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shippy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.75
a_robin_reads's review against another edition
Audiobook quality was not very good. Narrator is female, but MC is a boy. Felt like a very weird choice and I got confused about it. Another children's book where a parent is dead, done with that.
laura1980458's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.5
emmanovella's review
3.0
This was a fun middle grade that felt really reminiscent of the books I read as a child, just fun and magic and like a fairytale.
floneill's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.5
Finished reading: June 6th 2023
“Dad used to say that in books, authors leave pieces of themselves behind for others to find.”
I needed a book with dragons for the Beat The Backlist Bingo challenge, and I decided to pick up The Dragon In The Bookshop. I know that I hardly read MG anymore, but I liked the sound of the blurb and the Polish setting. I was a bit surprised by just how slow going the start of this story was, and it took longer than expected for it to fully capture my attention. The blurb already hints at this, but the first part of the story is mainly about Konrad grieving the death of his father and being unable to speak. The way this was described made it hard to get a proper feel for Konrad, and it took some time warming up to him. Things improved when Maya was introduced, but it wasn't until the story switched from the UK to Poland that the plot really became interesting. I loved the incorporation of the legend of the Wawel dragon as well as the time travel element with the characters traveling back in time to that era. I visited the Wawel castle myself while in Krakow back in 2018, and the story brought back great memories! I do have to say that the character development itself was kind of flat, and I kept wondering if the target group would be invested enough in the story to actually make it to the truly interesting part. That said, the part set in Krakow was absolutely fantastic, and I can recommend The Dragon In The Bookshop for the legend, time travel and bookish element alone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Bullying, and Ableism
faefolkreads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
<I>”People leave parts of themselves behind in the things and people they love.”</i>
This was a sweet middle grade adventure about finding yourself and learning to accept the help and support from those around you.
After his father passes away suddenly, Kon loses his ability to speak. He feels trapped and lost and can’t find the words to express himself anymore. One day when he is exploring the coast, he bumps into Maya, who’s chatter and acceptance begins to fill the space inside him, wanting to once more share his passions. So, after months of silence, he invites her to the place that reminds him of his father- his dads bookshop. When there, he opens and old book of fairytales and suddenly they find themselves within the story, in a medieval town that’s being terrorised by a dragon, and only they have the ability to save the town, which they must do before they get sent back to their world.
I found this quite an easy adventurous story, but it seemed to lack character depth. The characters all seemed very flat, and the story felt very convenient without needing much character input. It would have been nice to see Maya open up a bit more, and Kon deal with his grief rather then just shout in rage and then be okay?
I struggled slightly to place the age range for this story too, as the themes seemed to be aimed at 9+, but the lack of detail and depth in the story made it feel like a younger read 7+
But despite the hiccups, it was still and easy adventure I’m sure many will enjoy.
*** thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review ***
This was a sweet middle grade adventure about finding yourself and learning to accept the help and support from those around you.
After his father passes away suddenly, Kon loses his ability to speak. He feels trapped and lost and can’t find the words to express himself anymore. One day when he is exploring the coast, he bumps into Maya, who’s chatter and acceptance begins to fill the space inside him, wanting to once more share his passions. So, after months of silence, he invites her to the place that reminds him of his father- his dads bookshop. When there, he opens and old book of fairytales and suddenly they find themselves within the story, in a medieval town that’s being terrorised by a dragon, and only they have the ability to save the town, which they must do before they get sent back to their world.
I found this quite an easy adventurous story, but it seemed to lack character depth. The characters all seemed very flat, and the story felt very convenient without needing much character input. It would have been nice to see Maya open up a bit more, and Kon deal with his grief rather then just shout in rage and then be okay?
I struggled slightly to place the age range for this story too, as the themes seemed to be aimed at 9+, but the lack of detail and depth in the story made it feel like a younger read 7+
But despite the hiccups, it was still and easy adventure I’m sure many will enjoy.
*** thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review ***
darth_lil's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jennietee93's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0