Review: The Blessed by Tonya Hurley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: September 25, 2012
Pages: 416
Source: For Review from Simon & Schuster Canada
Rating: 2 Stars

Brooklyn teens Lucy, Cecelia and Agnes find themselves in the emergency room at Perpetual Help Hospital at the lowest point in their lives. Lucy, the superficial party girl; Cecelia, a drop out rock chick; and Agnes, a hopeless romantic. All rebels running from their lives and themselves, plagued by broken hearts and broken dreams. Enter Sebastian. Mysterious, compelling, seductive. He seems to bring each of them what they long for...
But in the battle for his heart, will they lose their souls?

In short: The Blessed by Tonya Hurley was a bit too strange and abstract for me, but it may be enjoyed by someone looking for an unusual read.

How do I even begin to describe The Blessed? This book is so utterly BIZARRE. I had no idea what I was going to be getting into when I started this book - the synopsis was incredibly vague. The Blessed has three protagonists - Lucy, Cecelia, and Agnes - with three unique and well defined personalities. They aren't exactly relatable - because they're not particularly likeable - but I don't believe Tonya Hurley means them to be in the beginning. These three reprehensible girls have been "chosen" to take up the roles of their namesakes - Saints Lucy, Cecelia and Agnes - by the enigmatic Sebastian, who believes he is a Saint.

The Blessed is just not my kind of read. The writing, the plot, the random interludes of poetic dreams - it was all so weird. Way too strange for my tastes. I mean, I like different and unique, but some scenes in The Blessed were positively hallucinogenic. I'm surprised I didn't end up DNF-ing this one at any point, but admittedly I was strangely compelled to read it through to the end, searching in vain for answers, anything to make sense of this psychedelic trip of a book. My overwhelming reaction upon finishing The Blessed was simply, WTF did I just read?!

So yes, The Blessed was a bit too abstract for me. I will say though that I think it has the potential to be enjoyed and appreciated by a certain very niche audience. I would recommend The Blessed to anyone looking for something different - like, WAY different - or looking to read outside their comfort zones.

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