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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I know this is a bit wimpy of me, but I seriously couldn’t get past 129. That’s how boring this book was. It just seemed to get nowhere. Plus, for the most part, it was almost a COMPLETE RIP-OFF OF NARNIA. SERIOUSLY. I mean, the second I saw Alexandra, I kept reading and she was like some duplicate of the Snow Queen. Ugh!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One Sentence Review: Has lofty aims, but gets seriously bogged down in a story that should have been edited down to half its size.
I am admittedly an adult reading this young adult fantasy novel simply because I really like the Decemberists, so I get that I’m probably not the target audience. But I have been known to read and enjoy YA fantasy, and I figured this would be a quick read. In the end it took me kind of a while to actually get through Wildwood. Colin Meloy has many talents, and he had put fun ideas into this book, but for me the writing was a little off-putting, and nothing really drew me in. I’ll stick with his music.
An addition to agree with some other reviews on here: there’s kind of a lot of intense gun violence involving children, and some pretty brutal deaths? Also like, adults manipulating children. Not very whimsical.
(The illustrations are great, though!)
An addition to agree with some other reviews on here: there’s kind of a lot of intense gun violence involving children, and some pretty brutal deaths? Also like, adults manipulating children. Not very whimsical.
(The illustrations are great, though!)
I became familiar with this book from a student I was working with. I decided to read the book and found it engaging and thought provoking. There were significant analogies to current social justice and political realities.
A bit slow for me, but the calm vibe was kind of nice for this type of book! A+ illustrations by the way, wish there were more since the detailed descriptions were a bit much.
Slow in places, but worth the draggy parts. While it's a contemporary story, there's something nostalgic about the world Meloy's created. I guess talking animals have a long history in jf-ya history, and I'm glad to see a contemporary author giving that a try. I really enjoyed the illustrations, as well.
If this is an "American Narnia," we're in trouble, folks.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it. But I had much higher expectations, and couldn't shake the feeling that Colin Meloy just recently discovered the thesaurus. I also felt that we were being beaten over the head with hipster. Prue really rides a fixed fear bike and drinks steamed milk in cafes? Peruses used record racks? How old is she again? I get it: Portland is hipster-mecca, but Colin Meloy is trying much too hard.
I loved, however, the Dowager Governess and the Bandit King. I loved the concept and the illustrations. There were times when the book really caught me, hence I have it more stars than I probably should have. Judge it for what it is: a fun kid's book by a very creative man. I wouldn't call it "literature" and frankly it's an insult to Narnia to draw comparisons.
I'll keep up with the trilogy, and I'm sure that I'll enjoy the trips into Wildwood. However, this does not rank up with other authors like C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl or J.K. Rowling.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it. But I had much higher expectations, and couldn't shake the feeling that Colin Meloy just recently discovered the thesaurus. I also felt that we were being beaten over the head with hipster. Prue really rides a fixed fear bike and drinks steamed milk in cafes? Peruses used record racks? How old is she again? I get it: Portland is hipster-mecca, but Colin Meloy is trying much too hard.
I loved, however, the Dowager Governess and the Bandit King. I loved the concept and the illustrations. There were times when the book really caught me, hence I have it more stars than I probably should have. Judge it for what it is: a fun kid's book by a very creative man. I wouldn't call it "literature" and frankly it's an insult to Narnia to draw comparisons.
I'll keep up with the trilogy, and I'm sure that I'll enjoy the trips into Wildwood. However, this does not rank up with other authors like C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl or J.K. Rowling.
I really enjoyed the writing and yes the vocabulary! But I am a vocabulary lover... Anyway I thought the story was great, not easily figured out, and fun! I could have done without the Godless propiganda in the middle but other than that I thought it was wildly imaginitive! I am looking forward to the next book and to sharing this with my kids as they get older. Reading should always be so addicting!!