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compund_reader's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
aerdella's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Childhood favorite, fun to re-read but it wasn't anything special
dreamwritten's review against another edition
4.0
This rating is for the entire series until I get a chance to reread it and go book-by-book. All I can say is, I remember when I first got into this series at 13--despite being for 5th grade readers, I loved it! It was fun, suspenseful, and just plain weird. My collection is a mix of small softcover, larger softcover, and hardcover because I couldn't wait to get it all in one format. Whatever the bookstore had at the time I needed the next one, that's the one I bought!
samanthas92's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
so much to love with this short book from charactors to animals, does leave you wanting more
mtaltos's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
pgpeach's review against another edition
4.0
Cirque Du Freak. When I received this book from a friend, I did the one thing one must never do. I judged it by it's cover. The cover version I got was David Wyatt's illustration, which, while very appealing and sells the horror of the book very well, felt like it was aiming for a younger audience than myself.
Which is true, since the writing isn't complex, and sticks to simple descriptions. It's about two hundred pages long, and when I started it, I wasn't expecting much. I almost stopped reading it after chapter twelve, after Steve realises Mr Crepsley is Vur Horston, though I'm unsure why. Perhaps I thought it was getting predictable, and it just wasn't for me. Boy, was I wrong!
The name, Cirque Du Freak, almost completely misleads the reader. It's not really about the Freak Show, that's just the build-up to the main story piece - Steve getting bitten, and Darren becoming a vampire. I found myself sympathising quite a lot with Darren, but at other points I wanted to give him a bit of a slap, since he didn't tell anybody who could help about vital situations, and him stealing Madam Octa seemed like such a bad idea, I seriously don't know how he overlooked the massive amount of errors in his plan, and the amount of trouble he would've gotten into if he got caught.
However, I did enjoy it. I was planning on giving the book a three star rating, but then I got to the sequence with Darren pretending to be dead, and the count hopped up to four. Every so often I try to picture myself gone and others mourning for me, or someone who is dear to me gone and me mourning for them, and I would nearly cry at just the thought. Watching Darren going through what would be one of my biggest fears made me start tearing up, and left me feeling very raw, which felt much more like the horror then the woman getting her hand bitten off or Steve almost dying.
The the book is selling itself as horror for younger children, and I would agree it does it well. If I was younger, I would have loved these. The entire build-up the Darren's faked death and then the funeral and mourning had me genuinely upset and left me feeling how a horror story should leave a person. And for that, it's getting four stars.
Which is true, since the writing isn't complex, and sticks to simple descriptions. It's about two hundred pages long, and when I started it, I wasn't expecting much. I almost stopped reading it after chapter twelve, after Steve realises Mr Crepsley is Vur Horston, though I'm unsure why. Perhaps I thought it was getting predictable, and it just wasn't for me. Boy, was I wrong!
The name, Cirque Du Freak, almost completely misleads the reader. It's not really about the Freak Show, that's just the build-up to the main story piece - Steve getting bitten, and Darren becoming a vampire. I found myself sympathising quite a lot with Darren, but at other points I wanted to give him a bit of a slap, since he didn't tell anybody who could help about vital situations, and him stealing Madam Octa seemed like such a bad idea, I seriously don't know how he overlooked the massive amount of errors in his plan, and the amount of trouble he would've gotten into if he got caught.
However, I did enjoy it. I was planning on giving the book a three star rating, but then I got to the sequence with Darren pretending to be dead, and the count hopped up to four. Every so often I try to picture myself gone and others mourning for me, or someone who is dear to me gone and me mourning for them, and I would nearly cry at just the thought. Watching Darren going through what would be one of my biggest fears made me start tearing up, and left me feeling very raw, which felt much more like the horror then the woman getting her hand bitten off or Steve almost dying.
The the book is selling itself as horror for younger children, and I would agree it does it well. If I was younger, I would have loved these. The entire build-up the Darren's faked death and then the funeral and mourning had me genuinely upset and left me feeling how a horror story should leave a person. And for that, it's getting four stars.
coutures1513's review against another edition
4.0
Évidemment, je ne suis pas le public cible pour ce roman. Par contre, cela ne m'a pas empêché de grandement l'apprécié! J'ai trouvé que ce roman n'abordait pas des thèmes qui le sont fréquemment dans les livres pour enfants/jeunes ados (Il est classé 9 ans et plus, le personnage principal a 12 ans dans le 1er livre). On y aborde de manière plus ou moins subtile pour un enfant (mais assez évident pour un adulte), les impacts et conséquences de mentir, de voler et d'écouter aux portes. Il va sans dire que ce roman véhicule aussi de belles valeurs: le don de soi, l'amitié et la famille. Malgré que le titre du roman soit un assez grand prédicteur de ce qui va se dérouler, certains passages ont réussi à me surprendre. Je vais certainement lire la suite.
solumluna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
imaginathan2000's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
vhenderson93's review against another edition
4.0
Most definitely not the usual book I'd read but after watching "The Vampire's Assistant" that left me wanting more, I HAD to check out the series. Read this in one night and enjoyed it. The book and movie are equally good. It is creepy and a little gross in some parts. If reading about spiders crawling on people makes you uncomfortable, you want to skip this. I shivered a few times.
4 stars. Would have been a 4.5-5 if not for the language. I personally don't mind the violence.
Content warnings: mild language, blood, scary scenes, poor home life. A woman's arm is bitten off by a wolfman.
4 stars. Would have been a 4.5-5 if not for the language. I personally don't mind the violence.
Content warnings: mild language, blood, scary scenes, poor home life. A woman's arm is bitten off by a wolfman.