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spiritedstardust's review
4.0
Grief and forgiveness and healing are big themes.
The swamp, creatures and kids were wonderful.
The swamp, creatures and kids were wonderful.
womanon's review
3.0
This was a lovely and quick middle grade read. I adored the story, but unfortunately the characters didn't really speak to me, which made it hard for me to get in. All in all still a good read.
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
3.25
Set in a place similar to the Everglades in Florida, this is the story of a family growing up in a lush swamp.. where the crocodiles are dragons and the mosquitos are pixies. Two best friends are starting to get to an age where they fear they might start going in different directions, and they both realise that there is a bit more distance forming between them. Their lives have been intertwined, as their parents and younger brothers are all friends, but Larkin is expecting to receive the gift of magic like her mother before her, and Cordelia wonders if she will ever be able to compete...
Unexpectedly there is a terrible loss in the family. One of the girls' parents dies and life is complicated still further by attacks of magical creatures upon their remote town. The children form a plan to try and heal the curse that they feel upon the Glades, and they journey to seek help in their quest. As they make their way across the swamp by raft, they encounter many dangers, one of which is the strain upon their friendship.
I felt like the book ran a little slow, but could be good for 12 year old readers. Anything with communing with dragons gets a little plus in my book, and some of the humour in it is silly.. but the core of the book is really about processing grief and working on friendships through conscious effort. It's not really preachy about it though.
The whole thing felt like a good idea in concept, but was just, ok.. it wasn't a waste of time to read, but could have been better, and parts of it dragged and were very mundane.
Unexpectedly there is a terrible loss in the family. One of the girls' parents dies and life is complicated still further by attacks of magical creatures upon their remote town. The children form a plan to try and heal the curse that they feel upon the Glades, and they journey to seek help in their quest. As they make their way across the swamp by raft, they encounter many dangers, one of which is the strain upon their friendship.
I felt like the book ran a little slow, but could be good for 12 year old readers. Anything with communing with dragons gets a little plus in my book, and some of the humour in it is silly.. but the core of the book is really about processing grief and working on friendships through conscious effort. It's not really preachy about it though.
The whole thing felt like a good idea in concept, but was just, ok.. it wasn't a waste of time to read, but could have been better, and parts of it dragged and were very mundane.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
elizajaquays's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mindyleereads's review
Just not in a space to read about grief of losing a father from a kids perspective
librarydragonfly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
teaandspite's review
2.0
This was not quite bad enough to warrant a single star, but it was a very close call. Let's put it this way: the characters are so interchangable that even the author and publishers mix them up multiple times. (This is easily noticeable because, for instance, suddenly the boy without magic will be talking about how he'll use his magic.)
In terms of plot, it was fine. Cordelia's development at the climax then gets ignored for the rest of the book which is annoying. The story is so generally bleh though that I couldn't bring myself to care as much as I would with a better book.
In terms of plot, it was fine. Cordelia's development at the climax then gets ignored for the rest of the book which is annoying. The story is so generally bleh though that I couldn't bring myself to care as much as I would with a better book.