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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm not the target audience for the book, but I picked it up because I had nostalgia for the days where I only read books about young heroines on adventures in a historical setting. And the book definitely delivered on both of those aspects! But it has its flaws.
For one thing, it's overly long. It would've been a tighter story if it were 100 pages shorter. The plot gets stale because waiting around is a core component of the story, but not in an interesting way.
I also found Ellie's family really unsympathetic to her even though the whole family was grieving over a shared tragedy. A tragedy where Ellie shouldered all the blame for literally no reason. Her family essentially ostracizes her to a degree where she's sent to sleep in the barn without supper. This treatment of her continues through the whole book...until the mother and sister have a change of heart in the last few chapters. And Ellie instantly forgives them. Her family doesn't even apologize for their wrongdoing. It was really disappointing.
I also think the story suffers from having too many plotlines. We have the Stock Market Crash, a family tragedy, and Ellie's only friends suffer multiple tragedies (which Ellie gets roped into). And for some reason Ellie, who is only 12, is the only one making any attempts to put out all of these fires. I didn't find it inspiring; I found it incredibly depressing.
I think a kid would like this book because kids like stories where people their age have agency and intelligence, which Ellie definitely has. (Although Ellie sounds more like she's 24 than 12. I kept having to remind myself that she's a child because she doesn't sound like a child.) just wish we could've had a story where her family feels any sort of remorse for their actions and that Ellie found happiness in more than just the last 10 pages.
For one thing, it's overly long. It would've been a tighter story if it were 100 pages shorter. The plot gets stale because waiting around is a core component of the story, but not in an interesting way.
I also found Ellie's family really unsympathetic to her even though the whole family was grieving over a shared tragedy. A tragedy where Ellie shouldered all the blame for literally no reason. Her family essentially ostracizes her to a degree where she's sent to sleep in the barn without supper. This treatment of her continues through the whole book...until the mother and sister have a change of heart in the last few chapters. And Ellie instantly forgives them. Her family doesn't even apologize for their wrongdoing. It was really disappointing.
I also think the story suffers from having too many plotlines. We have the Stock Market Crash, a family tragedy, and Ellie's only friends suffer multiple tragedies (which Ellie gets roped into). And for some reason Ellie, who is only 12, is the only one making any attempts to put out all of these fires. I didn't find it inspiring; I found it incredibly depressing.
I think a kid would like this book because kids like stories where people their age have agency and intelligence, which Ellie definitely has. (Although Ellie sounds more like she's 24 than 12. I kept having to remind myself that she's a child because she doesn't sound like a child.) just wish we could've had a story where her family feels any sort of remorse for their actions and that Ellie found happiness in more than just the last 10 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma
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