Arcadia Falls

Pondered by lisa :) , Labels: , , Friday, August 20, 2010 8:20 AM

Facing financial hardship after her husband's death, artist turned teacher Meg Rosenthal packs up her life and her daughter to move to the titular town of Arcadia Falls and accept a teaching position at a boarding school. With an interest in folklore and fairy tales, Meg is drawn to dig deeper into the lives and legends surrounding the school's founders: artistic authors Vera Beecher and Lily Eberheart. Journals and letters provide a story within Meg's story and the mystery surrounding Lily's death is paralleled with the death of a student in present day.

I enjoyed how this book balanced multiple story lines. Along with Meg's and Lily's lives, a fairytale about a changeling girl - written by Vera and Lily, studied by Meg, and read to Meg's daughter Sally - is woven throughout the different plots. The symbolism in the tale is cleverly tied to multiple characters and events throughout the book.

An intricate blend of mystery, art, family, love and fantasy Arcadia Falls is an interesting and complex book. The ending resolved a little too quickly but brought satisfying conclusions to multiple mysteries and lingering questions. Carol Goodman knows how to weave an intriguing tale and Arcadia Falls will enchant readers of many genres.

7 Response to "Arcadia Falls"

  1. Casey (The Bookish Type) says:
    August 20, 2010 at 3:50 PM

    This sounds like such an intriguing book! The way you describe the interwoven plot lines, both past and present, sound really enchanting! Even though it sounds like a non-fantasy book, I like how there's the story-within-a-story of the changeling =) Great review!

  2. Deb Nance at Readerbuzz says:
    August 21, 2010 at 7:50 AM

    I'm amazed at all the wonderful book blogs out there!

    I just found yours. I like it. I'm a new follower!

  3. Captain Nick Sparrow says:
    August 21, 2010 at 2:18 PM

    I got this book as an early reviewer and loved it! Have you ever read any of her other books?

  4. lisa :) says:
    August 21, 2010 at 2:34 PM

    @TBT - I think you'd like it as there is a fair amount of the fantasy element to it. Maybe more folklore, than urban fantasy, but I imagine you might enjoy it since we seem to have pretty similar tastes!

    @readerbuzz - Thanks for stopping by! I will definitely check out your blog as well!

    @CNS - This was the only Carol Goodman book I've read, but I really did like her style. For me it was sort of reminiscent of Charles de Lint (who writes a lot of Canadian urban fantasy usually about artists or musicians). Have you read others by Goodman? Any that you'd specifically recommend?

  5. Chotti says:
    August 26, 2010 at 12:15 PM

    This one looks good, I'll have to check it out!

  6. Kerian says:
    August 26, 2010 at 3:07 PM

    I love your review! I may just have to read this book.

  7. Bailey says:
    September 6, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    I recently read Carol Goodman's The Drowning Tree. It was mysterious and eerie. Anyway, good review! I hope to read more of Goodman someday.

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