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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I think this is for a younger audience than I to be fair. Still a fun little story
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like the magic system and the adults in the story. Sadly I don’t like Rosa and how gullible and naive she was to not tell the adults about it. I hate the crow too but I suppose it’s just a painting and serves a single purpose. Perhaps it’s made for a more younger audience that can relate.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
T. Kingfisher does it again, confirming her recent but certain spot as one of my all-time favorite authors. This wasn't even my favorite book of the ones I've read of hers, but it was full of all the whimsy and heart that her books always provide - especially her children's books. I loved the worldbuilding for this and the idea of illuminations. And I loved the friendship between Rosa and Serena, and how different it was from the way it initially seemed at the start of the book.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Rosa Mandolini is part of the famed Mandolini painters, who are known as the greatest painters of magical illuminations in their city. Magical illuminations can do all sorts of things, from keeping mice away from a pantry, to warding off sickness, to purifying water. The family business, Studio Mandolini, is struggling financially, as they're not able to keep up with their peers Studio Magnifico. The youngest member of Studio Magnifico is Rosa's best friend Serena, or she was, until she insulted Rosa and her family.
Rosa does not have her family's skill at illumination; she persistently paints radishes with fangs on them, but they so far have no discernable use, though her family can sense some sort of magic in the paintings.
One day, when a bored Rosa finds and with some difficulty, opens a carefully locked box with a crow illumination painted on it. The painted crow comes to life and squawks that she should never have touched the box as Rosa has unknowing loosed a monster on the city.
Proving Payne the crow right, terrible things start happening, first just at the Mandolini studios: illuminations are defaced and stop working. When the problem grows wider, affecting neighbours and then Serena's home, Rosa knows something has to be done. She and Serena work out their issues, and with Payne advising them, the two end up coming up with a solution to save both illuminations houses.
T.Kingfisher does it again! This was utterly delightful. Rosa is magnificent: she's tough, determined, and kind of the most "normal" in a family of eccentrics. Payne is slow to trust, funny, and too easily distracted by shiny things. I am so glad that Rosa and Serena were able to work through their differences, because a big part of the book was about people working together to solve a big problem. It's a warmhearted story, like Kingfisher's other books with a kid protagonist.
Rosa does not have her family's skill at illumination; she persistently paints radishes with fangs on them, but they so far have no discernable use, though her family can sense some sort of magic in the paintings.
One day, when a bored Rosa finds and with some difficulty, opens a carefully locked box with a crow illumination painted on it. The painted crow comes to life and squawks that she should never have touched the box as Rosa has unknowing loosed a monster on the city.
Proving Payne the crow right, terrible things start happening, first just at the Mandolini studios: illuminations are defaced and stop working. When the problem grows wider, affecting neighbours and then Serena's home, Rosa knows something has to be done. She and Serena work out their issues, and with Payne advising them, the two end up coming up with a solution to save both illuminations houses.
T.Kingfisher does it again! This was utterly delightful. Rosa is magnificent: she's tough, determined, and kind of the most "normal" in a family of eccentrics. Payne is slow to trust, funny, and too easily distracted by shiny things. I am so glad that Rosa and Serena were able to work through their differences, because a big part of the book was about people working together to solve a big problem. It's a warmhearted story, like Kingfisher's other books with a kid protagonist.
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
This was cute! Who doesn't fall in love with fanged raddishes?
Summary: Rosa Mandolini knows in her heart that her family are the greatest painters of magical illuminations in the city. But the eccentric Studio Mandolini has fallen on hard times and the future is no longer certain. While trying to help her family, Rosa discovers a strange magical box protected by a painted crow. But when she finds a way to open the box, she accidentally releases the Scarling, a vicious monster determined to destroy the Mandolini family at any cost. With the aid of her former best friend and a painted crow named Payne, it's up to Rosa to stop the Scarling before it unmakes the magical paintings that keep the city running, and hopefully save her family in the process!
Summary: Rosa Mandolini knows in her heart that her family are the greatest painters of magical illuminations in the city. But the eccentric Studio Mandolini has fallen on hard times and the future is no longer certain. While trying to help her family, Rosa discovers a strange magical box protected by a painted crow. But when she finds a way to open the box, she accidentally releases the Scarling, a vicious monster determined to destroy the Mandolini family at any cost. With the aid of her former best friend and a painted crow named Payne, it's up to Rosa to stop the Scarling before it unmakes the magical paintings that keep the city running, and hopefully save her family in the process!