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aoosterwyk's review
2.0
A couple of art students are swept into a painting that was created by a master painter/sorcerer 400 years ago. They face monsters, labyrinths, and treachery in their attempt to return to the present.
The idea was so great, the telling so unfocused.
The idea was so great, the telling so unfocused.
bellatora's review
4.0
This is a solid middle grade adventure story that should appeal to fans of [a:Rick Riordan|15872|Rick Riordan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1204641046p2/15872.jpg]'s Percy Jackson series. Even though it's not my genre, I enjoyed it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to other adult YA readers, but the book reminded of kind of books I enjoyed as a later elementary school/early middle school student.
This book tells what happens when spunky and artistic Sunni has to enter a magical painting to rescue her little stepbrother who has already accidentally triggered the magic and gotten trapped inside the painting (Sunni's friend Blaise soon goes in after her). There's lost Renaissance art and pirates and monsters and scary mazes and bad guys trying to find and take the MacGuffin and all that good stuff. The explanation for how the magic pictures are made was basically art + astrology = magic! Let's just say Flavin wasn't going for realism. But it was a fun read and something that a younger-me would have liked even more.
This book tells what happens when spunky and artistic Sunni has to enter a magical painting to rescue her little stepbrother who has already accidentally triggered the magic and gotten trapped inside the painting (Sunni's friend Blaise soon goes in after her). There's lost Renaissance art and pirates and monsters and scary mazes and bad guys trying to find and take the MacGuffin and all that good stuff. The explanation for how the magic pictures are made was basically art + astrology = magic! Let's just say Flavin wasn't going for realism. But it was a fun read and something that a younger-me would have liked even more.
cheyenneb's review
I just didnt like the voice of this book and unfortunately I'm a little bit past my YA days for the most part.
thessilian's review
3.0
One of the books I picked up at WFC I'm working through. Very much a YA fantasy, but still the characters felt a little too flat, their roles a little too cliched. Sunni likes Blaise, but all the girls swoon after him - but it's ok because secretly he's swooning after her!
mcampbel's review
2.0
I loved the cover of this book but unfortunately it just wasn't very exciting - just OK.
paper_elytra's review
4.0
This was an enjoyable read. Adventures in art (literally!)! The paintings within paintings motif is well executed as are some of the little details about the process of painting. The adventures were fun, the characters were believable for the most part. A hint of romance (possibly some crushes are developing??)but nothing overt.
serendipity_viv's review
4.0
From the first chapter,you are sucked straight into the labyrinth and the story sets off on a hearty pace, barely allowing you to catch your breath, let alone calculate your bearings. I literally felt like I had been sucked into the Renaissance painting too. Just by sheer chance, Sunni's step brother, Dean is transported first into a world that no one knew existed. Luckily Sunni worked out exactly how he had got sucked into the labyrinth and went straight in after him.
The scenes within the painting were extremely interesting. I have always imagined what it might be like to step into a painting and Teresa Flavin had described it perfectly. I love this fascinating idea of transporting into a picture, only to find a magical world of adventure behind it.
This book reminded me a little of the Narnia adventures, especially The Voyage of the Dawntreader. I think it is the fact that it involves an adventure into another dimension which brought the stories to mind.
The children are desperate to find their way home and the journey becomes quite intense as they battle with time and distractions to reach home again.
The characters were interesting and quirky in their own ways. The writing well paced, keeping my interest through the story as they raced from one trial to another. The world building was amazing; such an interesting layered world must have taken a lot of construction, so I really was impressed by the detail to which the author went into.
I only had one niggle and that was that at one point, I did find myself getting quite confused as to which ship each child was travelling on as well as which boat was being discussed in the story at a particular moment. The choppy nature of the writing, made me lose my way a little until they left the ships behind, then I found myself back on track with the story.
Other than that a most enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
The scenes within the painting were extremely interesting. I have always imagined what it might be like to step into a painting and Teresa Flavin had described it perfectly. I love this fascinating idea of transporting into a picture, only to find a magical world of adventure behind it.
This book reminded me a little of the Narnia adventures, especially The Voyage of the Dawntreader. I think it is the fact that it involves an adventure into another dimension which brought the stories to mind.
The children are desperate to find their way home and the journey becomes quite intense as they battle with time and distractions to reach home again.
The characters were interesting and quirky in their own ways. The writing well paced, keeping my interest through the story as they raced from one trial to another. The world building was amazing; such an interesting layered world must have taken a lot of construction, so I really was impressed by the detail to which the author went into.
I only had one niggle and that was that at one point, I did find myself getting quite confused as to which ship each child was travelling on as well as which boat was being discussed in the story at a particular moment. The choppy nature of the writing, made me lose my way a little until they left the ships behind, then I found myself back on track with the story.
Other than that a most enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
iamastraythought's review
4.0
Super cool story about art and magic, and what happens when the two combine.