[Informal Review] The Whisper

*review taken from my account on Goodreads

When I read the first of these books, which is The Riverman, I was confused as to why it was categorized along with the books aimed for children. It always had that tone of darkness amidst its idea of kids creating worlds using only their imaginations. That aura didn't recede one bit on this one. Again, Starmer surprised me. What pushed me to give this a five-star (which is amazing considering I gave The Riverman a three, despite its greatness), was because I was made to believe the wrong things as I spent my night flipping through its pages. This book is about Fiona Loomis, of how she was in Aquavania and how Alistair does everything to find her. This is about Chua, and Boaz, and Werner, and all the other kids Fiona has mentioned before. This book is about the Riverman, or the Whisper, and all its names and all its faces at the first sprout of Aquavania. This is about Charlie, of the Charlie before The Whisper and of Charlie during The Whisper. But heck, above all, this book is about Alistair Cleary. This book is about Alistair Cleary and how he finds himself as he finds Fiona. Reading the first few pages of The Whisper was like reading a normal children's book, where our protagonist goes from world to world meeting different characters without losing the hope of finding that one true person who needs his saving. Then I reached the blood part. But that isn't even half of what this book offers. The reason I loved The Whisper is because it is a story within stories. Not even more than a hundred pages and you'll find yourself a heap of stories that goes back and forth, usually interrupting Alistair's, as he goes on about his journey. And then later on, you'll find how each of these little stories connect with each other, along with Alistair's and even Aquavania's own. Here, we'll find more of Aquavania, of the Daydreamer, those who create worlds that make up Aquavania, of figments, of swimmers, and of course, The Whisper. To be perfectly honest, knowing the idea of these books, I didn't think it would have the potential to be as fascinating as what it has turned out to be. A story about kids and their own worlds with a bad guy out to get them is normal for me, but Starmer was able to pull of the greatness in all it. He put in a bit darkness, maybe, for spice, but what he crafted was a mix of stories, emotions, and twists no one can easily think of. Here, the development of characters is more evident as the conditions have gone from bad to worse, as Alistair is placed in a foreign world while his memories from the solid world is thinning and recoiling back to him in the most random times. Here, we get to see Alistair be reminded of all the time Charlie has left clues. Here, we get to see Charlie being more than he is, and how he still leaves clues Alistair easily ignores. Here, we get to see that contentment is not achieved by having too much power. Here, we see that children can be morbid. Here, we see how it's like to be blinded, confused, and helpless. And here, we see that ideas and thoughts are much more powerful than what they seem.

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