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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
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!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
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
This book was sooo cute and fun and funny and I loved the magic!! The characters were amazing and the story was so freaking fun! I got Encanto and Pixar vibes..like if Pixar made a movie like Encanto but a different plot and different magic. Ok mostly the Encanto vibes were from the MC's family who I loved!!
READ IT!
READ IT!
This was lovely and fun and funny, but it felt like it lacked the emotional complexity of her other middle grade work (e.g. Minor Mage and A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking). I hesitate to call it a "children's book" because I absolutely don't think that children's books lack emotional complexity! -- but this book, in particular, does feel "younger."
For some reason the story did not grab me like her others, and it took me a while to get through it.
Rosa accidentally lets out a "monster" that sucks the magic out of the protective paintings (illuminations). With the help of a painted crow come to life and her best friend can she save her family from the Scarling - monster?
Rosa accidentally lets out a "monster" that sucks the magic out of the protective paintings (illuminations). With the help of a painted crow come to life and her best friend can she save her family from the Scarling - monster?
Rosa’s family are some of the best magical painters in the city. Their paintings help protect homes from fires or theft, or even mice in the pantry. But her family is not as popular as others, and Rosa is worried about them being able to find enough work. In trying to think of ways she can help, she stumbles on a strange box in the basement that she hopes is filled with treasure. But instead, it has a magical monster created by one of her distant ancestors and the monster wants its revenge on the family. With the help of a painted crow that was protecting the box, Rosa must find a way to capture the monster before it causes too much damage. But she might need help from a friend and her family first.
This was a very cute mid-grade story about family helping each other and about finding one’s own talent. The world-building is great, and the characters are very relatable. It drags a little in the middle, but it’s really good for a mid-grade book.
This was a very cute mid-grade story about family helping each other and about finding one’s own talent. The world-building is great, and the characters are very relatable. It drags a little in the middle, but it’s really good for a mid-grade book.
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Loved everything about this story…. Other than, maybe, that it ended so soon. But it ended where/when it should have, so my complaints are just really whining.