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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Very fun, lighthearted middle grade fantasy book with creative painterly magic
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75/5
Another fun and delightful read from Kingfisher that I devoured in only a couple hours thanks to her easy to read writing style and the rather simple but fun plot of magical paintings and an evil mandrake root that brings to life equally evil scribbles and a 10 year old girl’s journey to stop them. I do feel that this would have been better suited being published under her other pen name Ursula Vernon, where she writes her younger fiction as this is undoubtedly a middle grade children’s fantasy book, but nonetheless i still really enjoyed it and especially the way she handles the relationships of the characters.
Another fun and delightful read from Kingfisher that I devoured in only a couple hours thanks to her easy to read writing style and the rather simple but fun plot of magical paintings and an evil mandrake root that brings to life equally evil scribbles and a 10 year old girl’s journey to stop them. I do feel that this would have been better suited being published under her other pen name Ursula Vernon, where she writes her younger fiction as this is undoubtedly a middle grade children’s fantasy book, but nonetheless i still really enjoyed it and especially the way she handles the relationships of the characters.
Very delightful and fun - I mean, sentient radishes: what's not to like? I haven't yet met a Kingfisher book that I didn't enjoy thoroughly. I particularly appreciated the family dynamics and the relationship between Rosa and her friend Serena. My only quibble is quite a resemblance to Diana Wynne Jones's The Magicians of Caprona, even to the Italianate setting. The plot is completely different, but the basic premise of families of magic makers and even to some extent the magic system, is very similar. I'd be interested to know if others felt the same.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I picked up this book because I trusted T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) to offer up a soothing read, and that is exactly what I got. This book could have been marketed as a middle grades story, but wasn't. It works perfectly well for an adult reader, however. It follows the story of Rosa, a tween trying to find her place in her family of magical artists, while also navigating a magical mess she had a hand in accidentally causing. Each character has a distinct voice, many of them feel neurodivergent in a variety of ways, and all of them come across as well-meaning and loveable. And the setting and the plot were great as well!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes