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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
very fun and whimsical! the characters are fantastically unique and fun to read about and i’m super excited to read more!
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A melancholic coming-of-age, murder-mystery, fairy tale set at a boarding school for those who have been magically touched--this book has everything I look for on a cool October evening. Nancy and the other inhabitants of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children are haunted by longing for what has been and might never be again. These students are encouraged to find comfort in one another, but how can they when there's a killer on the loose? McGuire leans into setting, place, and characters that feel out of this world, but struggling with feelings that would ring true to any reader. Highly recommend.
While I gave this book 3 stars, it was a 2 star read for me. The last star was for the writing style, which I liked, and the LGBT representation -- even if it felt like a token in the case of some characters.
I wasn't crazy about this book because it felt incomplete and tried to achieve too much for a novella. Even though the story's premise was a good one, the identity of the killer was no mystery. It felt as if the author didn't put enough hard work in deciding who the killer would be.
Hope the second one is better!
This book was excellent; I'm glad that my middle school faculty colleagues decided to read this as our first book club book of the school year. What if the children who go into the Wonderlands and Narnias come back to our world and can't find their ways back to their "true" homes? (Ok, maybe not Narnia, since McGuire explicitly says Narnia is fiction, even in the book's universe.)
I know there are other books in this series, but I can't get over the fascinating worlds that AREN'T developed in this book. I want to know what all of the different worlds are that these kids lived in. This is no Mrs. Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children, as some people in my book club feared this book would be a clone of. Sure, some kids have some magical abilities, but not in the world-altering sense. No, this is a book about a place kids who are forced back into our world from worlds that better suit them.
Which leads me to my other point. I want to know about those other worlds. I know other booksin the series delve into two of those worlds, but there are so many possibilities out there... I feel like we need to experience them all!
The last point I want to mention is the inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes in the book. The main protagonist identifies as asexual, and McGuire does a decent job of explaining how Nancy sees relationships. Kudos also in discussing Kade's FTM transition. And other than one judgement near the end of the book, the other characters seem very accepting. But the sexualities of the characters aren't overly important to the plot... Which is refreshing, considering how often LGBTQ+ themes are thrown in to be vital cornerstones of the plot. Instead, these kids are just... kids. Their identities (sexual, romantic, and other-worldly) are important only inasmuch as they are actors in the progression of the plot.
I know there are other books in this series, but I can't get over the fascinating worlds that AREN'T developed in this book. I want to know what all of the different worlds are that these kids lived in. This is no Mrs. Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children, as some people in my book club feared this book would be a clone of. Sure, some kids have some magical abilities, but not in the world-altering sense. No, this is a book about a place kids who are forced back into our world from worlds that better suit them.
Which leads me to my other point. I want to know about those other worlds. I know other booksin the series delve into two of those worlds, but there are so many possibilities out there... I feel like we need to experience them all!
The last point I want to mention is the inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes in the book. The main protagonist identifies as asexual, and McGuire does a decent job of explaining how Nancy sees relationships. Kudos also in discussing Kade's FTM transition. And other than one judgement near the end of the book, the other characters seem very accepting. But the sexualities of the characters aren't overly important to the plot... Which is refreshing, considering how often LGBTQ+ themes are thrown in to be vital cornerstones of the plot. Instead, these kids are just... kids. Their identities (sexual, romantic, and other-worldly) are important only inasmuch as they are actors in the progression of the plot.
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a good book and I would definitely recommend picking it up, but god it was strange. I was more interested in the different worlds than the story itself and I wonder why the author chose to tell the story this way. I just want to know more about the world.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced