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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
I didn't really like it but it expired on my overdrive account before I could finish it and I didn't care enough to check it out again...
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Опитах да бъда позитивно настроен към тази книга, но не мога да пренебрегна големите проблеми, които имах с нея. А те бяха доста. Не мразя тази книга, но не беше много добра.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
At first, Sophie is enchanted by Princess Anna's tales of glittering gray diamonds and wild white wolves. But she soon grows concerned. What is her place in the sinister mystery that surronds the palace? Even as the wind and wolves howl outside, is Sophie in more danger now than she ever was lost in the snow?
The atmosphere in this book felt like a movie as I was reading it.Anna Volkonskaya can get eaten by the wolves. :)
The atmosphere in this book felt like a movie as I was reading it.
fast-paced
I was SO obsessed with this book at like 10 years old...it was not as fantastic as I remembered. I definitely don't remember Delphine being such a genuinely terrible friend but I do remember thinking Dmitri was a hottie... The plot does move almost ridiculously fast but it's a fun concept, & I get why 10 year old me loved it so much, plus the visual of the portrait of the last Volkonsky prince full of bullet holes still eats like I'm sorry that's fantastic I love it
I really liked this book although I predicted the ending right at the beginning. Although I do wish that it was a series because I would love to see the characters develop more.
This book needs the right audience: young(ish) kids. Young enough to be able to suspend belief in how foolish a slightly older kid could be. Wolves and princesses and diamonds I could deal with, but how foolish our main trio of teenage girls were, plus the obviousness of the plot, made it a bit of a let down to me.
It's the story of three girls at a fancy boarding school in London who, through unusual circumstances involving an odd Russian lady, find themselves on a school trip to Saint Petersburg. There they are whisked away by a strange woman who is clearly not their host and dumped miles from anywhere in a snow-covered forest. Sophie Smith is entranced none the less, having had strange dreams of Russia ever since she could remember. So when a man comes to collect them in a sleigh and takes them to a lost princess in a tumbledown palace, she's in her element. They ski and sleigh-ride and explore, but the Princess of Wolves seems to want something from them. Something to do with the lost family diamonds, missing since the fall of the Tsar.
There's something a bit Enid Blyton in the innocence of the characters in this book. It actually made me think it was historical until someone pulled out a phone. Despite being (probably) thirteen, they act much younger. They're so trusting of strangers and accepting of bizarre things (like being thrown off a train in the middle of nowhere) it seems totally unbelievable. Sophie also has a really bad dynamic with her two trope-tastic "friends" - one the snooty upper-class girl who belittles everyone constantly and worries about appearances, and the other a glasses-wearing bookworm who is obsessed with school work and cares nothing for how she looks. How we're supposed to believe they're friends when they're so horribly dysfunctional confused me. Sophie would have been better without them, and the toxic "that's so unfair!" inducing adults around her. I liked how the author tried to instil that message of just because you don't have an obvious special trait doesn't make you worthless by giving Sophie time to establish that she felt distinctly un-special and unloved by the world. That doesn't get her down, even when others try. It's a tad heavy-handed though, what with the whole tragic orphan plus disinterested guardian and foul teachers.
The plot is very simplistic and obvious, yet the characters remain blissfully clueless right until the last second. I felt so bored by it and how silly everyone was acting (some of them full-on panto villain style) that I ended up skim reading after about 50%.
There's a certain charm to the setting and how atmosphere is created, but too many horrible and/or foolish characters hobbled it for me. Much younger readers may appreciate it, provided they can deal with a few scary moments involving a pistol.
It's the story of three girls at a fancy boarding school in London who, through unusual circumstances involving an odd Russian lady, find themselves on a school trip to Saint Petersburg. There they are whisked away by a strange woman who is clearly not their host and dumped miles from anywhere in a snow-covered forest. Sophie Smith is entranced none the less, having had strange dreams of Russia ever since she could remember. So when a man comes to collect them in a sleigh and takes them to a lost princess in a tumbledown palace, she's in her element. They ski and sleigh-ride and explore, but the Princess of Wolves seems to want something from them. Something to do with the lost family diamonds, missing since the fall of the Tsar.
There's something a bit Enid Blyton in the innocence of the characters in this book. It actually made me think it was historical until someone pulled out a phone. Despite being (probably) thirteen, they act much younger. They're so trusting of strangers and accepting of bizarre things (like being thrown off a train in the middle of nowhere) it seems totally unbelievable. Sophie also has a really bad dynamic with her two trope-tastic "friends" - one the snooty upper-class girl who belittles everyone constantly and worries about appearances, and the other a glasses-wearing bookworm who is obsessed with school work and cares nothing for how she looks. How we're supposed to believe they're friends when they're so horribly dysfunctional confused me. Sophie would have been better without them, and the toxic "that's so unfair!" inducing adults around her. I liked how the author tried to instil that message of just because you don't have an obvious special trait doesn't make you worthless by giving Sophie time to establish that she felt distinctly un-special and unloved by the world. That doesn't get her down, even when others try. It's a tad heavy-handed though, what with the whole tragic orphan plus disinterested guardian and foul teachers.
The plot is very simplistic and obvious, yet the characters remain blissfully clueless right until the last second. I felt so bored by it and how silly everyone was acting (some of them full-on panto villain style) that I ended up skim reading after about 50%.
There's a certain charm to the setting and how atmosphere is created, but too many horrible and/or foolish characters hobbled it for me. Much younger readers may appreciate it, provided they can deal with a few scary moments involving a pistol.
I absolutely love this book. yes it is a bit unbelievable but that lets us use our imagination. I love how the main character is so relatable. forme this book was an escape. the minute I started reading it I was right there in the book and out of our dull world.
Characters are poorly written, one dimensional and just dumb. Mostly the three main girls. There is so much lacking in all of the people in this story.
I feel like the base or ‘story board’ was really interesting but was poorly executed.
I get it’s a YA book but that doesn’t mean no depth of characters.
I feel like the base or ‘story board’ was really interesting but was poorly executed.
I get it’s a YA book but that doesn’t mean no depth of characters.