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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I have some big thoughts about this book but the girls loved it.
The good things:
Decent main girl character (though not good enough to add to the cool girl protagonists list)
Great illustrations
kind-of well-developed fantasy world
Less than good things:
Super-wordy
Quick and weirdly unsatisfactory ending
The story never pulled me in to where I cared about the characters
Thinking of creating a shelf for 'not living up to its hype.'
Do I think kids will read it? Yes.
Decent main girl character (though not good enough to add to the cool girl protagonists list)
Great illustrations
kind-of well-developed fantasy world
Less than good things:
Super-wordy
Quick and weirdly unsatisfactory ending
The story never pulled me in to where I cared about the characters
Thinking of creating a shelf for 'not living up to its hype.'
Do I think kids will read it? Yes.
a cute, long middle-grade fantasy written by the lead singer of The Decemberists, no less! Great for strong 4th/5th grade readers looking for a challenge.
Reasonably well written, although less nuanced than I'd hope for from Melloy. But he does seem to have a grand world in mind, and the darker moments are good. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
I got through 40 pages before giving it up. I'm kind of sad because I really wanted to like this book. I was really excited about the premise. Unfortunately reading this book has the same effect on me as listening to the Decemberist's music. It irritated the crap out of me. I don't know why. Maybe there is something wrong with me because everyone else I know loves the Decemberists, so perhaps they will also love this book. It did get a starred review from Booklist.
All personal feelings aside, the real problem with this book is that I would have a very hard time selling it to middle grade kids. Problem #1 is that it is so thick. When I hand a book that thick to a kid it better be really, really good. I need to be able to sell it. The second problem is that the vocabulary is a tad high for younger readers. Most kids would stumble around the words and get very frustrated right away.
So I suppose the real audience for this book are young adults or adults who like children's literature, and are Decemberist fans. The Portland setting could also be a hook, as well. Sadly, I didn't feel like sticking around long enough to see how the story played out.
All personal feelings aside, the real problem with this book is that I would have a very hard time selling it to middle grade kids. Problem #1 is that it is so thick. When I hand a book that thick to a kid it better be really, really good. I need to be able to sell it. The second problem is that the vocabulary is a tad high for younger readers. Most kids would stumble around the words and get very frustrated right away.
So I suppose the real audience for this book are young adults or adults who like children's literature, and are Decemberist fans. The Portland setting could also be a hook, as well. Sadly, I didn't feel like sticking around long enough to see how the story played out.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Overall, this was a cute story. I liked the incorporation of real Portland culture and landmarks and natural description. However it was so descriptive that I felt very bored and disconnected to the plot. Most of the story seemed to be describing or setting the scene rather than moving the plot along. for middle readers, I can imagine it would be tough to get through.
SPOILERS:
I also feel like Prue and Curtis' connection to Wildwood went unexplained. Though we may find out what's happened in the next book, I wasn't satisfied that Curtis and Prue didn't have much curiosity about this. Also it's super messed up how Curtis just abandons his family (no explanation there) and I don't know why Prue would go back to her awful parents. If anything Prue should have stayed in Wildwood and raised Mac herself and Curtis should have gone home.
SPOILERS:
I also feel like Prue and Curtis' connection to Wildwood went unexplained. Though we may find out what's happened in the next book, I wasn't satisfied that Curtis and Prue didn't have much curiosity about this. Also it's super messed up how Curtis just abandons his family (no explanation there) and I don't know why Prue would go back to her awful parents. If anything Prue should have stayed in Wildwood and raised Mac herself and Curtis should have gone home.
(2.5) this was a fun, lighthearted, cozy adventure. a lengthy woodland fantasy, similar to Narnia but not too similar. my main gripe with this was the use of guns...guns don't feel very woodland fantasy to me. it's hard for me to imagine a coyote holding a musket, personally.
Fun premise and I loved the world, but it went on for way too long and too many species/characters to keep track of what was going on.
I love the illustrations and the story starts out in an intriguing way, but then bogs down.