Laini Taylor's Lips Touch Three Times

If this is what "kids these days" are reading, maybe I'm right to not want kids at all. Hum. Not that I didn't enjoy this book - I did - however, I'm not a pre-teen or adolescent diving into the stories put before me as an alternate reality. I can read these books and keep myself in the here-and-now. I can enjoy a good fantasy with goblins, devils and demons. I guess I'm just old school, but some of this stuff is a little...hum...mature for young adults (emphasis on the young).

My "old prude" aside - Laini Taylor's Lips Touch Three Times is a thought-provoking foray into supernatural fantasy. Written to include three separate stories, each vignette develops more than the previous and explores other cultures, customs and superstitions with an artfulness and ease. Taylor's clearly done her research enough to fictionalize the rest.

The first story, Goblin Fruit begins with a heroine much like any good coming-of-age story for girls. Kizzy is not popular, but she's self-confident in her own ways. An awkward teen can easily identify with her - a real person. However, when a new and extremely good looking boy begins to take interest in her, the reader is already shouting, "no! Don't!" We've been warned - she's "ripe for goblins". We also get lots of warning comments - "if she remembers her grandmother's stories", "if she lives to adulthood" and so forth. What makes this story compelling is the combination of that identifiably real character and her desires mixed with her choice in the end, shockingly wanton and unlike any typical moralistic fable. (Gee, I hope I didn't spoil it...but it is a good read.)

The second story, Spicy Little Curses Such as These is set in India. We meet a woman who's job is to bargain with a demon in hell for children's souls...I know, right? Anyway, this demon enjoys creating curses in exchange...and after an earthquake kills 20+ children in a village, he comes up with one of his "best" curses yet. The daughter of a British official will kill with the sound of her voice. Luckily, the child is kept mute until adulthood. Then, she falls in love. Is the curse real? She struggles with wanting to know but not wanting to kill anyone to find out. She finds out...However, unlike the first story, Taylor takes us beyond the moment of choice to a moment of redemption.

The final story, Hatchling is the most in depth and bizarre story. A 14-year-old wakes up to find one of her brown eyes has turned ice blue. Her mother flips out. The truth begins to spill out but not completely before a mysterious creature, a Druj whisks the young girl away, leaving the mother hysterical. The story jumps between past and present, weaving a web of a story that requires a little more concentration to follow but is worth it. Unbeknownst to the girl and her mother, she's an incubator. It's strange. It's a little much for a tween (in my opinion). But it is a creative spin, for sure.

Overall, this book is an extremely creative adaptation of the coming-of-age experience. It combines the current trend of other-worldliness (for better or for worse is for the reader to decide). It also introduces words, locations, superstitions of other cultures. I actually Googled a location in one of the stories. I learned something new. An added bonus that is actually an essential part of the story is the artwork. Taylor's husband, Jim di Bartolo has created several pages before each story that prepare the reader for the tale to come. After each story, there is one image that hints at the completion of the story. The artwork perfectly compliments the writing and adds a bit of intrigue from the beginning. A very interesting book...but again, young adult? I wonder...