Book Review: The November Girl by Lydia Kang

What starts as an unusual romance develops into something wild and untamed in this unique tale of a girl, a boy, and the November storms. Hector is running from his home life, ending up on the deserted Isle Royale, when he meets Anda - born of the lake and the maker of November storms. Known as the November Witch, she's more inhuman than mortal. But Hector's made from violence too, and somehow the two collide - but Anda cannot hide from her fate forever.

This was so atmospheric. The prose really transported me into the Autumnal stormy weather, and the descriptions of the lake and the storms in particular were wonderful as we are transported to the scene of a shipwreck through Anda's eyes. A lot of the plot takes place on the water, and my favourite scene involves Anda and Hector traversing the lake to an old shipwreck where 'Mother' makes her presence known. The Isle Royale itself is haunting in it's stillness and devoid of life - which I felt echoed Hector's personality as a boy on the verge of adulthood who's deeply lonely and without any outlets for his pain.

Anda as the other main character is just as complex and unique. Wild yet giving. naive yet dangerous, a creature of chaos who is constantly struggling with her 'true nature'. She's a character quite unlike any I've seen before. Hector is her companion completely in this respect too. Hurt by a past too painful to confront, damaged and angry like Anda - she can see herself reflected in him. Their relationship is different to a typical 'romance' too. Anda is not out to be 'rescued' by Hector, although she does try to suppress the murderous side of her nature for him (understandable). She knows what she is, and what she can do. There's an obvious spark between them on first meeting, which felt natural as the story progressed.

The plot is possibly slow to start, as we see Hector struggle to thrive on the island, and there's lots of time spent dithering about food and fishing and tip toeing around each other. I found myself wanting Anda and Hector to interact quicker than they did, to the point where I was getting frustrated - but in reality I think this was just a reflection on their personalities. One has never interacted with humans before (other than her father), and the other is afraid too. As the story progressed, I found myself enjoying the story more.

I actually think that Hector's past is addressed relatively sensitively. It's never thrust on the reader, rather we are given glimpses of what happened to Hector as he's allowed to tell his story in his own way to Anda. The subject matter is also dealt with delicately, and is rather an extension of why Hector behaves the way he does, rather than let it define his character.

I thought the ending was very fitting for the story, and works perfectly as a stand alone novel. A wonderful read, perfect for Autumn, and fans of magical realism with a splash of winter storms.

 - 4 stars