A Corner of White

Madeleine Tully is a 14 year old girl living in Cambridge, England, with her mother after being uprooted from her "real" life after she and her mother, Holly, ran away from her father. They had been fabulously wealthy and now they struggled to live on much less. Elliot Baranshi is a 15 year old boy who lives in Bonfire, The Farms, in the Kingdom of Cello, His father went missing a year ago and he spends most of his time trying to find him. These two wildly different kids discover a crack between their two worlds, completely by accident, and start sending notes to each other. I enjoyed this book very much. The descriptive language used was beautiful and conjured up pictures in my mind of the ordinary and the extraordinary alike. Madeleine was a bit of a spoiled brat, who was very self centered, but that's probably because she was used to having anything she wanted in her previous life. I liked her friends, Jack and Belle, just fine, though. Elliot was definitely the more likeable of the two. He was kind and earnest and thought of others before himself all the time. Our journey with Elliot and Madeleine was one of mutual discovery, but I think they learned much more through their letters by asking questions and then looking inwards for the answers, so there was character growth for both of them. The world building was done very well and made this an even more enjoyable read.In summary, I enjoyed this book as much for the beautiful, descriptive language used by the author as for the plot, which was also done well.4.5 stars.

Fourteen year old Madeleine Tully lives in an attic apartment with her mother Holly in Cambridge, England after leaving her dad and their jet-setting life. Madeleine misses him and wonders if she is responsible for the breakup of the marriage because she ran away frequently. One day she finds a note peeking out of the base of a broken parking meter that says “Help me, I’m being held against my will.” Thinking it’s a joke she writes back “Dear Parking Meter, Me too….” and thus begins the correspondence between The World (Cambridge) and Elliot Baranski of Bonfire, The Farms in the kingdom of Cello, a parallel universe. In her first letter Madeleine pours out her heart about her new, poor life in Cambridge and everything she’s left behind in her old one. When she gets an answer that talks about cracks between Cello and The World she is dumbfounded and writes, “You’re unstable or you’re high or you’re a kid who wants to write fantasy” (148). But Elliot persists and they exchange letters about their problems and the many mysteries that are unfolding in their respective worlds. The Kingdom of Cello is suffering through drought, enduring sporadic Color attacks, and the seasons change at will. Elliot is coping with the suspicious disappearance of his father and the high school physics teacher and the death of his uncle. Madeleine fears her mom is losing her mind. This first of a planned trilogy meanders a bit but the likeable, quirky characters and fantastical world created by Moriarity keep the reader’s interest.

Starred SLJ and Kirkus, positive Booklist.

A girl in the world has found a corner of white. The edge of a letter hidden within a crack in the world. The crack is actually in a parking meter and the letter is from outside the world. Or so it would have her believe. But the more letters that arrive the more she might believe, for her world is not as it should be, not at all as she wants it to be and the letters from another place are the only thing that will help her believe in the impossible and save her from her loneliness.A boy outside the world in a far away kingdom has been travelling for sometime but has yet to find what he is seeking, that is until he discovers a corner of white. The edge of a letter hidden within a crack in the kingdom, a crack that just happens to be in a sculpture his friend made that sits within his schools grounds. At once he believes in the world, and what he learns from the world will help him to uncover a truth, and save him from his wanderings.A Corner Of White brings hope and changes lives. A crack in the world will help to bring colour, acceptance and friendship to an otherwise grey and desolate life. A crack in the kingdom will help bring order, knowledge and family to an otherwise chaotic and unpredictable life. A charismatic, witty and touching introduction to two worlds, to lives, connected through colour, loss and the words of a stranger through a crack in the world.

A character-driven contemporary fantasy that kept me guessing all the way through. It reminded me a little of The Magician by Lev Grossman, as this author also played around with fantasy conventions and subverted my expectations of where the story would go. Much of the magic revolves around a very original take on colour. I was enamoured with the Kingdom of Cello and look forward to reading more.

Fun and unique fantasy. I did like the Cello characters better than the ones in the World, though.

I swore I wouldn’t request any more books from Netgalley for a while, and I had a lot in queue in front of this book – but I couldn’t help it. Having finished something wonderful (a Dorothy L. Sayers), I sifted through all the books that have been sitting neglected on the Kindle, and opened something new from Netgalley instead.I don’t know how much sense this will make, but for some reason A Corner of White felt like a book written in the present tense. It’s not; there’s nothing so gimmicky about the writing: alternating third person points of view, switching back and forth between Madeleine here in the World (in Cambridge, England) and Elliott in Cello, a different world altogether. Maybe it was the immediacy of the writing that felt like present-tense, or the first lines, chatty as they are: “Madeleine Tully turned fourteen yesterday, but today she did not turn anything.“Oh, wait. She turned a page.”It’s a swiftly flowing story, about Madeleine finding a note tucked into an out-of-order parking meter (and a good thing too that the London traffic department is in this universe so lax about fixing out-of-order meters), and replying, and of her reply being found on the other side of a crack between worlds by Elliott Baranski, in the back of a broken tv which has been incorporated into a sculpture. It makes sense, trust me. It’s all about perception – Madeleine’s perception of Elliott, and vice versa, and also how both of them see their own worlds and their own lives. Both their fathers are missing from their lives, and the reasons for that which everyone around them keeps assuring them are true may not be correct.One of the only things keeping me from a five-star rating for A Corner of White is a huge gaffe that I can only hope was/will be caught in a final edit before publication. The small stuff – botched punctuation and formatting and such – is, as has often been said, par for the course, and this was after all an “uncorrected proof”, so lamentable as it is it doesn’t count toward the rating. But the mention – a couple of times – of the “original” colors consisting of red, blue, and green … That was not good. Primary and secondary and complementary colors are something I learned about in my first months of art school. That is, I’m sure I knew the basics before that, but it was well and truly drilled into our heads early on, being, I think it’s obvious, rather important. Since green is made of blue and yellow …A useful trick to remembering complementary colors was to think of them as holidays – red and green, Christmas; blue and orange, Halloween (blue standing in for black to make it work), and (vitally, for Elliott) yellow and purple, Easter. Just putting that out there.Apart from that, it was wonderfully enjoyable. And they’ll fix that, right? Right?

This was a wonderfully gentle fantasy story about two teens in parallel worlds passing letters to each other, one in a damaged parking meter and the other in a playground sculpture featuring a broken TV set. One world, known as The World, is as we know it. Madeleine has a group of friends who are homeschooled by a variety of different people. Her mother is a little wacky and becomes more wacky as the days progress. The other world, known as Cello, has a problem with color attacks. Some colors are more dangerous than others. Elliot is highly respected in his world but his father is missing and Elliot learns he is not the only missing person in Cello. Many of the letters that are passed are written to try and make the other person understand what color means to them. Each teen has a major personal problem and they are able to help each other. I found that the story started a little slow but gradually became more and more interesting as more facts about Cello became known and I was very interested in understanding the color situation there. Teens and adults will love this story.

Madeleine lives with her mother in Cambridge, no longer as well off as she used to be now that they've run away from her father, and has an eccentric life as a homeschooled kid with friends Jack and Belle. Elliot lives in the Kingdom of Cello where colors don't just exist visually - they also attack. His dad is missing, presumed dead, or taken by a Purple and Elliot is determined to find him.Over the course of the story, of course, their lives end up intertwining. The world-building was okay but not as fleshed out as I would like, as I had trouble imagining exactly what an attacking color would look like. Is it transparent? Opaque? Can it look humanoid or is each different? And my expectations were elevated both because I've really liked this author's books in the past and because one of the blurbs on the cover calls it "Startlingly original fantasy." Not sure I'd go that far - sure, things were interesting but... not that amazing. I also had a really hard time believing English homeschooling laws would allow the oddball version dreamed up by Madeleine's mother. All that aside, the story kept my attention and I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. The ending took me by surprise and I'm interested enough to look up the next book in the series.

This book is very creative and interesting. It is the first in a trilogy, and I will probably want to read the next one after it is released.

This book is very creative and interesting. It is the first in a trilogy, and I will probably want to read the next one after it is released.

3.5 stars.

I'm not solid on how I feel about this one. It seemed really slow going in the middle, and I about lost interest in it, but I kept going. I found the MC so unreliable I wasn't sure what to believe, and it was hard to keep interest in that. The whole concept of the colors was a little abstract for me. There was a little more of an explanation/description later in the book of how they affect people, so that helped. I did like the ending and how it left it open for the next book while wrapping up some of the key issues. I know there are a lot of people who will enjoy the coming together of two completely different worlds.

This is a very original story that is well written. The imagination used to create the fictional world of Cielo is fantastic. All the characters are intriguing and fun to read. The plot, however is very slow and so different, that the reader is confused most of the time About where the book is heading. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it is nice to read a YA book that breaks the usual moulds. However, typical to the YA series, the story only really starts to pick up and get interesting in the last chapter of the book. Good if you are willing to read through the whole book and leaves the reader willing to check out the second instalment. The narration for the audiobook was exceptional! I especially liked that there were different readers for the different worlds.

I spent a large portion of the early part of the book wondering where this was going and when the characters in the two different realities would have more interaction...but then things picked up and hooked in me in. Madeline is adjusting to her new life in Cambridge, a life with much less privilege but one that challenges her to grow up and be more authentically her colorful self. She and Elliott are from different realities, but find a way to communicate and forge a friendship through a crack they find which is just big enough to pass notes. Elliot's has been obsessed with the search for his missing father and regularly saving the day in his town in a region called the Farms. When he finds the truth about what is happening to the royal family and his father, he's called to action. By the end of the book- I'd give this one a 4, but it took patience to get there. It was good enough for me to pick up the next installment right away after finishing.

Madeleine ran away, but this time her mother came, too. Now the two of them live in gloomy Cambridge, far from the glamorous lifestyle they shared with Madeleine's father. Madeleine has made friends with Jack and Bella, two local teens, and they've finagled a haphazard system of homeschooling, spreading different subjects among the various adults they know. Madeleine sometimes misses her old life. Then, one day, she finds a mysterious letter slipped under a broken parking meter -- and she writes back.Elliot lives in the kingdom of Cello, in the farmlands. In Elliot's world, rogue colors occasionally attack, which is what happened on the night Elliot's father disappeared. Of course, that doesn't exactly explain how Elliot's uncle was killed, or why the attractive high school physics teacher also disappeared. Elliot does not believe his father would run away with another woman, so he spends all of his time and energy searching for a way to trace his father and rescue him if he is being held somewhere against his will. In the meantime, time marches on, and there are other things demanding Elliot's attention -- the Deftball championship, for instance, and the Butterfly Child, and the Royal Progress, and the strange family who are renting his father's electronics shop. And, of course, the letters from a girl in The World that keep materializing in a sculpture one of his friends built . . .This is an eclectic mix of elements that somehow manages to work, though it's perhaps a bit of a slow starter. The characters are complex and not always entirely reliable, and the convoluted plot and interesting use of colors reminded me a little bit of Jasper Fforde. I liked the way the story wrapped up, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes next.

Sometimes books have to grow on you. I know that there are some people who don’t have the patience to read books that don’t hook them immediately. At times I am like that. Sometimes I will power through and sometimes I will give up to follow up on other pursuits. I almost did that with A Corner of White, the first in the Colors of Madeleine series. I’m a law student. Finals are coming up. My time is very valuable. But I powered through and I am glad that I did. Portal fiction is one of my favorite sub-genres of fantasy and I had been looking forward to A Corner of White for some time.I am going to be honest with you all. It starts a little slow. I think I was almost 30% through my ARC ebook copy before I finally got into the groove and started to really enjoy the book. You have to give it a chance. I think it was the narration and the way it was written that first sort of made me weary but it picks up as you go along.But anyway. I wanted to be up front about all of that before I get into the actual review.A Corner of White introduces us to two very different narrators in two very different worlds whose different personal problems bring them together in a way that should be impossible. In our world – know as The World to those on the other side – is Madeleine. She and her mother have recently moved to Oxford from France where they had been living with her powerful, wealthy father. But Madeleine is prone to eccentrics and running away from home. Except this time her mother came with her and the two of them live as paupers in a flat where her mother sews to make a living for them. She and her friends are all home-schooled by an eccentric group of people that include Madeleine’s mother, her friends’ grandfather, and their very colorful neighbors.Elliot, in the Kingdom of Cello, is a fifteen year old boy whose family was recently torn apart by his father’s disappearance and his uncle’s murder. Convinced that his father was taken away by the Purple that killed his father he’s been adventuring around the kingdom trying to find him. Cello is a strange place – a place with technology like our own in some places, more advanced in others, and slightly less advanced in the Farms where Elliot lives. Also, colors can kill. Waves of reds can make one crazy.While Madeleine is eccentric, Elliot is the sort of small town Atticus Finch style hero that you find hard to believe can exist until you see them in the news. Madeleine is absorbed in herself at times and off the wall at others. Elliot is down to earth and doesn’t want the sort of attention he gets from people for helping out, playing ball, and such. They are unlikely companions. And yet a strange incident brings them together. There is a crack in the fabric of space and time between the two worlds. It is big enough only for them to slip a piece of paper to one another and so they begin in penpal relationship that should never have been able to happen.Madeleine, of course, thinks all his stories are nothing more than elaborate fantasy told by a boy whose desperate for friends. But they work through one another’s issues together. They work through Madeleine’s relationship issues and her problems with her friends and family. When her mother becomes ill she finds she can confide in him about her and what happened with her father. Elliot in turn seeks out her help understanding and accepting the truth about what happened to his father and his concerns about the Butterfly Child. It’s a beautiful little relationship that shows that friendship an transcend almost anything – even realities.I absolutely loved the relationship between the two kids and how it developed. I loved how Madeleine didn’t really believe Elliot and thought it was all a joke but played long. And then after a while how she eventually came to believe that Cello and Elliot were all very much real.The two kids live in such a different worlds and the things they face are so incredibly different sometimes. But then sometimes they are very much the same. They both have issues with their families and friends. They both have challenges to overcome. Madeleine is from our world so we understand her problems a bit more and could potentially relate to her. And then we could use that as a jumping off point to relate more with Elliot.Honestly, I liked pretty much every character in the book more than Madeleine. I didn’t find her to be a very relateable person and I would have probably liked it more if she were just a simple girl whose family was going through more normal problems. None of this being rich and running away to live as poor folks and what not. But she grows on you after a while. Her whole storyline and half of the book pales in comparisson to Elliot’s. His friends are much more interesting, the craziness of the seasons and goings on of his town – Bonfire – in the Farms are engaging, and the ambiguous nature of the colors keep you wondering just what is going on half the time.The world building that went into Cello was incredible. It’s such a vibrant, varied, and unusual world. I just want to know more about it and I want to perhaps even see Madeleine find herself in it at some point.The one thing I still don’t undesrtand, though, are the colors. What are they? I know that they are colors. Like, some how they are embodiments of the colors whose names they share. But some how ‘purples’ have lairs and ‘reds’ travel in waves – but not how we think of colors and waves. They are some how physical manifestations of the colors and they generally do terrible things. Purples and yellows can kill. Reds can alter one’s mind in many ways. But what I want to know is how. What are they? Are they just floating blobs of color or are they sort of like spectrums of color coming at you through flashes of sunlight…? I really don’t understand what they are and that makes it hard trying to visualize it all. Everything else in Cello is very well explained. The colors, though? Not so much.Should you read the book? Definitely. Especially if you’re fans of portal fiction – where a person from our world interacts with or enters another world – or maybe stories like the Phantom Tollbooth and such. I think it’s definitely worth a read and it’s actually a very nice change on most fantasy settings. I love Cello and I love Elliot. I’m looking forward to seeing how he and the Kingdom are further developed in the series.

This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

Cover Impressions: At first glance, this cover looks like just another contemporary romance but, after finishing the book, I can appreciate the little touches. Madeline's outfit is exactly as described in the book - a whimsical plethora of colors. I also love the sparkle and light that gives an ethereal quality to the letter and the wonderful colors reflected in the falling leaves. The one thing that I do miss is a reflection of Elliot, but perhaps that is just because I preferred his side of the story to Madeline's. It is also worth taking a look at the actual hardcover underneath the book jacket - it is covered with the colors of Madeline's jacket and boots and is imprinted with the image of the umbrella and falling leaves. These touches are beautiful and unexpected.

The Gist: Madeline and her mother have run away from their privileged life for one of struggling to make ends meet in Cambridge. Elliot lives in the mysterious Kingdom of Cello and is on a desperate search to find his missing father. The two begin communicating through letters that they fit through a rare gap between the worlds and weave their two lives together in ways they never imagined possible.

Review:

I will admit, A Corner of White was almost a did-not-finish for me. This book got to a very slow start. Almost the entire first half was a sluggish slog. At about this point, I went back to the reviews on Goodreads and saw that most reviewers had commented on this and said to hang in there. So I did, and, I am so happy for it. In the beginning, the writing style took some getting used to and the characters were quirky if a little too well informed for their age. This type of book will require a patient reader and not all teens will fit this bill, however, the payoff in the end is entirely worth it.

Moriarty's characters endear themselves to you slowly. At the beginning I wasn't particularly fond of Madeline and I didn't entirely see the point of Jack and Bella. By the end, I enjoyed their strange obsession with aura's and horoscopes and could see the important role that they played in Madeline's growth and development. Incidentally, I really hope that their peculiar interests are incorporated into Cello's world in further books. Even Madeline had outgrown her whining and become a character that I could continue to follow through this series. I enjoyed Elliot from the very beginning. He was strong and independent while holding an important place within his community. I was very glad that the relationship between him and Madeline never crossed into the romantic and I hope that is something that does not change further into the story.

Jaclyn Moriarty is certainly an author who shows rather than tells. While this is an admirable trait among writers it also means that it takes quite a while to get a clear understanding of the way that the world of Cello works, particularly the threat of Colors. She occasionally pushes our understanding forward through the inclusion of newspaper articles, books or police reports. I will admit, I still don't quite understand the mechanics behind catching and using spells, but I assume this will be revealed in the next installement. One thing that I did love to see was the incorporation of scientific knowledge and history into the storyline. It would be interesting to see the reactions of my grade 8 students were they to read this book while studying our Optics unit which covers light and colors. A Corner of White also featured an unexpected twist or two that were refreshing and kept me engaged for the second half of the book.

As I noted previously, this novel gets off to a slow start but ends with a resolution that is satisfying while also successfully setting up for the next book in the series. Unfortunately, I cannot discuss too much of what makes it such a good ending without spoiling the entire plot, I only wish to tell you that if you are reading this review while in the middle of the book, as I did, keep going. If have not started yet, remember to let the story develop around you - it is worth it.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up (readers must be patient enough to get through the slow beginning)
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing
Violence: "Color" attacks that maim/kill
Inappropriate Language: Ass
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking, Smoking, Discussion of Alcoholism

My thoughts about this book are all over the place.I loved the premise when I first saw it reviewed - two teenagers start exchanging letters through a chink between our world and a magic world. Madeleine, the girl in our world, doesn't believe the letters from Elliot, the boy in the magic world -- she thinks it's some kid riffing off a fantasy role-playing game, but decides to play along. The magic world was awesome. It's very much like our world (people have normal names, they have cars, they go to high school) but with just a touch of magic/supernatural elements. They have mostly similar technology, with a few cute differences. I don't think they have phones, which was fun when it dawned on me, and some of their technology was developed to deal with various supernatural things. It was really a great example of creating a plausible world that was a lot like the real world - it didn't seem overly forced or dorky. It's like if you somehow got sucked into the magic world, and spent a day there, you might end your stay without realizing it was a fantasy world. You could probably believe that maybe you were in a small rural village in Wales. Mostly modern, some weird stuff but stuff you could chalk up to "hey, who knows what rural Welsh people have going on?" Even with that, it was a little slow in terms of grabbing me, mostly because I never managed to like Madeleine, or even find her interesting. Her back story strikes me as a combination of flat and unconvincing. But as I went along, the plot started to pick up, and it kept getting exponentially better. There were some parts that bothered me, and then there were twists that cleared up what was nagging me about them YET were completely unexpected. Every time that happened, I got more and more invested in the thing until I was positively riveted by the end. I also ended up feeling very fondly about some of the secondary characters. The (magic world) sheriff and his deputy are THE BEST. It would be great if the author would maybe start writing a series, for adult readers, about how the sheriff and the deputy solve crimes.Weirdly, this book is titled as the start of a series, but I somehow didn't pick up on that, or forgot about it, so I was a little surprised when the book ended with some clear pathways for a sequel. Even so, I think this works great as a stand-alone. Maybe even better - the events of this particular book DO get wrapped up. I'd be okay with the story ending here, in that way where sometimes I like it when books end, and you get the sense that there's still more stuff that's going to happen, but it's a good feeling because that's how life is -- more stuff is going to happen.The other thing I didn't realize until the end was that this is the author of The Year of Secret Assignments. This was much better. But some of the things I didn't like about The Year of Secret Assignments were also present here - like how all the parents are ... flaky buddies, or something, with zero authority. Even though I don't like that, I could believe that some parents are that way, but every single parent relationship comes off like this.

Fourteen year old Madeleine Tully lives with her eccentric mother (and her mother's sewing machine) in an attic in Cambridge, England, The World. She is convinced that her father will soon come looking for her and take her back to a life of luxury.In the meantime, she is homeschooled with her friends Jack and Belle, learns about Byron and Isaac Newton, rides her bike around Cambridge, and leaves letters in a broken parking meter for Elliot.Even though she thinks the world Elliot describes is one he made up.Fifteen year old Elliot Baranski lives with his mother in Bonfire, the Farms, the Kingdom of Cello, a place where crops are failing, seasons roam erratically and Colours attack. Elliot believes his missing father was abducted by a Purple and is planing yet another attempt to find him.In the meantime, he fixes things and hangs out with his friends and leaves letters for Madeleine in the TV sculpture a friend made.Even though he knows it is illegal to fail to report a crack through to The World.A Corner of White also includes extracts from a travel guide to Cello, and a newspaper column Cello's written by princesses. However, most of the narrative is third person, omniscient. It jumps backwards and forward between Madeleine and Elliot, and then between them and the people around them.All this jumping seems random at first. As do the details of Madeleine and Elliot's lives, which are presented quite matter-of-factly, with explanations drifting slowly in.What makes both these worlds feel real, however, is the characters - their convictions, their conversations and their relationships. That's where the heart of the book is.A Corner of White is unusual, gorgeously written, whimsical and witty. A tale of growing up, friendship and dealing with absent fathers. Peppered with fascinating facts about history of science and the science of colours.I thought it was lovely and was enjoying it enormously.AND THEN! And then, unexpectedly, the pieces suddenly start falling together! I had thought I was seeing random glimpses into Elliot and Madeleine's respective worlds and then I discovered there was a bigger picture! A mystery!This was incredibly exciting and satisfying and unexpected.Dear Internet, when is the sequel coming?

I liked this, but it was really, really slow until the last couple of sections when everything seemed to happen all at once. Moriarty mostly seems to be focused on character building for Madeleine and Elliot and world building. The fantasy world of The Kingdom is very different from other fantasy I've read which is nice, but I'm much more interested in what happens next than I was in what happened in this book.

Story-line: I enjoyed each of the two story lines in the book…separately. I found that when I was reading about Madeline that I wished I could be reading about Elliot and that when I was reading about Elliot there was a longing for more Madeline. Once the stories started to involve each other it got to be better, but when they were separate I had a hard time getting into the story. Also, there were some scenes that I felt the book could do without, but that’s just me.Characters: Elliot and the citizens of the Kingdom of Cello were awesome, but Madeline and her friends and mom were just as great. They all had good dynamics to their relationships. The relationships weren’t all perfect, which made it great. There was anger, betrayal, jealousy, and confusion.Originality: The use of color as awful creatures to fear was something I had never seen or heard of before, so this book gets all the originality points. The concept of fearing colors was so interesting and the difference between the different colors and their severity was intriguing.Ending: I felt that the ending was satisfactory for the first in a series. There were several things I need answered and I know that the second book will address this, which is always a plus.Extra Notes: This was a quick, light read and it took me maybe three hours to read this one. I would recommend it to readers who like fantasy novels that are both interesting, but have an inherent lightness about them.

A Corner Of WhiteByJaclyn MoriartyMy "in a nutshell" summary...Two separate worlds...one normal...one not so normal. Notes are passed back and forth between two people...teens actually...Madeline and Elliot. Both of them have major life issues.My thoughts after reading this book...Madeline is used to travel, money and a very different life than the one she is currently living. Her mother took her...ran away from her father...and now they eat beans and live rather poorly. Elliot lives in a very odd place called the Kingdom Of Cello where summer can last a week or two years and crops won't grow unless the "butterfly child" is happy. That is just a small part of life in the Kingdom Of Cello. There are dragons and werewolves and colors! Elliot should not be sending or receiving letters from Madeline...girl of the world...but he does anyway. What I loved about this book...I could not help but totally adore the situations...sort of a real world versus a fantasy world. The real world often felt a bit like a fantasy, too...but I loved it. The fantasy world was just magical, delightful and seriously dangerous. Elliot was my favorite character...he was honest and sincere and good. Madeline was a bit unlikeable to me but I still enjoyed reading about her. The notes in the parking meter were their ways to communicate. What I did not love...I really didn't not love anything. Honestly...it took me a little bit of time to get into this book. At times the back and forth between worlds was confusing...but once I had everyone including the " colors" straight...it was quite an absorbing book.Final thoughts...Fantasy readers should enjoy this book. It had some serious aspects as well as delightful fantasy. There were sweet characters that I loved...especially in the Kingdom.

This is a very odd book. Not odd bad at all just odd. This is a book filled with a strong narrative voice, a quirky cast, and no one but two rather unusual environments. Don’t get the sense that this is a disjointed literary ramble, though, because even unconnected things end up fitting better than you could have imagined.The story opens with an excerpt from a travel guide, only it’s about the Kingdom of Cello, a fantastical place that clearly exists only in imagination. When the story begins with Madeleine transplanted from her life of glamour and riches to a small flat in Cambridge, England, with her rather strange mother, the connection to the travel guide is unclear. It’s the voice that keeps you reading. But Madeleine is only one of a large cast of point of view characters who move in and out of the center stage smoothly. Some of these characters are confined to our world while others live in Cello itself, a place not so imaginary after all though it retains its fantastical character with a vengeance, a place where people have odd talents and colors attack out of nowhere.Connections between the two dimensions had existed in the past and are occasionally discovered (and destroyed) even now, after the plague crossed through with devastating effect. Elliot, of Cello, risks banishment and death when he discovers a note from the other world and begins a conversation with Madeleine that is instrumental in both of their growth, these two playing the main characters around whom the story revolves.The conversation is odd because Madeleine doesn’t believe in Cello, but at the same time she’s studying Isaac Newton (she is part of a home school group and their assignment was to “become” an important person who went to Cambridge). She uses what she’s learning from Newton to respond to Elliot, blending interesting information into the narrative as well as showing how different their two worlds are.I feel it’s hard to describe this book in any way that captures its essence. It plays with reality, science, relationships, and a sense of self. The playful, often random-seeming, voice tricks you into thinking it is fluff and easy to dismiss, but you find yourself returning for another glimpse and thinking about the characters and what they are going through at odd moments even when not reading.Elliot and Madeleine are tied together by the loss of their fathers, Madeleine because she ran away and stayed away, and Elliot because a purple (one of those vicious colors) killed his uncle the same night his father disappeared. Seeking their fathers is a key part of the story, but not all of it by any means.This is a complex story that works on many levels. It made me laugh at points, made me cry, and delighted me more than I could have imagined when I picked it up on NetGalley on a whim. I’m glad I spent this time with Madeleine, Elliot, Jack, Belle, and all the other characters in the book. I think you would be too.

An exhilarating pace, irrepressible characters, and a screwball humor that will easily attract teens, many of whom will yearn for madcap adventures and unshakably devoted friends like these. What a delight to read. Very well written.

4 Stars*This is an uncorrected galley I received from NetGalley*After Madeleine and her mother run away from their previous lives to Cambridge (our world) she forms a relationship with a boy, Elliot, from the Kingdom of Cello. Elliot’s father is missing under mysterious circumstances and Madeleine wants nothing more than for her father to rescue her from her new dreary life. Their correspondence is forbidden but as they pass notes back and forth through the “crack” they find that their mysteries are being solved with their unique experiences including assignments about Isaac Newton and the magical Butterfly Child. With the increasing “color attacks” in the Kingdom of Cello and Madeleine’s mother’s strange behavior they have to depend on each other to find answers quickly.I am only saying this to explain why this took me longer to read than it should have and doesn’t reflect upon the rating I am giving. The formatting was really rough and made it difficult at times to read. If the story wasn’t as good as it is I don’t think I could have continued. My one complaint is that there were times in the beginning that I found myself a little confused and going back to make sure I had a grasp on the material. There are a lot of characters to keep straight and when you are flipping from one world to another more clarity can be required. I would have to read a finished copy to see if maybe the formatting had something to do with this. Otherwise I only have good things to say. The plot is amazing! The story lines of the two protagonists might not be entirely original but the author puts a unique spin on it. Even though some of the things they come into contact with are tough problems that the reader may be able to relate to, it’s told in a way that’s easy to digest. The characters are a lot of fun and I got emotionally involved in their stories. The best part of this one for me is the magical atmosphere the author created. If there was a way to get to the Kingdom of Cello I would be on my way. I truly recommend this one no matter if you are a young adult or adult. It has a little something for everyone and is like a vacation and a great story all in one.

I am in love with this cover. The use of vibrant colors is done in such an appealing way that I know I wouldn't be able to leave it on a shelf if I were to walk across it. I suppose this is a way of showing just how colorful the main character sees the world and how people see her as well. Yeah, there is just something about this cover that is so eye-catching and interesting to behold. Sadly I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe you can?A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty is the beginning of what appears to be a great series that has a knack for sweeping me off my feet. Madeleine seemed to be suffering from a unique case of denial and prefers it to the real world, which seems to be full of injustice. Blaming the world for the crappy place she finds herself in with her mother, she is determined to escape back to the life that she is so certain was perfect beyond a shadow of a doubt. Her mother seems to be getting more forgetful and the two people she deems as friends seem to not accept her at all. Maybe it is her fault in the first place? Then everything gets more complicated when she keeps finding letters by a crack that appears to bridge the gap between two worlds. Elliot's life was pretty simple before his father's disappearance but now all he seems to be able to focus on is finding him. All the people around him believe that his father didn't disappear, instead they think he ran away with a teacher from the local school. He is determined to prove them wrong and bring his family back together. His plans fall apart from the moment he sets foot back in his hometown and the only person he seems to be able to talk to is a girl who keeps sending letters through the crack. What is truly going on behind the scenes in Madeleine's life? What does the crack mean? Why does Elliot seem so certain that his father didn't run out on them? What does the future hold for these two lost souls? Only time will tell. Well, that... and more books. Definitely more books.The plot is unique, to say the least. I mean it doesn't tackle a completely new idea (because what book does?) yet it manages to make it different enough that I can't seem to compare it to anything else I've read. Two worlds linked together, two people discovering it, that's an basic plot that many authors have tackled but it didn't have the star-crossed lovers and the new world was extremely unique. So unique that during the beginning I was kind of scratching my head and thinking, "What the...?" After I got into the book, albeit still a little confused, everything seemed to fall into place and I found myself in awe of it. So fair warning to all those who buy this book, don't get discouraged by its unique qualities! It is totally worthwhile in the end.Madeleine is a rough-around-the-edges sort of girl and lives in her head for most of the book, which is fairly similar to myself but I suppose it is for entirely different reasons. She seems desperate to get back the life she is certain was perfect and now can't seem to get back. It fuels her desire to not connect with anyone or anything around her, except perhaps her mom but even then, she still have a hard time trusting her. Her reasons are honestly understandable in my mind because she lacks the desire to ask anyone to tell her what something means. How can she relate when she seems determined that she is right? Slowly she opens herself up to friendships and relationships but even then she still keeps a certain part of her guarded -- her need to live her old life. I guess I could think of her as completely selfish or mean for not letting people in, yet I can't do that to her. When I think of Madeleine after reading this book, I see a girl who is desperately clinging to the only life she knew, to the only family she knew, and watching the one person she should be able to depend on fall apart right in front of her. I admire her and I love this character.Her parents are the troublesome duo with a history that remains in the shadow for much of the book. I mean, if you think about it, what wife would leave her husband so suddenly? From the beginning, I figured that her mom had a really good reason (which will be revealed when you read the book) because she did something so drastic. I gained a lot of respect for the ditzy mother figure in Madeleine's life as the story progressed. Her mom may seem a little crazy at first but by the end of the story she is so endearing that I really couldn't see how I didn't relate to her in the first place. One character I truly wanted to understand was her father and I truly hope that he will play a bigger part in the future book. Elliot is kind of like the dual main character with Madeleine and no, sadly he isn't the love interest in this book. Instead they form a sort of comradeship that they seem unable to form in their real lives. He is the most popular person in his hometown, known for fixing problems around town, and always having everyone else's best interest in mind. Because of his likability, he seems to never be lacking in friends who have his back. I really loved his character from the moment I first read about him. He doesn't have a selfish bone in his body, putting people's needs in front of his own even when both deeds are undoubtably selfless. The one thing that keeps him going every day is the desire to find his father and prove the fact that his father isn't a two-timing cheat. Of course, that can somewhat be determined as a selfish desire since it suddenly becomes the only thing he can think about and seems to distract him from things that truly need his attention. I honestly cannot wait to see how he matures and changes over the course of the story. He seems so perfect (outside of having a tendency to focus on one thing entirely) so I really want to see more of his flaws surface as the series continue. Who doesn't love flaws? Perfection is overrated. There is a lot of drama surrounding his family, which becomes increasingly more clear as the story continues on. His mother is a tough nut to crack because she is very talented at hiding the depth of her emotions about horrifying memories. She seems to know that Elliot won't change his mind about his father, no matter how she feels. It takes a true mother to understand why her son has to do something and keep quiet about it until it goes too far. I think she wants what's best for him and she doesn't want to hurt him more than he already has been. His aunt and cousin are absolutely adorable. After the loss of his uncle, I guess I would expect them to shrink away or hide from the world instead of facing everything head on with a bright smile on their faces. His little cousin is the cutest thing ever with her dreams of finding a Butterfly Child and becoming friends with the new quiet girl who has just moved into town. Simply stated, it is a tale that will leave you enchanted and begging for more. What more could a reader ask for?

14-year-old Madeleine Tully and her mother are living in Cambridge, England after running away from her father and their former glamorous life. When Madeleine spies a piece of paper peeking out from a random parking meter and writes back, she thinks it’s crazy that Elliot Baranski, the person at the other end of the letters, claims to be from another world called the Kingdom of Cello……but Cello is real, and so is Elliot. For a year now, Elliot has been obsessed with the mystery of his father’s disappearance. As things unfold, however, the more it seems like there are more things wrong with Cello than he realized—and it turns out that Madeleine and Elliot could use each other’s help.Jaclyn Moriarty and her epistolary novels were some of my favorites in my pre-blogging years. Did her latest offering live up to my now-admittedly-quite-jaded demands for quality fiction? A day after closing the book with a contented sigh, I am happy to say: yes, yes it did.A CORNER OF WHITE possesses a sort of whimsy that is effortless and not overbearing. Reading this is not so much about understanding and relating to the main characters, or getting a complete picture of the world of Cello, but rather how Moriarty uses words that have existed elsewhere before and puts them together so that they look brand new. Her words are like color itself: surprising, vivid, and probably what we’ll remember most about the reading experience. Many authors start their books off with attention-grabbing chapters and just sort of assume that readers will hang on through poor pacing and awkward plot twists. A CORNER OF WHITE has a fairly intriguing beginning, then doesn’t care whether or not you’re confused or ambivalent in the middle (you will be), then has a flawlessly put-together ending of Megan Whalen Turner proportions that will leave you gaping and swooning. Whether or not you understand or relate to Madeleine and Elliot, the way the story is laid out will ensnare you, so that even while you’re still exclaiming to whoever will listen that the story is confusing the heck out of you, you can’t stop turning the pages.Not only was A CORNER OF WHITE a great reading experience for me, it also left me firmly invested in Madeleine and Elliot’s intertwined worlds and fates. The book ends satisfyingly, yet still opens up numerous possibilities to be explored in future books, which I will definitely be reading. Fans of Franny Billingsley, Catherynne Valente, Margo Lanagan, and Jasper Fforde’s writings will undoubtedly fall head over heels for this highly imaginative book.

An unexpectedly sweet and riveting read, A Corner of White follows two teenagers in vastly different worlds, who find solace and comfort in one another amidst their problems. The book is a rich, comforting blend of superbly written contemporary fiction and well realised fantasy – resulting in a unique read that will undoubtably appeal to many readers.Madeline and her mother have run away from her father and now live in Cambridge, a far cry from their previous lives where they had all the comforts that money could buy. Now they subsist on beans and bad TV. Elliot has always been a popular kid at school, blessed with great friends and a wonderful family. Until a Purple kills his uncle and his father disappears. Now Elliot spends his time searching for his father and taking care of his cousin and aunt. While initially they don’t seem anything alike, as the book progresses it becomes clear that the two protagonists have a lot in common. Both are bewildered and lost after the loss of their fathers, causing them to become melancholy. It’s hinted that both used to be quite popular prior to this, and there’s a lingering sense of nostalgia, that if they could get their father’s back, everything will be back to normal.A Corner of White is incredibly well written; it’s very easy to follow both Eddie and Madeline’s stories and keep track of what’s going on where. The letters between them, exchanged through a crack between their worlds, keep readers in the loop. Stylistically the book has a lot in common with contemporary novels, but is thematically a Fantasy novel: magic realism would be the best category to put it in. Although it follows fifteen-year-olds, I think the maturity and delicacy of the plot line will make the book enjoyable to a wide range of readers.Personally, I love the ideas of Colours being entities in Elliot’s world – that roam the land and have different effects: Purples and Greys are dangerous, Reds rouse or confuse passions, Lemon Yellows can kill or blind an entire village. The world the author has created in Cello is as wonderful and vivid as the characters that inhabit it. Elliot lives in a village called Bonfire, and it has this small town charm that I loved, with all the characters caring so much about him and helping one another out all the time. In contrast, with Madeline in Cambridge, you get a tremendous sense of being alone in a crowd: Madeline, despite being surrounded by people who care for her deeply, is extremely sad about the loss of her old life.The Colours of Madeline series is shaping up to be a wonderful new adventure, and I will definitely be following its progress. I am already looking forward to the sequel, and am eager to explore the world of Cello. A Corner of White is a must read for those looking for a gentler introduction into the Fantasy genre, or for those looking for something unique within it.A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.