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kblincoln's review
4.0
Cloaks reads to me sort of like a middle grade adventure tale-- albeit with slightly more graphic knife fights and oblique references to a harem.
Bess goes after a lost baseball into a reclusive neighbor's basement and finds a portal to another world-- pseudo medieval European world with the added bonus of a ruling society of faster, stronger, humans who were created by a race of people who came there from yet another portal and then disappeared, leaving their soldier-creations to a brutal reign of the indigenous people. They steal daughters, stuff them into harems in fortified Citadels, and basically have the power to kill anyone they want with no repercussions.
So Bess gets into trouble right away with the quistrils (the soldiers) and ends up being tossed in dungeons and plotting to escape.
The first half of the book was quite fun-- I really like Bess' POV and adventures when she first goes to the Otherworld, figures out their weird English accent, gets tossed in the dungeon and escapes . Despite her somewhat "older" and "boyish" feeling for me, as a pure adventure tale it was fun.
The other half of the book, more or less concentrating on the quistrils and their politics and how they deal with Bess' shenanigans was a bit more tangled and less satisfying as an adventure tale. There's a lot of plotting and re-plotting which isn't my cup of tea. And while the end put a focus on Bess' emotional attachment to a new friend, it fell a little flat for me. I lay thinking about why after I finished the book, and I guess it was because I knew so little of Bess' and the other persons' emotional holes that I couldn't quite conceive of how they were filling in the emotional needs of the other person.
Still, as a straight-up adventure tale featuring a world ruled by men and boys in their own special solider club fraternity, very fun. Just be aware the knife fighting is a tad graphic at times, although I thought that made the action more startling real-- might be more than startling for a middle grade reader.
Bess goes after a lost baseball into a reclusive neighbor's basement and finds a portal to another world-- pseudo medieval European world with the added bonus of a ruling society of faster, stronger, humans who were created by a race of people who came there from yet another portal and then disappeared, leaving their soldier-creations to a brutal reign of the indigenous people. They steal daughters, stuff them into harems in fortified Citadels, and basically have the power to kill anyone they want with no repercussions.
So Bess gets into trouble right away with the quistrils (the soldiers) and ends up being tossed in dungeons and plotting to escape.
The first half of the book was quite fun-- I really like Bess' POV and adventures when she first goes to the Otherworld, figures out their weird English accent, gets tossed in the dungeon and escapes . Despite her somewhat "older" and "boyish" feeling for me, as a pure adventure tale it was fun.
The other half of the book, more or less concentrating on the quistrils and their politics and how they deal with Bess' shenanigans was a bit more tangled and less satisfying as an adventure tale. There's a lot of plotting and re-plotting which isn't my cup of tea. And while the end put a focus on Bess' emotional attachment to a new friend, it fell a little flat for me. I lay thinking about why after I finished the book, and I guess it was because I knew so little of Bess' and the other persons' emotional holes that I couldn't quite conceive of how they were filling in the emotional needs of the other person.
Still, as a straight-up adventure tale featuring a world ruled by men and boys in their own special solider club fraternity, very fun. Just be aware the knife fighting is a tad graphic at times, although I thought that made the action more startling real-- might be more than startling for a middle grade reader.
constant2m's review
5.0
Cloaks was an amazing book! It caught my attention from the first line, as my initial thought was “What am I getting myself into!” The characters were extraordinary, but not unbelievable. Bess showed courage and spunk, but also a goodness that inspired others. Her adventure was compelling as she learned to trust others, was driven to repay the kindnesses shown her, and took enormous risks as a result of both. Heldrick was the perfect mysterious character, absolutely amazing! Their adventure was exciting and suspenseful. The interaction between the two worlds was also delightful. And the ending made me cry, as I was incredibly moved by the friendship that had been built between the main characters, and the ways that friendship had changed them both for the better. I recommend this book to teens and adults, or anyone who loves a good and honorable adventure.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
sylvia's review
5.0
I have a soft-spot for portal stories and Cloaks is a shining example of the genre. 15-year-old Bess accidentally discovers a doorway to another world: a dangerous world of quistrils and cadrils. Her confusion swiftly shifts to horror as she realises that she can't just click her heels and end up safe at home. The portal-world is lethal and unfortunately, her existence in it is of great interest to the Citadel. This fast-paced novel ramps up the tension as Bess tries to understand this strange new world she is in and, more importantly, tries to learn how to escape it.
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