Despite being a book I should have adored I found that The Elementals felt flat and disconnected. I was left with several unanswered questions that should have been tied up in the story. Chances are, though, I would have adored this book at 19. ( )

Decent, but her earlier work is better. ( )

The Elementals was my first experience with Francesca Lia Block. I know her other series has quite a following, and I've been eager to check her out.

This isn't like any book I have ever read. It was bizarre and addictive, which I find so ironic now that I've reached the end. Main character, Ariel, is spiraling out of control after the disappearance of her best friend and the announcement of her mother's cancer. She heads off to Berkley where BFF, Jeni, was last seen, planning not only to pursue a higher education, but also the truth about what happened to her friend. Once there she is quickly thrust into the role of outcast and bullied by the cool kids. I thought the whole "mean kids" angle seemed slightly cliche and did a disservice to what is a truly brilliant plot. Thankfully, I was able to look past this and embrace the rest of the novel.

The entire time I read I was baffled (for the lack of a better word). Is it a mystery, fantasy, or was I simply lost in the the thoughts of a character whose mind had fractured under the weight of suffocating grief? I won't tell you because this discovery is what makes this novel so special.

The writing is something I just got lost in. Reading late into the night, holding my breath, anticipating what was yet to come. During several chapters I was shocked to find myself covered in goosebumps. It isn't often a book can evoke chills. I've read other reviews where the writing is called disjointed, but I found that to be part of the charm. It helps to enhance how truly lost Ariel is and rang so true to her character and her trials. This is a novel that I know will stay with me and not blend into the shelves like the many before it. ( )

The Elementals has a dreamlike aura that prevents close scrutiny. It is as if the story is a spell that weaves its way around a reader and ensnares one to its illusory plot. The prose is poetic, and the story is hypnotic, almost detrimentally so. A reader finds oneself incapable of doing anything other than letting the story flow without any of the scrutiny that one might normally apply to a novel. This is a good thing because the writing is so powerful; one can do nothing but appreciate it.

It is only when a reader looks to resolve the many WTF moments within the novel wherein the story falls apart. For, when it is stripped down to its basic elements, the plot does not bear close examination. In fact, the plot is rather ridiculous. Ariel is weak when she should be strong and strong when she should be weak. John is very intense, making him fairly creepy in a stalker-like manner, and their relationship develops mostly off-screen so that a reader never becomes comfortable with it. The rest of the cast – John’s enigmatic roommates, Ariel’s unusually cruel dorm mates, and even the people she meets out on her searches for clues – are too extreme. Lastly, the story’s resolution is abrupt, as if Ms. Block had a word limit to which she was bound.

For all of the story’s faults though, of which there are many, it is difficult to forget the ethereal quality of The Elementals. Ms. Block’s evocative writing is brilliant, overshadowing many of the character flaws and lack of development. It haunts and intrigues a reader even after one decides the plot is ludicrous. The eerie tone of the story, as well as Ms. Block’s sensual phrasing, creates a memorable novel that one should view as one does a pointillist painting; it is better seen from afar, allowing the imagery and dialogue to waft over a reader’s senses, rather than up-close where the flaws quickly become apparent.

Faeries ... potions ... mysterious rituals ... forbidden sex ... need I say more? 'The Elementals' by Francesca Lia Block is a novel with some mature adult themes but enough juvenile allusions to anchor it strongly in the YA category. The author has a beautiful, lyric quality to her writing that draws the reader into the strange world of her creation; I found myself sucked in and unable to put down the book, even as the antics of the main characters frustrated and annoyed me. I wanted this book to be great, because the quality of writing is top notch, but the plot itself was mediocre and predictable.

Ariel (cue the first Shakespeare reference) has just arrived at college but is haunted by the disappearance of her best friend and by her mother's illness. She is socially awkward, deeply introverted, and a lover of poetry (yes, she quite neatly fits a certain stereotype). As she half-heartedly searches for her friend and at the same time begins her own downward spiral into depression and confusion, Ariel meets a strange trio of older students, who live off campus in a huge and mysterious house where alluring parties and bizarre practices abound.

I found the twists and turns of the plot to be predictable and a bit boring, and I kept waiting for Ariel to mature into some sort of better character, a person with whom I could relate, or at least sympathize. But those hopes never materialized. I give this book two stars - the writing is wonderful, but the story is unworthy of its beauty. ( )