Scan barcode
ladylondonderry's review against another edition
5.0
Why is this called Black Maria? Why is my copy NOT called Black Maria? Is it because I'm American? Darn it.
Very good! One of her shorter books, it's sat in my bookshelf for years and I'm not sure if I've read it before. Horribly exciting and magic and a little nerve wracking because I kept expecting everyone to die.
Maria made me was to punch something. Teddy-bearish my foot.
I hated the boys versus girls thing, though. Mostly because Mig just wanted to help and Mr. Phelps was such an a-hole to her. Really, Mr. Phelps. Get with the program.
Very good! One of her shorter books, it's sat in my bookshelf for years and I'm not sure if I've read it before. Horribly exciting and magic and a little nerve wracking because I kept expecting everyone to die.
Maria made me was to punch something. Teddy-bearish my foot.
I hated the boys versus girls thing, though. Mostly because Mig just wanted to help and Mr. Phelps was such an a-hole to her. Really, Mr. Phelps. Get with the program.
bahnree's review against another edition
5.0
Terrifying and perfect. I want to write a 10-book thesis about gender in this book.
redheadreading's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
onewhodiedyoung's review against another edition
4.0
Diana, love of my life, why do all your beautiful books have such ugly covers? :')
the romance in this though <3 is there anything better than moms getting to have a life outside of being moms?
the romance in this though <3 is there anything better than moms getting to have a life outside of being moms?
seshathawk's review against another edition
4.0
Spoilers - I tried to be as vague as possible, but beware regardless.
I enjoyed this one much, much more than Witch's Business. Aunt Maria had more of a "traditional Diana Wynne Jones" feel to it, both in terms of the voice it was written in, and the way things happened. I knew almost nothing about this book going in (this not being one of the more popular DWJ books I see mentioned around online, such as Howl's Moving Castle, Hexwood, or the Chrestomanci series). I shouldn't have been surprised that what seemed like a fairly ordinary story about an irritating and soul-crushing person turned into a story about witches, with a little edge of conspiracy to it, and a small cluster of mysteries that needed to be solved.
I enjoyed this very well to start with, and then somewhere around the middle (where the shapeshifting and/or time travel starts happening), I started losing interest, but I'm not sure why. I stopped reading this for a couple of days to read Uprooted instead, which might have something to do with it.
But ultimately, although I liked the book, and really liked the voice it was written in, there wasn't any specific thing about it that made it zing to me the way other DWJ books do. I LOVED how towards the end of the book, Mig runs around with her mother to try to solve all the problems and stop Aunt Maria, because A) how often do we see young people solving problems with their parents, especially their mothers, in fantasy stories? and B) it provided a contrast to the relationship between Maria and Naomi. And I love that DWJ wrote stories about families, again, something so rarely seen in fantasy stories. Despite these features, nothing really called out to me, nothing about it made me want to hug it or reread it.
It was good, and interesting, but that was it. Giving it four stars because it's Diana Wynne Jones, and because I found it enjoyable to read throughout.
I enjoyed this one much, much more than Witch's Business. Aunt Maria had more of a "traditional Diana Wynne Jones" feel to it, both in terms of the voice it was written in, and the way things happened. I knew almost nothing about this book going in (this not being one of the more popular DWJ books I see mentioned around online, such as Howl's Moving Castle, Hexwood, or the Chrestomanci series). I shouldn't have been surprised that what seemed like a fairly ordinary story about an irritating and soul-crushing person turned into a story about witches, with a little edge of conspiracy to it, and a small cluster of mysteries that needed to be solved.
I enjoyed this very well to start with, and then somewhere around the middle (where the shapeshifting and/or time travel starts happening), I started losing interest, but I'm not sure why. I stopped reading this for a couple of days to read Uprooted instead, which might have something to do with it.
But ultimately, although I liked the book, and really liked the voice it was written in, there wasn't any specific thing about it that made it zing to me the way other DWJ books do. I LOVED how towards the end of the book, Mig runs around with her mother to try to solve all the problems and stop Aunt Maria, because A) how often do we see young people solving problems with their parents, especially their mothers, in fantasy stories? and B) it provided a contrast to the relationship between Maria and Naomi. And I love that DWJ wrote stories about families, again, something so rarely seen in fantasy stories. Despite these features, nothing really called out to me, nothing about it made me want to hug it or reread it.
It was good, and interesting, but that was it. Giving it four stars because it's Diana Wynne Jones, and because I found it enjoyable to read throughout.
extemporalli's review against another edition
3.0
DWJ is very good at writing a naturalistic magic which her child characters describe with strikingly original inarticulacy, and Aunt Maria (Black Maria when it was originally published in the U.K.) is no exception. Mig, her brother Chris, and her mother are reeling from the death of an estranged father-and-husband when they pack up for a visit to Aunt Maria, a suffocating old lady with an especial - one might almost say magical - knack for manipulation.
This was a good premise, and DWJ's talent for writing dysfunctional family dynamics (or really just a dysfunctional family member) shines here. What wasn't so good, however, was her lack of pacing (pacing is for FOOLS, you can hear her say) and the sudden introduction of random devices without any exposition whatsoever (so they can just randomly time travel now! NBD).
This was a good premise, and DWJ's talent for writing dysfunctional family dynamics (or really just a dysfunctional family member) shines here. What wasn't so good, however, was her lack of pacing (pacing is for FOOLS, you can hear her say) and the sudden introduction of random devices without any exposition whatsoever (so they can just randomly time travel now! NBD).
easolinas's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone has one -- an older relative who disapproves of you unless you do what she wishes, and isn't nearly as nice as she pretends to be.
But "Black Maria" turns out to be even worse than your average annoying relative, in this engaging, humourous and chilling fantasy novel. Diana Wynne-Jones spins a fantastical story of witchcraft and revenge, all centering on the elderly lady who sweetly lords it over Cranbury-on-Sea.
After her father is apparently killed in a car accident, Mig and her family go to stay with Aunt Maria, mainly because her mother feels guilty. Aunt Maria is very prim and very sweet, and makes a point of guilting people into doing what she wants. Life revolves around Aunt Maria's tea parties, and the men and children act like automatons.
Mig and her brother Chris hate it there, despite the sad ghost who appears in Chris's room. But they start to suspect that magic may be at work, and that Aunt Maria may be at the center of it. When Chris annoys her, she transforms him into a wolf. Now Mig must uncover a magical plot that stretches back over the decades -- and is the key to dethroning Aunt Maria.
It's hard enough to deal with such elderly, sickly-sweet relatives if they are normal. Imagine if they are cold-hearted witches, who turn their own daughters into wolves. And if Diana Wynne-Jones was trying to make people feel lucky for not having an Aunt Maria, then she succeeds beautifully.
Jones paints a chilling picture of Cranbury -- sort of a "Stepford Wives" situation, except it's Stepford Husbands and Kids, all slaves to the stifling sweetness of Aunt Maria. The one weak spot is the ending -- it's not a terribly bad ending, but it is kind of weak, especially compared to the quiet menace of the past several chapters.
Mig is a likable character, although her rebellious brother Chris comes across as the more engaging of the main characters, and readers might want to kick her meek, submissive mother. Aunt Maria is the most frighteningly real, from her outdated opinions to her pushy sweetness; she's horrified at girls wearing pants, eating fish'n'chips for dinner, and favors boys over girls. Even worse, she genuinely believes that she is a wonderful person.
Take the most irritating old lady imaginable... and give her evil magic powers. That's the chilling picture painted in "Black Maria," which will make readers intensely grateful that they aren't Chris and Mig.
But "Black Maria" turns out to be even worse than your average annoying relative, in this engaging, humourous and chilling fantasy novel. Diana Wynne-Jones spins a fantastical story of witchcraft and revenge, all centering on the elderly lady who sweetly lords it over Cranbury-on-Sea.
After her father is apparently killed in a car accident, Mig and her family go to stay with Aunt Maria, mainly because her mother feels guilty. Aunt Maria is very prim and very sweet, and makes a point of guilting people into doing what she wants. Life revolves around Aunt Maria's tea parties, and the men and children act like automatons.
Mig and her brother Chris hate it there, despite the sad ghost who appears in Chris's room. But they start to suspect that magic may be at work, and that Aunt Maria may be at the center of it. When Chris annoys her, she transforms him into a wolf. Now Mig must uncover a magical plot that stretches back over the decades -- and is the key to dethroning Aunt Maria.
It's hard enough to deal with such elderly, sickly-sweet relatives if they are normal. Imagine if they are cold-hearted witches, who turn their own daughters into wolves. And if Diana Wynne-Jones was trying to make people feel lucky for not having an Aunt Maria, then she succeeds beautifully.
Jones paints a chilling picture of Cranbury -- sort of a "Stepford Wives" situation, except it's Stepford Husbands and Kids, all slaves to the stifling sweetness of Aunt Maria. The one weak spot is the ending -- it's not a terribly bad ending, but it is kind of weak, especially compared to the quiet menace of the past several chapters.
Mig is a likable character, although her rebellious brother Chris comes across as the more engaging of the main characters, and readers might want to kick her meek, submissive mother. Aunt Maria is the most frighteningly real, from her outdated opinions to her pushy sweetness; she's horrified at girls wearing pants, eating fish'n'chips for dinner, and favors boys over girls. Even worse, she genuinely believes that she is a wonderful person.
Take the most irritating old lady imaginable... and give her evil magic powers. That's the chilling picture painted in "Black Maria," which will make readers intensely grateful that they aren't Chris and Mig.
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
3.0
Black Maria is probably not one of her better works, although it may be that I'm the wrong age to get the message in the right way - it felt very much like I was being hit over the head with the elements of the story, and the gender politics (very much the feeling I get when reading some of the Sherri S Tepper). I do like the fact that the main character is female, teenaged, *and* has agency. Yes, she gets other people to help her, but it works. I found the attitude of the mother very frustrating, but I could sympathise.
I found it difficult to find something coherent to say about this book, which is partly because of the book itself - there just isn't quite enough there to grab hold of.
I found it difficult to find something coherent to say about this book, which is partly because of the book itself - there just isn't quite enough there to grab hold of.
pelevolcana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0