Scan barcode
lmn9812's review
4.0
This book, put simply, is magical. It is beautifully written and although it addresses issues like death and ghosts Oliver manages to write them in a way that is suitable, and comforting to those reading. At the end of the book she explains that the idea for Liesl and Po came after she lost a friend, and there is definite loss in Liesl and Po - with Liesl losing her father, Po losing his connection with the living and Will losing his childhood to the Alchemist. Loss, and especially involving death is a very difficult thing to articulate and write in a sensitive, and non offensive way. Oliver does this beautifully, and I think that Liesl and Po would be a great book for children who have lost somebody to help them make sense of this loss in the same way that Liesl does.
Liesl is our main character and at the start of the book is locked in her bedroom by her cruel stepmother when the ghost Po, and his/her (Po has forgetten his/her gender) and his adorable pet Bundle, a dog or cat. She eventually mets Will, who accidentally switched her fathers ashes with a powerful magic. I loved Liesl, she is clever, brave in the face of adversity and determined to put her beloved father to rest in the right way.
The plot was very simple. There was no mysery or twists or turns, from the beginning I pretty much knew what was going to happen. This, I think was the one drawback of the book although younger readers mind not as mind it as much as I did. That being said, the word that springs to mind whilst discribing Liesl and Po is classic. The evil stepmother, being locked in a tower, magic and a Lady Premier that is after it at all costs. It had elements of classic fairytales in it. This I loved, it added to Liesl and Po's whimsical nature and I absolutely love fairytaleesque books!
Liesl and Po is a charming novel, full of lovable characters and a delighfully written prose by Lauren Oliver. As much as I loved Delirium and Pandemonium I hope she decides to delve into middle grade again. A great, but at times sad novel for children, although I feel that the enduring message of Liesl and Po is hope.
http://bookswritingtea.wordpress.com/
Liesl is our main character and at the start of the book is locked in her bedroom by her cruel stepmother when the ghost Po, and his/her (Po has forgetten his/her gender) and his adorable pet Bundle, a dog or cat. She eventually mets Will, who accidentally switched her fathers ashes with a powerful magic. I loved Liesl, she is clever, brave in the face of adversity and determined to put her beloved father to rest in the right way.
The plot was very simple. There was no mysery or twists or turns, from the beginning I pretty much knew what was going to happen. This, I think was the one drawback of the book although younger readers mind not as mind it as much as I did. That being said, the word that springs to mind whilst discribing Liesl and Po is classic. The evil stepmother, being locked in a tower, magic and a Lady Premier that is after it at all costs. It had elements of classic fairytales in it. This I loved, it added to Liesl and Po's whimsical nature and I absolutely love fairytaleesque books!
Liesl and Po is a charming novel, full of lovable characters and a delighfully written prose by Lauren Oliver. As much as I loved Delirium and Pandemonium I hope she decides to delve into middle grade again. A great, but at times sad novel for children, although I feel that the enduring message of Liesl and Po is hope.
http://bookswritingtea.wordpress.com/
kymme's review
3.0
Checked this out somehow my mistake, intending a different book to listen to with my daughter. She was super bored but I was interested bough told finish. A cute little ghost story that reminded me a bit of a Neil Gaiman story.
beths0103's review
4.0
Lauren Oliver can weave any story into gold with her hypnotizing prose. While I enjoy her YA books much more than I did this middle grade effort, I do think she can write anything and make it magical. This book had a Roald Dahl feel to it, but, in my opinion, it was much better written. I was never a fan of Roald Dahl (I know, I'm like the only person on earth, right?) but Oliver has the benefit of her beautiful writing to keep readers interested and intrigued. I would compare her to Maggie Stiefvater that way. Even though I'm not always buying what's happening in the story, Maggie lures you in with her magical writing. Lauren Oliver is the exact same way.
Oh, and the audiobook has the added benefit of being narrated by the one and only Jim Dale. How can you go wrong there?
Oh, and the audiobook has the added benefit of being narrated by the one and only Jim Dale. How can you go wrong there?
harasnicole's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like this book should’ve been titled “Liesl & Will,” seeing as you don’t really get a good picture of who or what Po is, even in the end. And also because on the paperback copy that I have, it’s Liesl & Will on the cover, Po nowhere to be seen.
But I did think that this was a cute story about friendship. And the magical elements seemed to be man-made, which was interesting. Some characters I didn’t see the point of, though. Like the old lady from the train who’s so intent on having two children arrested just because she believes everything that’s told to her. She doesn’t add anything to the story other than to just be there and be belligerent about everything.
And Mo. He doesn’t really add anything to the story for me either, tbh.
It was cute to read, but kind of underwhelming too.
But I did think that this was a cute story about friendship. And the magical elements seemed to be man-made, which was interesting. Some characters I didn’t see the point of, though. Like the old lady from the train who’s so intent on having two children arrested just because she believes everything that’s told to her. She doesn’t add anything to the story other than to just be there and be belligerent about everything.
And Mo. He doesn’t really add anything to the story for me either, tbh.
It was cute to read, but kind of underwhelming too.
jameyanne's review
5.0
I really loved this book. It was so beautiful and intricate, and reading it was like solving a puzzle. It was just so great how everything fit together. Also, the audiobook is narrated by Jim Dale, so what more could you want?
withthebanned's review
4.0
Originally reviewed here
Liesl has been locked in the attic by her evil stepmother for 13 months, this was bearable until Liesl’s father died without her getting to say goodbye to him. Now the life that Liesl tolerated has been turned upside down. She doesn’t take pleasure in drawing anymore and is simply “existing” instead of “living.” One night a ghost named Po and its pet named Bundle visit Liesl. These two are not what you would think when you hear the word “ghost,” Po is neither a girl nor a boy and Bundle is neither a cat nor a dog, they simple are. Liesl forms a friendship with these two and they assist her in escaping from her stepmother’s clutches, stealing her father’s ashes and taking off to a town far away so that she can bring her father “home.” As Liesl is living this adventure there is a young boy named Will, the apprentice to an alchemist who has just created the “most powerful magic in the world.” Will has a mission to deliver this magic to someone very important but he misplaces it and there is much confusion that follows. His adventure becomes entwined with Liesl’s adventure and many other characters are thrown into the mix.
Liesl & Po was an absolutely lovely story. Lauren Oliver really has a way with words and I found myself reading parts of the story out loud to people around me because some of the lines from the novel were very thought invoking and all together beautifully written. This story centers around death, neglect and forms of abuse yet the way in which it was written really focused on the hope, love and joy of the characters presented. Some of my favorite parts are the interactions between Liesl and Po. For example, after Po comes back to Liesl with information on her father Liesl is very agitated at Po’s lack of enthusiasm, which he brushes off as him being tired…
“I’m very sorry to hear you are tired,” she said stiffly, her inside voice screaming: Tell me what you know about my dad! Tell me or I’ll kill you again! I’ll make you a double ghost!
“What does that mean? What does it mean to say you’re sorry?”
Liesl groped for words to describe it. “It means – it means what it means. It means that I feel bad. It means that I wish I could make you untired.”
Po flipped upside down and righted itself, still obviously confused. “But why should you wish anything for me?”
“It’s an expression,” Liesl said. Then she thought hard for a minute. “People need other people to feel things for them,” she said. “It gets lonely to feel things all by yourself.”
Oliver hit it right on the nose at that moment for me; misery loves company and so forth. There were many moments like this in the story, the book was well written and it provided a nice backdrop to the middle grade novel with characters so young. It is also important to note that the author wrote this novel after losing someone very close to her and she explains how the story helped her to heal. I have lost someone close to me as well and I have to say that this story shed a new whimsical light on something that cuts deep.
Though there were illustrations that made the physical book very appealing, the audio book is read by Jim Dale and from what I have heard he gives a magnificent performance. This book comes highly recommended it’s a sweet story and overall made me ineffably happy.
Liesl has been locked in the attic by her evil stepmother for 13 months, this was bearable until Liesl’s father died without her getting to say goodbye to him. Now the life that Liesl tolerated has been turned upside down. She doesn’t take pleasure in drawing anymore and is simply “existing” instead of “living.” One night a ghost named Po and its pet named Bundle visit Liesl. These two are not what you would think when you hear the word “ghost,” Po is neither a girl nor a boy and Bundle is neither a cat nor a dog, they simple are. Liesl forms a friendship with these two and they assist her in escaping from her stepmother’s clutches, stealing her father’s ashes and taking off to a town far away so that she can bring her father “home.” As Liesl is living this adventure there is a young boy named Will, the apprentice to an alchemist who has just created the “most powerful magic in the world.” Will has a mission to deliver this magic to someone very important but he misplaces it and there is much confusion that follows. His adventure becomes entwined with Liesl’s adventure and many other characters are thrown into the mix.
Liesl & Po was an absolutely lovely story. Lauren Oliver really has a way with words and I found myself reading parts of the story out loud to people around me because some of the lines from the novel were very thought invoking and all together beautifully written. This story centers around death, neglect and forms of abuse yet the way in which it was written really focused on the hope, love and joy of the characters presented. Some of my favorite parts are the interactions between Liesl and Po. For example, after Po comes back to Liesl with information on her father Liesl is very agitated at Po’s lack of enthusiasm, which he brushes off as him being tired…
“I’m very sorry to hear you are tired,” she said stiffly, her inside voice screaming: Tell me what you know about my dad! Tell me or I’ll kill you again! I’ll make you a double ghost!
“What does that mean? What does it mean to say you’re sorry?”
Liesl groped for words to describe it. “It means – it means what it means. It means that I feel bad. It means that I wish I could make you untired.”
Po flipped upside down and righted itself, still obviously confused. “But why should you wish anything for me?”
“It’s an expression,” Liesl said. Then she thought hard for a minute. “People need other people to feel things for them,” she said. “It gets lonely to feel things all by yourself.”
Oliver hit it right on the nose at that moment for me; misery loves company and so forth. There were many moments like this in the story, the book was well written and it provided a nice backdrop to the middle grade novel with characters so young. It is also important to note that the author wrote this novel after losing someone very close to her and she explains how the story helped her to heal. I have lost someone close to me as well and I have to say that this story shed a new whimsical light on something that cuts deep.
Though there were illustrations that made the physical book very appealing, the audio book is read by Jim Dale and from what I have heard he gives a magnificent performance. This book comes highly recommended it’s a sweet story and overall made me ineffably happy.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
but if you do believe, then you already know all about magic
Just a lyrical fairy tale. It may be middle school writing, but it reminds you about life and love. It's a story about people and their lives when they are tough, but that when we work together we are stronger.
And it is so much more.
You will fall in love with Will, Liesl, Po, Mo, bundle, Lefty and so many more. This is everything a story and adventure should be.
Just a lyrical fairy tale. It may be middle school writing, but it reminds you about life and love. It's a story about people and their lives when they are tough, but that when we work together we are stronger.
And it is so much more.
You will fall in love with Will, Liesl, Po, Mo, bundle, Lefty and so many more. This is everything a story and adventure should be.
lollypopkins225's review
3.0
I had higher hopes for this book. It sounded like such a great slightly supernatural (ghost) story of friendship surpassing boundaries. It is about a ghost (who is both/neither boy or girl) and a girl who become friends which I did like, but couldn't get behind 100%. I liked Liesl and Po but I didn't really buy into their friendship as written since SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER Po seemed so indifferent to Lisel at points until he/she was in the living world more and then Po would back slide somewhat to indifference. There were qualities of this book that I enjoyed and believe a certain type of child, teen or adult would also enjoy it. Unfortunately the qualities I did enjoy were fewer than I expected so I had to only give it 3 stars.
krhansen's review against another edition
3.0
Cute kids book. I so would have enjoied it far more had I read it when I was younger. Makes me wish I had a little person in my life to read it aloud to. Its one of those fun to share reads, in that way.
booksnorkel's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was sweet, dreamy, and sad. This book reminded me of DiCamillo's books. Not quite as heart wrenching, not quite as soul crushingly sad but still sweet and sorrowful. A great little read for 4th grade on up, or a good read aloud to younger children experiencing death.