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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
The rating would be lower if it weren't for the lovely illustrations. Overall the book was too predictable and lacked character development.
slow-paced
Two stars for talking animals and being set in Portland, but this is most definitely for kids, and not a great kids' book at that.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I went in thinking I might not read the other books in the trilogy but I really would like to read more about the Wood. So good.
I so wanted to love this. The premise is inviting. The illustrations are magical. But while the book had some compelling moments, I couldn't connect with it as a whole. To be totally frank, if this book hadn't been recommended by a dear friend, I wouldn't have read past the first chapter. I found much of the writing cliché (or really ponderously hipster-y) and many of the situations and conversations felt like they had come from a not particularly original children's movie. There was so much potential and yet it never manifested; I couldn't stop comparing the book to my better-loved YA fantasy favorites (Tamora Pierce's stories sprang to mind, as did Karen Foxlee's more recent Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy). In those books the world, characters, and lore felt real and complex; Wildwood's felt like they'd been spun together over mere months. The imagination was there but not the depth.
Will come back to it later, needed something less complicated to read.
This book was surprisingly dark, even though it tried to resolve things in a positive way. I'm not sure that I'll read the rest, considering I only semi-enjoyed this book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5. Pleasant and airily written, but with a surprisingly serious final battle at the end. A lot of the book, actually, had some heavy moments - a handful of individual deaths, plus a lot of soldiers dying in swaths. I feel like it could have been more successful if it had written to that more mature audience, instead of dealing with serious things like death and war and corruption (and infant sacrifice!) while trying to maintain a whimsical, middle-grade aesthetic.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated