Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist

The admission of guilt from the outset of Helena (Lena) Gereghty set the stage for this creepy book.  Often when a book calls itself “gothic”, I find myself disappointed by the lack of darkness.  When I first started reading Lena’s story, I was worried I’d be disappointed.  I was not disappointed, I was blown away.  Lena descends into a darkness that was mesmerizing and inspirational at the same time.  She becomes a “physician’s assistant”  for the famous Verdeaus family empire.  Although she’s supposed to be helping care for the sickly son 

Jonathan, her real job is to help the self-destructive party guests at Arrow’s Edge.  I loved the spooky aura created at Arrow’s Edge.  The secrets Lena learns not just about what occurs at Arrow’s Edge but also about the patriarch, Martin, help the darkness engulf Lena.  It makes Lena perfectly flawed, lovable, and frustrating.  The tie-in of Lena’s work with her Aunt in botany was the bitter chocolate icing on a too-rich cake.  I really enjoyed how you’d turn a page and bam Lena would be making a rash decision almost like a mad scientist.  I loved the use of nature as poison and plants to go up against the debaucherous nurtured sinful, rich people.  The explanation and reveals in the ending were a little off for me but I think I just need to reread it to understand the connections better.  I also loved how the title actually revealed itself in the storyline.  Although the plot lines and twists weren’t perfect, this was a great read for me.  

“A trip was a trip, and whatever didn’t kill them made them invincible. They lived in their own heaven, their own arcadia, where nothing, not even death, could touch them. Nothing except for me.”