SECTION 1: URBAN FANTASY BOOKS SIMILAR TO THE ROOK
In The Rook, Myfanwy Thomas suffers from a strange form of amnesia and must piece together who she is and what she’ll do next based on letters she finds that were left behind by her former self. Such letters narrate large parts of the story and guide Myfanwy’s decisions, but how does she know she can trust those letters? In Borderline, Millie suffers from a borderline personality disorder. She seems forthcoming and honest, but given her psychoses, can we trust her perspective?
An additional similarity between these books includes how each book has a clandestine organization of supernatural beings watching over the world that remains ignorant of magic and otherness. Surely, you can argue that The Rook leans more toward the sci-fi, evolution explanation of magic, whereas Borderline clearly states that their otherness comes from the world of the Fae. Still, neither side is eager to go public about "magic."
SECTION 2: MOST POWERFUL THEMES REPRESENTED IN THE ROOK
The main character, Myfanwy Thomas, must choose whether to trust someone who claims to be her previous self, or trust in no one and run. Given that she has no memory yet possesses bizarre superpowers, Myfanwy finds herself in a dangerous situation that becomes more dire as she discovers that her previous self works with a clandestine organization of other super-powered beings. Any one of her coworkers may be responsible for trying to wipe her memories and essentially delete her identity.
With trust as the main theme, O’Malley keeps you guessing at every turn. We as readers don’t even know if we can trust the previous Myfanwy who wrote the letters. O’Malley’s technique throughout the book puts a new twist on the untrustworthy narrator trope and adds an excellent amount of paranoia to an already suspenseful adventure.
SECTION 3: WHAT I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THE ROOK
In the story, we know that her former self, referred to by her last name, Thomas, knew she would lose her memories, so she prepared everything for her new self, Myfanwy, to either act or run away. But my paranoia meter started blaring when Thomas gave Myfanwy the choice to stay or flee. Anyone who says you can just leave with no consequences during such insane circumstances is so gaslighting you! They’re making it appear that you made the choice to stay, and therefore everything is on you, not them.
Granted, waking up with complete amnesia, insane superpowers, and people trying to kill you could make anyone grasp for some semblance of control. The letters left by Thomas provided the perfect lifeline. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same, given the circumstances, but I do believe I would’ve been far more questioning of every letter and motive behind them.
SECTION 4: WHO WILL LOVE AND HATE THE ROOK
Section 5: L. Rigdon’s star rating of The Rook
As if that wasn’t awesome enough, O’Malley’s choice of blending the letter-writing genre with something as suspenseful as this mystery just goes to prove his amazing skills at the craft. Since the main character has amnesia, O’Malley can’t do flashbacks or refer to the character’s knowledge. Instead, he uses letters written by Myfanwy’s former self as a way to educate the main character and the reader. Nevertheless, we, as readers, have no idea if we can trust the letters. For all we know, the original Myfanwy wiped their own brain and created this elaborate ruse. It’s a great way to add layer after layer of suspense and uncertainty that makes the spy craft genre so delightful!