Do you feel like Vagabond established its setting well?

Use this forum to discuss the December 2021 Book of the month, "Vagabond" by Mary A.J.
Akshara Singh
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Re: Do you feel like Vagabond established its setting well?

Post by Akshara Singh »

I agree with you. The author told us everything, there was not much present for us readers to visualize. I think that is the one thing which bothered me a bit.
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Post by 6eyed »

Amy Luman wrote: 07 Dec 2021, 10:13 I feel like Cecilia’s arrival was rather convenient, based on the ending. I do, however, agree that some relevant items were barely explained. We seem to know a whole lot about some things and hardly anything about really important details.
I thought this might be because the author wanted to get to the "juicy" romance parts. which is not bad at all, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the dramatic bits with Alexander and Sebastian But this results in throwing Cecilia into the school, having her get used to school in a few days, then immediately making friends.
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Post by Yulisa Sanchez »

I personally liked the way the author described the settings in the book; it was just enough description as to not overpower the action scenes for me. The crypt was especially well described as I could really picture it. Overall, I would say that the best world building was the detailed explanation of the types of demons and their specific characteristics that added so much more to the story.
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Post by Dr Chocha »

Most plots vividly caught my attention, but the school premises was not well-elaborated, So yeah I'm really siding with you on this one. The author did not give the expected insightful information about the school itself.
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marta baglioni
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Post by marta baglioni »

I agree with you: the author did not focus excessively on the setting, and some elements were, as you say, told and not shown. I think, though, that this book is aimed at an immature audience, who would tend to focus more on the plot than on these background features. It did feel like something was lacking, during the reading, but overall the author did a great job.
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Post by Shivansh_Reviews »

It would have been much better if the author gave us some context of the school and Cecilia's surroundings, to create an assumption in our mind.
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Post by SnowStorm244 »

I do agree with you in the sense that any structure of the school seemed vague. However, I would argue that those details aren’t there because the main character doesn’t care. She isn’t concerned about the students so there’s no description.
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Valerie Garske
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Post by Valerie Garske »

I agree the setting was lacking. There was so much opportunity to give the book depth. Perhaps the author wanted us to use our imagination, but I needed more. The book would have been better if the school was described, explain the energy surrounding it. Describe the oldest town. Give me a sense of the environment. Where were the teachers, what did they wear. The setting was thin for sure.
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Post by José Cortez »

I agree with you. I felt aloof most of the times. It was frustrating. I felt the author should have dedicated more time and energy to giving a more real picture of the environments. I love being drawn into the story and scenes. This book didn't do it for me.
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Post by Ekezie1998 »

When describing settings, I believe that authors should put in more effort to show rather than tell. To this end, the main senses of sight and smell must be engaged. I did not get this feeling with Cornelia High.
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Post by Anthonio042 »

Although I had already read a book that depicted a similar scene, I still agreed with your point of view. The author's purpose is to thoroughly engage the audience with a well-written and detailed description of the settings, and it’s apparent that it was not satisfactorily adhered to. However, I can't ignore the book's overall feat because I get the impression the author paid close attention to the plot.
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Post by Eunice Geres »

I found the introduction quite lacking in terms of description, but as the story goes one, the author managed to set the vibe quite well.
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Post by SnowStorm244 »

I found it very difficult to imagine the atmosphere of storyline. I made it incredibly hard to connect with the characters since I was too focus on trying to build a world with not much details to go on.
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Post by Ochieng Omuodo »

I agree that the portrayal of the school leaves something to be desired. The author starts out well introducing the centuries old school. She also describes the basic characters in some detail: not just Cecilia, but Sebastian and Alexander, for example. So it is surprising that the school itself is given short shrift. Also, in this case, Cornelia high is something of a sanctuary for Cecilia, is it not? One would think it would deserve more importance as a moulding mechanism for her development as a person quite apart from her satanic heritage.
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Post by Owuamanam Eberechukwu »

I feel the author choosing to set the narration in a high school is appropriate. Any teenager that wishes to have a feel or interactions with the human specie can best do that in a high school. More so, pointing out the dynamic features of the school makes the storyline logical. However, the description of the school is not rich enough for the princess of hell to choose. The school should bear more sophisticated attributes that fits the princess of hell.
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