Having had this blog and reviewed almost 500 books for close to fifteen years, I’ve realized my favorite stories are coming-of-age stories. I cannot pinpoint exactly why coming of age stories pique my interest the most as a reader. But they do.

Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma is another coming-of-age story that got my attention, and I believe other readers should give it a chance. The story is about Gideon Belman, a young boy, who must leave the city of Bath, England, with his family since his father couldn’t make a sustainable living. Gideon and his family end up at a place called Ormesleep Farm. Ormesleep Farm is partially owned by Gideon’s uncle, Thomas Belman. Thomas greeted Gideon and his parents at the farm, but the family secret Gideon learned would change the course of their lives.

I will admit that I had a sense of what was going to happen in the story’s denouement, but it did not take my enjoyment away from the story. I felt that Thomas, who was the antagonist, lacked complexity, and I would have preferred more exchanges between him and Gideon to highlight how he matured in facing the family secret.

I could see readers thinking that the choice that the author made to resolve the story would not be as nuanced as it could have been. I have stated that the novella is the best form to tell a story in prose fiction. Reading Ormeshadow strengthens that belief, even if I thought another twenty to thirty pages could have rounded out the novella some more.

Even with its flaws, Ormeshadow, a literary fantasy novella, will probably be one of my top reads in 2025. My favorite books are those that, while imperfect, strive for originality in their narratives, Priya Sharma merits acknowledgement in this regard. I will look forward to seeing what she writes next, and if it’s another coming of age novella, I’m down for it.