Scan barcode
segway's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Definitely not for everyone, characters were really colorful and the humor was sophisticated. Not my usual choice for book, but I enjoyed the ending and resolution.
faroresdragn's review against another edition
4.0
Haven't read this book since maybe 5th grade, but always remembered it as one of my favorites. I can tell why because it's actually really deep for this age group. It's actually impressive how h dives into every aspect of the short fairy tale the book is based on, and then builds his own story on top of it. Not a literary masterpiece but for what it is its really interesting and unique.
sugarbloom's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually like spinoffs of fairy tales, but this one held my attention to the end. It was a little young for me, more for a 10-13 age group. I personally would have liked more worldbuilding and detail, but the characters were uncommonly good for its genre and age group. The message is also quite nice - the whole story is threaded through with how much your choices mean. There is very little language and no other objectionable content. I would recommend this to younger readers looking for clean fun and a little magic.
ohhellothere's review against another edition
4.0
This book was weird. It was kind of disjointed and had all these threads that would be opened and then juggled kind of inexpertly, but it still somehow kept me really interested the whole time. I could pick out really clunky dialogue and prose and sometimes Martin would kind of shoot for that Ye Olde Tale kind of language and not quite hit it, but yet I really enjoyed the whole thing. I'd still recommend it even with tons of problems in execution. That and it's like a 6th grade reading level so it's just kind of still a breeze.
inkerly's review against another edition
3.0
Summary: Once upon a time six brothers were turned into swans by their jealous and supposedly evil stepmother, Evron. The only person who can reverse their curse is their cunning sister, Rose Red, who for six years, fashions shirts of nettle and birchwood. But after an event gone awry only five successful shirts are fashioned, and the sixth shirt for the sixth brother is designed with a missing sleeve. Years later as a winged adult, the sixth brother, Ardwin, explores life as half-man, hopeful that one day he knows where he truly belongs: in the swan world or the human world.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I loved the concept behind the novel and was amused by the lively dynamic between the characters. However, I honestly think that halfway into the book, the plot started to go absolutely nowhere. About a third of the book narrates Ardwin's travels inside nature's walls, and throughout his quest to find out where he truly belongs, random characters aide him and unfortunately become important towards the end of the story. I say unfortunate because their presence is merely 6 pages long in the beginning of the story, but later on, it is always revealed that some 3-line conversation that they carried with Ardwin was worthy of scrutiny to tie down the story altogether. Oh really, now? I kid you not, there was one chapter where a character named Mr. Bluestone, a sweet elderly innskeeper with a knack for 'whispering' to weapons, tells Ardwin that he prophecizes a terrible fate for Ardwin, based on him 'listening' to Ardwins spear. (The logic of that is beyond me) If this was so important, why was it never mentioned ever again in the book until right after Ardwin faces his near-death experience? While I do enjoy suspense, the spontaneity of these prophecies were not ideal at all. And why is it that every character Ardwin encounters has a prophecy for him? In addition, there were too many miniature stories within the book that were rapidly resolved in the last 10 pages of the book. I also felt that the abundance of plot twists irked me a little.
Overall, I would recommend this story to...anyone 12 and under. I loved medieval stories growing up and gladly so, so I can empathize with the author's love for fairytales. The writing made me feel like it was actually the medieval times and I think that the book was well-researched, but I'm just not so fond of the story overall. My favorite characters were Horse, Evron, and end-of-the-book Ardwin (you know, the one with the backbone?). However, I feel like this book would have been much more interesting if Evron, Ardwin's wicked stepmother, played a more significant role in the story, so that we could understand her perspective a lot more. Kind of like the 2014 movie Maleficent.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5, roughly average
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I loved the concept behind the novel and was amused by the lively dynamic between the characters. However, I honestly think that halfway into the book, the plot started to go absolutely nowhere. About a third of the book narrates Ardwin's travels inside nature's walls, and throughout his quest to find out where he truly belongs, random characters aide him and unfortunately become important towards the end of the story. I say unfortunate because their presence is merely 6 pages long in the beginning of the story, but later on, it is always revealed that some 3-line conversation that they carried with Ardwin was worthy of scrutiny to tie down the story altogether. Oh really, now? I kid you not, there was one chapter where a character named Mr. Bluestone, a sweet elderly innskeeper with a knack for 'whispering' to weapons, tells Ardwin that he prophecizes a terrible fate for Ardwin, based on him 'listening' to Ardwins spear. (The logic of that is beyond me) If this was so important, why was it never mentioned ever again in the book until right after Ardwin faces his near-death experience? While I do enjoy suspense, the spontaneity of these prophecies were not ideal at all. And why is it that every character Ardwin encounters has a prophecy for him? In addition, there were too many miniature stories within the book that were rapidly resolved in the last 10 pages of the book. I also felt that the abundance of plot twists irked me a little.
Overall, I would recommend this story to...anyone 12 and under. I loved medieval stories growing up and gladly so, so I can empathize with the author's love for fairytales. The writing made me feel like it was actually the medieval times and I think that the book was well-researched, but I'm just not so fond of the story overall. My favorite characters were Horse, Evron, and end-of-the-book Ardwin (you know, the one with the backbone?). However, I feel like this book would have been much more interesting if Evron, Ardwin's wicked stepmother, played a more significant role in the story, so that we could understand her perspective a lot more. Kind of like the 2014 movie Maleficent.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5, roughly average
trash_reader_'s review against another edition
It was an interesting concept, but I was way too bored to want to continue. Reading the bit that I did seemed more like a chore than anything else.
littlelarks's review against another edition
2.0
The Six Swans is one of my favorite fairytales, so when I stumbled upon this book - a sequel starring the sixth brother, one arm forever cursed to remain a wing - I was so excited! Overall, though, Birdwing was a disappointment. The writing was disjointed and stilted, especially where the dialogue was concerned. The pacing was a mess. And it follows the classic fantasty tradition of only two or three female characters who contribute little to the narrative, a particular disappointment considering how central the princess is in the original tale. Alas! Such a fantastic opportunity gone to waste!
literarystrawberry's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did. I /love/ the concept-- it's a really neat fairy tale, and a relatively unknown one, so a good choice for a re-telling-- but I just didn't care about the main character or his journey at all, and the whole thing was really slow and kind of unfocused. The love interest didn't even show up until the last fourth of the book, so I didn't have time to care about that either. I don't know. I'm sure other people will like it, it just wasn't for me.
msjoanna's review against another edition
4.0
This wonderful story of the winged boy from Grimm's fairy tale of the swan boys kept me entertained through a train ride. The story is well-plotted and moves quickly, incorporates the characters from the swan story as well as the story of the Goose Girl. I have a special love of fairy tale retellings (at least when done well), so I quite enjoyed this and definitely recommend it among the genre.