Wicked Lovely (2007)

Wicked Lovely is a young adult/urban fantasy novel by author Melissa Marr. The story follows protagonist Aislinn, who has the Sight (the ability to see faeries), and whose life begins to unravel when it seems the fey-folk develop a sudden interest in her. The novel intertwines the old rules of fairytales and folklore with the modern expectations of adolescent 21st-century life. It was published by HarperTeen, a division of HarperCollins, in June 2007 in the US. Wicked Lovely was originally written as a short story, ('The Sleeping Girl'), before the author decided to expand on her work in order to further develop the characters. She completed the novel over a period of four months, and submitted it to an agent in January, 2006. By early March of that year, it had been accepted for publication.

Plot

Summary

The story follows main protagonist, Aislinn, who is attempting to navigate through adolescent life alongside a constant struggle with her life-long ability to see faeries and fey-kind. Though invisible to most mortals, faeries live among them, often playing the trickster, living on the fringes, with only the most prominent faeries possessing the power to reveal themselves to the human world. The court fey, the royalty amongst their kind, do not often concern themselves with human kind, which is why Aislinn is disconcerted when she finds that two such powerful fey have begun following her.

Keenan, King of Summer, and Donia, the Winter Girl, are at odds, as they have been for decades, both trying to win over Aislinn for their own ends; Keenan believes she may be his new Summer Queen and hopes she will take up this mantle and the risks that involves, while Donia is bound by the rules of the Winter Queen to warn Aislinn of the consequences that may befall her, should she choose to take Keenan's hand. Unbeknownst to the two quarrelling fey, Aislinn seeks safety within the protective, iron walls of her friend Seth's transformed-trainyard home, and comfort from the arms of Seth himself, whom she has developed feelings for.

As the story progresses, Aislinn finds it increasingly difficult to stay away from Keenan's allure despite her feelings and the developing relationship with Seth, whose research into faeries and proximity to Aislinn begin to attract unwanted and dangerous attention. What's more, Aislinn's abilities are advancing well beyond just the Sight. Keenan later informs her that, due to her being chosen, there is no way back to her life as before, and she must make the choice that decides not just her own future, but that of faery-kind.

Themes

There are two major recurrent themes within the book; rules and choices. The tagline for the book are the three rules Grams tells Aislinn to follow in order to stay anonymous to faery-kind: 'Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.'

The novel begins with these rules being tested almost immediately, as Aislinn already has their attention, for reasons yet unknown to her. As the story goes on, Aislinn has to battle against these ingrained rules set for her safety and challenge, even disregard, what she thinks she knows. Another significant aspect of the story regarding rules is that of those set by the Winter Queen. In order to restore Keenan's full power, both he and Donia are tasked with finding and persuading his suitors for whichever end; take the staff and become either the new Winter Girl or the Summer Queen, or avoid the risk and become a Summer Girl. However, Donia begins to suspect foul-play as Beira changes the rules by which they have played for centuries, and threatens Donia's existence if she does not comply. The importance of this theme revolves around the characters challenging these rules, and that they should not be accepted and followed purely at face value.

This leads onto the other main theme of the book which is choices. In a version of Wicked Lovely containing an extra 'Chatting with Melissa Marr', the author details how she wishes to impart a message of the importance of making one's own choices, and is also referenced in an interview with book bloggers 'The Book Smugglers'. Marr comments how not making choices results in accepting limitations. This is significant, for within the book, when characters challenge the rules and make their own choices, they find new options and solutions.

Marr also comments in interviews and author bios how, due to growing up believing in magical and mythical creatures and ideas, her books are strongly influenced by folklore and fairytales. In the book each new chapter begins with a quote and reference to a book on folklore, magic, myths or legends.

Characters

Aislinn Foy: (Ash-ling or As-linge) The main protagonist and one of the three point-of-view characters. Since birth she has had the Sight; the ability to see faeries. Aislinn longs for an ordinary life, but due to circumstances before her birth and beyond her control, she is bound to Keenan and the fey world, regardless of her feelings and fears. She struggles to find comfort and balance between her two worlds, though Seth helps to provide both, and seeks to keep him and her mortals friends safe from the unseen world.

Seth Morgan: Aislinn's friend and love interest. Even-tempered and open-minded, he trusts Aislinn's story when she informs him of the invisible world beyond his sight. Seth becomes her calm and guiding hand, but also a target to those who do not wish to see Aislinn take up the mantle of Summer Queen. As events unfold, their relationship develops and is tested in varying ways, and though flirty, never pushes Aislinn, allowing her to define the extent of their relationship.