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penofpossibilities's review against another edition
I only read up until page 41 of 438, so this review will only be about those first few chapters. But oh man, is there alot to unpack...
Let's start with plot. I was not going in with very high expectations, thinking it would be a fun story for children with probably some clichéd but charming elements. The general plot, however, is just a blatant rip off of some other similar storylines, the most obviously noticeable one being the tv show once upon a time. I looked it up, and the first season came out in 2011 whereas this book came out one year later. It's painfully obviously and disrespectfully plagiarized and the fact that the author didn't even have a crumb of imagination for himself just makes me wonder why he felt inclined to write this book, but oh well.
His writing skill, at that, is also non-existent. The writing is worse than that of any 8 year old I've ever read. The author really took some commonly used tropes and phrases and wrote those down without any nuance or even, so it seemed to me, without any reason. He didn't seem to have a grasp on his own goal with the story. The writing is uncreative, uninspired and dryer than cereal without milk.
The worst part about all of it are the characters though. It is as if the author has never interacted with an 11 year old in his life, and his depiction of a mother is also way off. The next part angered me the most because *spoilers* the dad died in a car accident a few months (a year ?) before the story takes place and the children and mom are obviously grieving his loss. They are described as a happy family, very close with each other, so their pain would be enormous.
However... the author doesn't seem to know what it's like to lose a parent or spouse (good for him but -) and wrote incredibly insensitive things, which also make absolutely no sense in the context he was trying to bring across.
*Trigger warning: psychological and emotional child abuse, gaslighting, parental abuse*
One of the twins seems to have problems sleeping since their dad died, and constantly falls asleep in class etc. His mother, instead of being concerned, gets angry and scolds him. (Here are some things she says: *when being told that he fell asleep in class again* "oh Connor, not again. What are we going to do with you?" As she is shaking her head in disappointment. Then she goes on to guilttrip him because lot's of children can't go to school and he should be lucky to go!) This would make sense if the mother was described to us as an evil parent, but she is not. She supposedly loves her children more than anything. It don't add up. Does this author have no clue what good mothers do and feel? They would not get angry at their child for grieving and having mental health issues! This was incredibly triggering for me to read , and I cannot believe this sort of emotionally abusive behaviour is being portrayed in this storyline as if it is normal. This is incredibly harmful for children, especially those who are actually grieving or are going through something else!
*trigger warning: sh, parental abuse*
In the next sentence or so, the boy goes on to admit that he tries to keep himself focused and awake in class by snapping a rubber band against his wrist, and he is sorry that it didn't work this time. I- excuse me? The mother then "SHAKES HER HEAD, MORE AMUSED THAN ANYTHING". I don't even know how to calm myself down enough to properly explain how horrible and harmful this writing is. We are supposed to believe the mother is an amazing parent but then read things like this. Are you trying to teach kids that this kind of behaviour from their parent is normal and fine? Are you trying to tell them that they should be ashamed of themselves for showing symptoms of mental health problems when going through something traumatic in their lives? hOw did this book get published? I am angry and disgusted, but it gets even worse;
*trigger warning: emotional and psychological abuse, abusive figure in a position of power, public shaming*
The twins' teacher is again described as this absolute saint and wise mentor figure, but she is abusive as hell. She tells the children they are stupid, rolls her eyes at their answers to questions, and constantly shames Connor and the rest of the class for not knowing things she is supposed to teach them. The other twin, Alex, is the teachers pet and gets constant praise. Connor is being told that he should be more like his sister, who appears "fine" under their family situation and circumstances. This! Is! So! disgusting!! She is using the twins against each other. The fact that she constantly praises the girl, who is vulnerable in her loneliness, so that she won't be able to stand up for her brother and is being set against the rest of the class group- the girl has no friends and teacher is enforcing this by othering her out and making it seem like she has nothing in common with her classmates and even her own brother. It is absolutely sickening. The teacher is incredibly mean and insensitive to Connor about his concentration issues, calls him lazy and makes him feel ashamed about it. Here are a few lines that just speak for themselves:
"Her [the teachers] eyes were permanently squinted from all the judgemental looks she had given her classes over the years"
"Parents now let obnoxious cartoons and violent movies influence their children" (ironically enough she is saying this in comparisant to fairy tales, which, by the way, she claims to know so much about but is clearly missing the point of.)
"Ms. Peters [the teacher] scanned the classroom like a shark looking for wounded fish"
"'And why is that?' Mrs Peters said as if asking 'what could you possibly be confused about, idiot?'"
"Mrs. Peters rolled her eyes so far into the back of her head she could have seen what was behind her."
... honestly there is so much more and I got these from the same two pages. You get the gist though. This teacher should be fired. The only way the author can redeem himself on this one is to reveal her as truly evil all along.
However, I don't feel inclined to read on in order to find out. Not only is the content of this book disrespectful and insensitive and highly upsetting, the writing, as I've mentioned before is as on the nose as can be. Here's an example:
"...but what the world fails to realise is that a villain is just a victim whose story hasn't been told." Wow, very deep of you /s.
I apologize for the long rant, but I needed to get it of my chest, and possibly prevent others from picking this book up. It's highly problematic and it makes me more than a little upset that no one else seems to have noticed or pointed this out.
Stop normalising emotional abuse, scolding children instead of listening to them and toxic households... PLEASE.
(The fact that this was published in 2012... who authorized this decision??)
Let's start with plot. I was not going in with very high expectations, thinking it would be a fun story for children with probably some clichéd but charming elements. The general plot, however, is just a blatant rip off of some other similar storylines, the most obviously noticeable one being the tv show once upon a time. I looked it up, and the first season came out in 2011 whereas this book came out one year later. It's painfully obviously and disrespectfully plagiarized and the fact that the author didn't even have a crumb of imagination for himself just makes me wonder why he felt inclined to write this book, but oh well.
His writing skill, at that, is also non-existent. The writing is worse than that of any 8 year old I've ever read. The author really took some commonly used tropes and phrases and wrote those down without any nuance or even, so it seemed to me, without any reason. He didn't seem to have a grasp on his own goal with the story. The writing is uncreative, uninspired and dryer than cereal without milk.
The worst part about all of it are the characters though. It is as if the author has never interacted with an 11 year old in his life, and his depiction of a mother is also way off. The next part angered me the most because *spoilers* the dad died in a car accident a few months (a year ?) before the story takes place and the children and mom are obviously grieving his loss. They are described as a happy family, very close with each other, so their pain would be enormous.
However... the author doesn't seem to know what it's like to lose a parent or spouse (good for him but -) and wrote incredibly insensitive things, which also make absolutely no sense in the context he was trying to bring across.
*Trigger warning: psychological and emotional child abuse, gaslighting, parental abuse*
One of the twins seems to have problems sleeping since their dad died, and constantly falls asleep in class etc. His mother, instead of being concerned, gets angry and scolds him. (Here are some things she says: *when being told that he fell asleep in class again* "oh Connor, not again. What are we going to do with you?" As she is shaking her head in disappointment. Then she goes on to guilttrip him because lot's of children can't go to school and he should be lucky to go!) This would make sense if the mother was described to us as an evil parent, but she is not. She supposedly loves her children more than anything. It don't add up. Does this author have no clue what good mothers do and feel? They would not get angry at their child for grieving and having mental health issues! This was incredibly triggering for me to read , and I cannot believe this sort of emotionally abusive behaviour is being portrayed in this storyline as if it is normal. This is incredibly harmful for children, especially those who are actually grieving or are going through something else!
*trigger warning: sh, parental abuse*
In the next sentence or so, the boy goes on to admit that he tries to keep himself focused and awake in class by snapping a rubber band against his wrist, and he is sorry that it didn't work this time. I- excuse me? The mother then "SHAKES HER HEAD, MORE AMUSED THAN ANYTHING". I don't even know how to calm myself down enough to properly explain how horrible and harmful this writing is. We are supposed to believe the mother is an amazing parent but then read things like this. Are you trying to teach kids that this kind of behaviour from their parent is normal and fine? Are you trying to tell them that they should be ashamed of themselves for showing symptoms of mental health problems when going through something traumatic in their lives? hOw did this book get published? I am angry and disgusted, but it gets even worse;
*trigger warning: emotional and psychological abuse, abusive figure in a position of power, public shaming*
The twins' teacher is again described as this absolute saint and wise mentor figure, but she is abusive as hell. She tells the children they are stupid, rolls her eyes at their answers to questions, and constantly shames Connor and the rest of the class for not knowing things she is supposed to teach them. The other twin, Alex, is the teachers pet and gets constant praise. Connor is being told that he should be more like his sister, who appears "fine" under their family situation and circumstances. This! Is! So! disgusting!! She is using the twins against each other. The fact that she constantly praises the girl, who is vulnerable in her loneliness, so that she won't be able to stand up for her brother and is being set against the rest of the class group- the girl has no friends and teacher is enforcing this by othering her out and making it seem like she has nothing in common with her classmates and even her own brother. It is absolutely sickening. The teacher is incredibly mean and insensitive to Connor about his concentration issues, calls him lazy and makes him feel ashamed about it. Here are a few lines that just speak for themselves:
"Her [the teachers] eyes were permanently squinted from all the judgemental looks she had given her classes over the years"
"Parents now let obnoxious cartoons and violent movies influence their children" (ironically enough she is saying this in comparisant to fairy tales, which, by the way, she claims to know so much about but is clearly missing the point of.)
"Ms. Peters [the teacher] scanned the classroom like a shark looking for wounded fish"
"'And why is that?' Mrs Peters said as if asking 'what could you possibly be confused about, idiot?'"
"Mrs. Peters rolled her eyes so far into the back of her head she could have seen what was behind her."
... honestly there is so much more and I got these from the same two pages. You get the gist though. This teacher should be fired. The only way the author can redeem himself on this one is to reveal her as truly evil all along.
However, I don't feel inclined to read on in order to find out. Not only is the content of this book disrespectful and insensitive and highly upsetting, the writing, as I've mentioned before is as on the nose as can be. Here's an example:
"...but what the world fails to realise is that a villain is just a victim whose story hasn't been told." Wow, very deep of you /s.
I apologize for the long rant, but I needed to get it of my chest, and possibly prevent others from picking this book up. It's highly problematic and it makes me more than a little upset that no one else seems to have noticed or pointed this out.
Stop normalising emotional abuse, scolding children instead of listening to them and toxic households... PLEASE.
(The fact that this was published in 2012... who authorized this decision??)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
Gaslighting, guilttripping, abuse of power, public shaming
More...