Umber the bird brings Lottie through the Storybox to a world called Lightland. Something evil is terrorizing the land. And the citizens of Lightland believe that Lottie is the key to freeing the people from the NightKing's iron grip.
But things go terribly wrong when Lottie takes Lewis to Lightland... and he becomes trapped on the wrong side of the Storybox.
This was a difficult review for me to write. I'm not sure why, but do forgive me if comes across a bit scatterbrained or choppy.
Lightland is one of the first fantasies I remember reading as a child. And now, rereading it as an adult, I am able to appreciate just what a gem this story really is.
The first thing that struck me about the story is that Ms. McCutchen is able to easily create a magical world and an equally magical villain with no use or hint of Black Magic. It always irritates me when reading a really creative fantasy and the fall-back villain or creator of the world is always a witch. But Ms. McCutchen wields magic and develops a magical land created by something not-so-magical: memory.
Memory and will-power are the ruling forces in Lightland and the book's equally magical Iowa. The author perfectly wields these two worlds into one. Lightland is an easily recognizable world filled with cherry trees and corn fields, while Iowa holds magical properties of its own. I love how these two very different worlds are are woven together until they become one and the same. Lottie's house is wacky and practically a fun house. At the beginning you think, āOkay, it's made up of poorly structured add-ons.ā But by the end of the story you realize that you haven't even touched the hem of what lies within its walls.
If you're a person who holds to the ācharacters need to be relateableā schtick, then walk away now. Lottie and Lewis are outrageous characters. But that's why I love them! Lottie is stubborn and outspoken, but what makes her an outrageous character is the fact that she never wears anything but pajamas and her perfect memory. Lewis, on the other hand, never sleeps. Well, he does, but no one except Lottie knows when. He sleeps all throughout the day, with his eyes wide open. And at night, he wanders the town.
I've never been to caught up on the relatability of characters especially in fantasies. So for me, I've found these two incredibly fun and engaging. I love how neither character was the most important character in the book. They both were equally important and needed to defeat the NightKing. Even Lewis' connection to the NightKing helps him only a little before Lottie has to step in and help.
The book's layout is beautiful. There are no illustrations except for at the beginning of each chapter. Each new chapter opens with two black pages designed with a white sketch of an upcoming scene and white font. The writing style is somewhat whimsical and having no specific storyteller, Ms. McCutchen can easily switch back and forth between several characters to help move the story along. Lightland, much like Narnia, leaves it open for the author to write more books exploring the world. Whether that will happen, I can't say, but I would certainly love to see it!
If you love fantasy but are tired of witches and Black Magic or are just looking for a fun fantasy, I highly recommend Lightland.
Rating: PG {scary moments}
