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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Glad to have finally read the book that inspired my name.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
No
In two words... Just boring. This was required reading for my school, and I wasn't into it at all.
The language is complex, and super old fashioned and some was even in a different language.
I desperatley wanted to dnf this book... But I couldn't, It was school reading, after all.
CW: A kidnapping, attempted murder, people are afer David's new friend for something, an argument between David and Alan, they almost lose their friendship, alan teases David about a pretty girl, an almost sword fight
Dont let the conetnt warnings fool you. There is almost no action, and its even more boring than it sounds. And that's coming from the girl who's read 100 books in five months...
So you know that it must be pretty bad. The only positive is how clean this was.
The language is complex, and super old fashioned and some was even in a different language.
I desperatley wanted to dnf this book... But I couldn't, It was school reading, after all.
CW: A kidnapping, attempted murder, people are afer David's new friend for something, an argument between David and Alan, they almost lose their friendship, alan teases David about a pretty girl, an almost sword fight
Dont let the conetnt warnings fool you. There is almost no action, and its even more boring than it sounds. And that's coming from the girl who's read 100 books in five months...
So you know that it must be pretty bad. The only positive is how clean this was.
This story had a lot of potential. I was interested in the plight of the protagonist and thought the beginning and ending were done well. Just the middle was what dragged on. It took me a while to read this book because of the slow pace of some of those chapters. I read it out loud to make it interesting, reading in a fake Scottish accent! You might like it if you like stories of revenge and redemption or about fugitives or pirates. It wasn't bad, I was just expecting more.
Fun adventure, short and sweet, but I didn't really feel much of a connection to the characters.
I'd probably give this 3.5 stars. I love historical fiction in all forms. The fact that it takes place in Scotland is even better. I was seriously doubting the intelligence of David Balfour for most of the book, but I'm pretty sure he just has the worst luck.
So I don't like this as much as remembered. David & Alan are still definitely shippable, and adventures on the Scottish Highlands & shipwrecks and family secrets are all still fun, but I wish there was a bit more depth? (ok and maybe a little less calling each other "pretty lads" and more smooching)
There's the predictable lack of female characters, but at least when Stevenson does include women they're interesting and independent. IE - In this book, the only woman to get any real page time is young barmaid who sneaks out her window and steals a boat to help David get to Edinburgh because she feels so damn sorry for him.
There's the predictable lack of female characters, but at least when Stevenson does include women they're interesting and independent. IE - In this book, the only woman to get any real page time is young barmaid who sneaks out her window and steals a boat to help David get to Edinburgh because she feels so damn sorry for him.
This book appeals to me anyway because it's the only historical fiction I've read that's this specific to Scotland, but the action is also engaging and David and Alan's friendship is even more poignant than I remembered. Apart from the lack of women, it holds up quite well, although having a map in this edition was very useful and I'd recommend reading a bit about 1700s Scotland if you're not familiar with the general context - I wasn't either. Otherwise I found it an accessible and fun read (it's always nice to see Scots dialect and descriptions of places I know done well) and it left me wanting to read the sequel soon!