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raquelzc's review against another edition
1.75
Este libro me tuvo confundida una gran parte de él.
Nuestra protagonista, Alice, solo tiene a su madre. Ahí notamos una co-dependencia interesante. Tiene una abuela, una escritora muy famosa, a quién jamás conoció. Y su libro famoso, un libro de cuentos, es tan raro que encontrar una copia es prácticamente imposible. Y Alice y su madre se la viven huyendo por todo el país ya que siempre una mala suerte las acecha.
Alice, tiene muy mal humor. De que, humor que da miedo. Tambien algo interesante.
Pero cuando su madre es raptada, junto con su recien hecho amigo Finch, se dan la aventura de verdaderamente ir a donde residía su abuela y encontrar a su madre.
La historia la verdad es que se me hizo muy confusa. No sé si es por haberlo leído en español o bien, que la historia en sí es medio revuelta. Sentía ciertos cachos de la historia que no tenían continuidad y carecían de un flujo.
Eso sí, puedo decir que es muy descriptivo y en todo el aspecto de fantasía es bastante bueno e interesante. La premisa del libro de su abuela y lo que continúa es algo que esperaba y a la vez, me sorprendió.
Algo que cabe recalcar es que a pesar de ser un libro juvenil (y no conclusivo para acabarla), no tiene romance. Nada. Fue un respiro de aire fresco esto ya que teniendo a Alice y Finch, la autora pudo haberlo metido pero la verdad es que hubiera estado lo que le sigue de forzado. Aplauso por eso.
En sí la historia se siente auto-conclusiva, pero sé que hay más libros. Me atrevo a decir que es una historia que no voy a continuar leyendo, con este libro me quedo. Me gustó, fue entretenido. Solo no fue mi hit al 100%
Nuestra protagonista, Alice, solo tiene a su madre. Ahí notamos una co-dependencia interesante. Tiene una abuela, una escritora muy famosa, a quién jamás conoció. Y su libro famoso, un libro de cuentos, es tan raro que encontrar una copia es prácticamente imposible. Y Alice y su madre se la viven huyendo por todo el país ya que siempre una mala suerte las acecha.
Alice, tiene muy mal humor. De que, humor que da miedo. Tambien algo interesante.
Pero cuando su madre es raptada, junto con su recien hecho amigo Finch, se dan la aventura de verdaderamente ir a donde residía su abuela y encontrar a su madre.
La historia la verdad es que se me hizo muy confusa. No sé si es por haberlo leído en español o bien, que la historia en sí es medio revuelta. Sentía ciertos cachos de la historia que no tenían continuidad y carecían de un flujo.
Eso sí, puedo decir que es muy descriptivo y en todo el aspecto de fantasía es bastante bueno e interesante. La premisa del libro de su abuela y lo que continúa es algo que esperaba y a la vez, me sorprendió.
Algo que cabe recalcar es que a pesar de ser un libro juvenil (y no conclusivo para acabarla), no tiene romance. Nada. Fue un respiro de aire fresco esto ya que teniendo a Alice y Finch, la autora pudo haberlo metido pero la verdad es que hubiera estado lo que le sigue de forzado. Aplauso por eso.
En sí la historia se siente auto-conclusiva, pero sé que hay más libros. Me atrevo a decir que es una historia que no voy a continuar leyendo, con este libro me quedo. Me gustó, fue entretenido. Solo no fue mi hit al 100%
okevamae's review
4.0
I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run from "bad luck" for her entire life. When they receive notice that her grandmother Althea, a notorious author of a book of fairy tales, has died, Ella proclaims that they are safe, and don't need to run any more. But when Ella goes missing, Alice finds that the world of Althea's stories is not as made up as she thought, and she must go on a journey to save her mother.
I really enjoyed this read overall. The writing is absolutely beautiful - I frequently found myself highlighting an especially clever or poetic turn of phrase - and the fairy tales woven throughout the novel are dark and deliciously creepy in that distinctly fairy-tale way.
The book is not without its problems, though. Browsing through other reviews, it seems like people either love the first half and hate the second, or love the second half and hate the first. This might be because the two are very different types of stories, and there is something about the way they're stitched together that doesn't hang quite right. The result is that the pacing is uneven and the transition between the two parts is a little bit jarring. In a way, though, that fits with the stark contrast between the "real world" and the Hinterlands that Alice feels as she moves from one to the other.
Another problem often cited is the unpleasantness of Alice as a character, which often makes it hard to root for her. She seems very self-centered and judgmental and is prone to fits of anger, often lashing out at those close to her. However, I found a little sympathy for her in the fact that she seems regretful and somewhat confused by this part of her personality. "...the anger burned away. Itchy regret took its place. I'd let myself drift too close to the dark continent at the core of me, a lawless place I tried never to visit." To me, this implies that she does try to curb her anger, and regrets when she hurts others, but there's something dark in her that just can't help it. And later in the book we discover exactly why she seems so bitter all the time, and discover that in fact, she really *can't* help it. But if you're the kind of reader who can't deal with an unsympathetic character who sometimes acts in problematic ways, this may not be the book for you.
Overall, not perfect, but still an interesting and enjoyable read.
Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run from "bad luck" for her entire life. When they receive notice that her grandmother Althea, a notorious author of a book of fairy tales, has died, Ella proclaims that they are safe, and don't need to run any more. But when Ella goes missing, Alice finds that the world of Althea's stories is not as made up as she thought, and she must go on a journey to save her mother.
I really enjoyed this read overall. The writing is absolutely beautiful - I frequently found myself highlighting an especially clever or poetic turn of phrase - and the fairy tales woven throughout the novel are dark and deliciously creepy in that distinctly fairy-tale way.
The book is not without its problems, though. Browsing through other reviews, it seems like people either love the first half and hate the second, or love the second half and hate the first. This might be because the two are very different types of stories, and there is something about the way they're stitched together that doesn't hang quite right. The result is that the pacing is uneven and the transition between the two parts is a little bit jarring. In a way, though, that fits with the stark contrast between the "real world" and the Hinterlands that Alice feels as she moves from one to the other.
Another problem often cited is the unpleasantness of Alice as a character, which often makes it hard to root for her. She seems very self-centered and judgmental and is prone to fits of anger, often lashing out at those close to her. However, I found a little sympathy for her in the fact that she seems regretful and somewhat confused by this part of her personality. "...the anger burned away. Itchy regret took its place. I'd let myself drift too close to the dark continent at the core of me, a lawless place I tried never to visit." To me, this implies that she does try to curb her anger, and regrets when she hurts others, but there's something dark in her that just can't help it. And later in the book we discover exactly why she seems so bitter all the time, and discover that in fact, she really *can't* help it. But if you're the kind of reader who can't deal with an unsympathetic character who sometimes acts in problematic ways, this may not be the book for you.
Overall, not perfect, but still an interesting and enjoyable read.
paxyquiltan's review against another edition
4.0
The reason i picked this book up was because of it's beautiful cover design,
and boy am I glad that it caught my eye. I really enjoyed reading this book. Like many I grew up wishing and imagining what it would be like to cross the line between reality and fiction. This book gave me a glimpse of what that might be like and after finishing it do I really want to cross it...
uhhm
"My mother was raised on fairy tales, but I was raised on highways. My first memory is the smell of hot pavement and the sky through the sunroof, whipping by in a river of blue. My mom tells me that’s impossible—our car doesn’t have a sunroof. But I can still close my eyes and see it, so I’m holding on to it."
So, from the very first beginning we learn that Alice Proserpine has lived her entire life on the road with her mother Ella Proserpine (I feel the need to mention that her name is short for Vanella), never settling in one area always on the run from the bad luck that seems to follow them everywhere, and from the very beginning of the book you learn that Ella's mother, Althea Proserpine, the famous author of Tales from the Hinterland, is somehow the reason behind why they're on the run.
The first couple of chapters are sort of like a background check introducing us to Alice and her mother and the life they've been living. One day Ella receives a letter informing her that her mother Althea is dead and so she declares them free and finally ready to settle down. Or so she thinks. Once settled Ella is abducted by a mysterious man:
"It was that last one that got us into trouble — Ella's dream of a normal life for me, one with a future. Because if you've spent your whole life running, how do you learn to stand still? How do you figure out the right way to turn your straw house into brick?"
This man claims to be from Hinterland (the fairy tale land in her grandmothers book). So, Alice teams up with a classmate named Ellery finch who is a fan of her grandmothers book and together they head out to look for her mother in the one place that everyone seems to be telling her to stay away from which is (dun dun duuuun).
And so you follow the duo as they try to find their way to and all the events that unfold when this Alice ends up tumbling down her own rabbit hole into the world of Hinterland where she is forced to confront the truth behind who she really is.
Now the reason I did not give this book a 5/5 stars is because of Alice's character. There were moments in the book i wanted to strangle her under different situations. For example, her rudeness especially towards finch (who the only reason Alice befriends because he's rich (which means he also has connections), and because he has read Tales from the Hinterland). She won't let him speak when he tries to voice his opinion. My rating is a 4/5 because later on in the book you sort of learn why Alice has all this pent up anger and negative nature/ dark vibe.
Also, the fairy tales that Althea documented were soooooo wonderful and mesmerizing and disturbing and I wished the author would have provided us with all 12 of them. But we only get two complete fairy tales: Alice-Three-times (wink, wink) and The Door That Wasn't There. Actually even those are told secondhand from what Finch can remember when he read the book. Those were my favorite parts of the whole book.
Overall, i really enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down. However, I wouldn't go as far as to compare it to Sarah J Maas's books as some have done.
Here are some quotes from the book that i liked:
“There are no lessons in it. There's just this harsh, horrible world touched with beautiful magic, where sh*tty things happen. And they don't happen for a reason, or in threes, or in a way that looks like justice. They're set in a place that has no rules and doesn't want any. And the author's voice — your grandmother's voice — is perfectly pitiless. She's like a war reporter who doesn't give a f*ck.”
“Look until the leaves turn red, sew the worlds up with thread. If your journey's left undone, fear the rising of the sun.”
"My love he wooed me
My love he slew me
My love he buried my bones
His love he married
His love I buried
My love now wanders alone."
“Everyone is supposed to be a combination of nature and nurture, their true selves shaped by years of friends and fights and parents and dreams and things you did too young and things you overheard that you shouldn’t have and secrets you kept or couldn’t and regrets and victories and quiet prides, all the packed-together detritus that becomes what you call your life.”
“When in doubt, the answer is always Death. With a capital D.”
“When you finish a story, it begins again. Until I stop telling it. And while they're being told, stories create the energy that makes this world go. They keep our stars in place. They make our grass grow.”
and boy am I glad that it caught my eye. I really enjoyed reading this book. Like many I grew up wishing and imagining what it would be like to cross the line between reality and fiction. This book gave me a glimpse of what that might be like and after finishing it do I really want to cross it...
uhhm
"My mother was raised on fairy tales, but I was raised on highways. My first memory is the smell of hot pavement and the sky through the sunroof, whipping by in a river of blue. My mom tells me that’s impossible—our car doesn’t have a sunroof. But I can still close my eyes and see it, so I’m holding on to it."
So, from the very first beginning we learn that Alice Proserpine has lived her entire life on the road with her mother Ella Proserpine (I feel the need to mention that her name is short for Vanella), never settling in one area always on the run from the bad luck that seems to follow them everywhere, and from the very beginning of the book you learn that Ella's mother, Althea Proserpine, the famous author of Tales from the Hinterland, is somehow the reason behind why they're on the run.
The first couple of chapters are sort of like a background check introducing us to Alice and her mother and the life they've been living. One day Ella receives a letter informing her that her mother Althea is dead and so she declares them free and finally ready to settle down. Or so she thinks. Once settled Ella is abducted by a mysterious man:
"It was that last one that got us into trouble — Ella's dream of a normal life for me, one with a future. Because if you've spent your whole life running, how do you learn to stand still? How do you figure out the right way to turn your straw house into brick?"
This man claims to be from Hinterland (the fairy tale land in her grandmothers book). So, Alice teams up with a classmate named Ellery finch who is a fan of her grandmothers book and together they head out to look for her mother in the one place that everyone seems to be telling her to stay away from which is (dun dun duuuun).
And so you follow the duo as they try to find their way to and all the events that unfold when this Alice ends up tumbling down her own rabbit hole into the world of Hinterland where she is forced to confront the truth behind who she really is.
Now the reason I did not give this book a 5/5 stars is because of Alice's character. There were moments in the book i wanted to strangle her under different situations. For example, her rudeness especially towards finch (who the only reason Alice befriends because he's rich (which means he also has connections), and because he has read Tales from the Hinterland). She won't let him speak when he tries to voice his opinion. My rating is a 4/5 because later on in the book you sort of learn why Alice has all this pent up anger and negative nature/ dark vibe.
Also, the fairy tales that Althea documented were soooooo wonderful and mesmerizing and disturbing and I wished the author would have provided us with all 12 of them. But we only get two complete fairy tales: Alice-Three-times (wink, wink) and The Door That Wasn't There. Actually even those are told secondhand from what Finch can remember when he read the book. Those were my favorite parts of the whole book.
Overall, i really enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down. However, I wouldn't go as far as to compare it to Sarah J Maas's books as some have done.
Here are some quotes from the book that i liked:
“There are no lessons in it. There's just this harsh, horrible world touched with beautiful magic, where sh*tty things happen. And they don't happen for a reason, or in threes, or in a way that looks like justice. They're set in a place that has no rules and doesn't want any. And the author's voice — your grandmother's voice — is perfectly pitiless. She's like a war reporter who doesn't give a f*ck.”
“Look until the leaves turn red, sew the worlds up with thread. If your journey's left undone, fear the rising of the sun.”
"My love he wooed me
My love he slew me
My love he buried my bones
His love he married
His love I buried
My love now wanders alone."
“Everyone is supposed to be a combination of nature and nurture, their true selves shaped by years of friends and fights and parents and dreams and things you did too young and things you overheard that you shouldn’t have and secrets you kept or couldn’t and regrets and victories and quiet prides, all the packed-together detritus that becomes what you call your life.”
“When in doubt, the answer is always Death. With a capital D.”
“When you finish a story, it begins again. Until I stop telling it. And while they're being told, stories create the energy that makes this world go. They keep our stars in place. They make our grass grow.”
ashmanzer's review
4.0
I liked this. There was a good twist but the story line felt kind of fractured. I felt like it was missing something the whole time and needed to be fleshed out a little more in some areas. Overall, I enjoyed it.
beatricezs's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
abidoodle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a really interesting book. It was darker than I expected but it was also really thought provoking. The story definitely kept me hooked, even if I didn’t like where it was going or the character choices, I wanted to keep reading. It was a decent read and I got through it pretty quickly. A unique fantasy for sure, different than a lot of what’s popular right now which I actually really appreciate. I bit dark and weird, but also a fresh story.
itsalina's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sunflower_martha's review against another edition
2.0
Spendo giusto due parole su questo titolo nonostante la delusione provata nel leggerlo.
In questo caso ho giudicato il libro dalla copertina, che mi ha colpito in positivo e invogliato a leggere "Oltre il bosco", anche perchè sembrava presentare quelle atmosfere un po' dark fantasy che tanto apprezzo.
L'inizio del libro ha continuato ad incuriosirmi, anche se con uno stile di scrittura (o magari di traduzione, quando leggo in italiano è sempre un rischio) che non ho trovato particolare. Andando avanti con la trama sembrava ci fosse troppa carne al fuoco, troppi buchi nella narrazione e un modo confusionario e semplicistico di spiegare il tutto, che magari era anche voluto, essendo il tema la fiaba, ma su di me non ha fatto presa.
In questo caso ho giudicato il libro dalla copertina, che mi ha colpito in positivo e invogliato a leggere "Oltre il bosco", anche perchè sembrava presentare quelle atmosfere un po' dark fantasy che tanto apprezzo.
L'inizio del libro ha continuato ad incuriosirmi, anche se con uno stile di scrittura (o magari di traduzione, quando leggo in italiano è sempre un rischio) che non ho trovato particolare. Andando avanti con la trama sembrava ci fosse troppa carne al fuoco, troppi buchi nella narrazione e un modo confusionario e semplicistico di spiegare il tutto, che magari era anche voluto, essendo il tema la fiaba, ma su di me non ha fatto presa.