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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This book was bizarre and absolutely terrifying. I'm giving it 5 stars because I've never read anything like it, and it was a compulsive read. I finished in one sitting. But DEFINITELY 10+ at least. (I would not give this to MY 10 year old, though.)
That was an excellent and very creepy piece of children’s literature.
Audrey got this book at school and the whole time she was reading it, she kept telling me how the plot was so weird and she didn't even know how to describe it. When she finished reading it, she left it on my pillow one night, so then I read it too. She was right, the plot is super wacky. There is a kid named Steve who has a little baby brother named Theo who has a bunch of medical problems and his parents are very preoccupied with taking Theo for lots of tests at the hospital. One day Steve gets stung by a wasp and has an allergic reaction. He discovers a wasp nest being built outside of his house and starts having dreams that he is talking to the queen wasp. The queen wasp tells him that she is going to help his baby brother by replacing him with a new healthy baby and Steve just has to open the window when the new baby is ready. At first, Steve dismisses this as just a dream. But then the dream wasp knows all sorts of things she shouldn't know - things that haven't happened yet, and Steve isn't sure it's really a dream. There is also a strange knife sharpener guy who keeps roaming the neighborhood looking for work who becomes integral to this wasp queen/new baby story in a very weird way. (Re-read THAT sentence and try to make sense of it all)
The resolution to the story is very wackadoo and I wasn't entirely sure what the author was trying to do. At first the book kind of reminded me of A Monster Calls and I thought it was going to be an allegory about grief and childhood and whatever. But it didn't really turn out that way and I just felt a little lost as to what it was all supposed to mean. Oh well. It was fun to talk about it with Audrey.
**Other random thought - the kid really did not seem like a "Steve." The name was all wrong.
The resolution to the story is very wackadoo and I wasn't entirely sure what the author was trying to do. At first the book kind of reminded me of A Monster Calls and I thought it was going to be an allegory about grief and childhood and whatever. But it didn't really turn out that way and I just felt a little lost as to what it was all supposed to mean. Oh well. It was fun to talk about it with Audrey.
**Other random thought - the kid really did not seem like a "Steve." The name was all wrong.
A wasp nest hangs from the eaves of a little boys house, accompanied by dreams of a glowing figure. It offers to replace his sick baby brother with a new baby; one that is perfect. But there is something more sinister at work. What happens to his baby brother once the switch is complete?
A completely original concept that was definitely chilling. The addition of a wasp as chapters progressed to mark your progress was really cute.
A completely original concept that was definitely chilling. The addition of a wasp as chapters progressed to mark your progress was really cute.
A very great middle grade book. I listened to the audiobook and the Queen Wasp's voice haunts my nightmares. A strange premise, but it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat!
I have no idea who I would recommend this book to: kids that like "A Child Called it?" Anxious kids who need bibliotherapy? Or adults who miss creepy fairy tales? In essence, this is a book about changelings. It's a horror book for kids. And for those of you who think wasps are the freakiest things ever...it's a vindication. In all honesty, I expected Klassen's illustrations to be eerier, but they actually gentled the creepiness of the text. Except for the baby illustration. I'm going to have nightmares about that one.
This is a weird one. Very short audio. Creepy but not scary, for kids who like dark fantasy and heroes who overcome seemingly impossible villains.
What a terrifying book! Quite possibly too scary for expectant parents or new parents. Teaches very effectively to appreciate reality as it is, not perfect as we can only imagine, superficially at that. Good for all to read!