Reviews

Valentine Crow and Mr Death by Jenni Spangler

yselle's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

10lewis2011's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

sabrinabutt's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful slow-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

charlottesomewhere's review against another edition

emotional funny tense

Valentine gets accidentally apprenticed to death and soon has to reap his best friend's soul and it all goes wrong. He tries to fix it but it just gets worse. 
This book made me cackle out loud multiple times. I loved the interludes between chapters particularly the fruit tree and the death jokes.  
Some of the most gorgeous writing about souls and kindred spirits I've ever read. 
I loved this one. 

lout2325's review

dark emotional funny hopeful

5.0

nevermoregothic's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Child death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

lubleu's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Upon finishing his upbringing at the Foundling Hospital, twelve-year-old Valentine Crow and his friend, Philomena, are old enough to leave and become apprentices to the trades of London. While everyone else finds respectable positions, Valentine is shockingly assigned to Death, to become an apprentice reaper. 

‘Humans are good at ignoring death. They have to be, or they’d never get anything done.’ p15

This book perfectly understands that it may well be primarily enjoyed by children, but that doesn't mean it needs to oversimplify the points it's making. Children will understand. It explores morality- it discusses good behaviour purely for the sake of being nice (the intrinsic over the extrinsic)- but it adds nuance, offering the concept of reasons, not excuses. 

'...is it fair to punish people for every mistake they make? Most people are trying their best, you know. It's a hard world out there.' p139

It also knows that every idea is best portrayed in humour.

‘I think it’s about learning. Not getting it right. But trying. And pushing yourself to be better every time. It’s like an artist sketching then layering up the paint bit by bit, making mistakes, going over them, making the painting better, selling it for a lot of money, spending the money on more paint, dying before you use it…’
‘Huh?’
‘Sorry. I picked up the soul of an artist this afternoon. He didn’t half make a fuss about wasted paint.’ p140

The story is consistently laugh-out-loud funny. With the delightful, add-in pages showing how to care for a human and the charming wit of Death, it's a thoroughly entertaining read for children and adults alike. It uses this light tone to personify and explore the concept of death, taking inspiration from other countries and cultures to create a rich world from a difficult subject matter. Also, the nods to Alice in Wonderland are fun. 

There is the occasional issue, like the use of singular verbs in speech (there's instead of there are); it's a small thing, but, from an educational standpoint, is an irritation. Children learn much of their formal understanding of written language from seeing it in print and, as in this case it isn't linked to character, it would have been nicer for this not to have occurred. Granted, however, this wouldn't even be noticed by most readers. 

Likewise, there are inconsistencies in the narrative. Such as, it states that a month has passed but then remarks on it only having been four days, and it mentions the adults being able to see Death at the hospital but doesn't explain why. The premise is unclear on this; is Valentine assigned to Death because of a spelling mistake or it is part of his plan? Again, just an adult reader noticing these (very) small details. 

Despite saying all of this, the book is divine. It would be a beautiful addition to a classroom library, or to help children comprehend the challenges of loss. It's also a fantastic world that shows another side to the Victorian orphan narrative. 

Simply, this should become part of the blueprint for children's literature.