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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
First off this novel is HUGE for a kid. Well over 500 pages. It took us a month to read it. But it took us to a magic place - a hidden forest outside of Portland, Oregon. Where animals rule and there is an evil witch. A very detailed fantasy novel with personification of animals. If you enjoyed the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this book maybe for you. After you get over the size of the book. There are beautiful pictures throughout.
I really wanted to like this book, bur I did not. I found it so boring. :/
Read on the recommendation of a friend who has been reading it with her kids.
Star 1 for great female protagonist.
Star 2 for good story (shades of the movie Labyrinth).
Star 3 for beautiful illustrations and good writing.
Star 4 for some minor bird nerdery.
Star 1 for great female protagonist.
Star 2 for good story (shades of the movie Labyrinth).
Star 3 for beautiful illustrations and good writing.
Star 4 for some minor bird nerdery.
2013 BOB. Great story-telling, plot a little too confusing for C. Fantastical fiction is not my thing, but it was a good read.
A perfectly cromulent story that is so twee it's almost like it was written by a focus group of Portland hipsters. Not nearly enough heart, but the pictures are pretty.
I appreciate it when children's books have expansive vocabulary, but this is as wordy and slow as it is derivative. It had its moments but my sons and I were not enthralled. It also isn't great for reading aloud: one is often not told whose voice it is until too late.
A murder of crows-- don't see that much anymore! I am intrigued as to their intent, though. Well, loved the beginning and ending, but think it weighed heavy in the middle. Recommended Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up
When her baby brother is ripped from their safe, quaint neighborhood and flown away to the Impenetrable Wilderness, Prue—accidentally accompanied by her classmate Curtis—must risk it all to enter the woods, and there discover places and dangers unknown. With an epic adventure and journey, as well as an antagonist, in the style of Narnia and locales that mirror Redwall and other classic fantasy settings, Wildwood falls somewhere between homage and derivation. Unfortunately, this means that Wildwood reads more like a book that wants to be a classic than one that is: the right pieces are often there, but they're a little too familiar and so too often predictable; the book offers nothing more, be it startling originality in a Harry Potter-like world or the numinous qualities of a Narnia-like metaphor, to make it stand out. This doesn't mean that it wants for a Jesus analogy—but it does want something bigger, something more unique and memorable, to make it a classic or a must-read.
Instead, Wildwood is just a good book. At a hefty 500 pages, it's an unapologetic epic—and Meloy flows smoothly from city to woods, indulging in the joy of a rambling journey without losing pace, maintaining a sense of humor without becoming twee, and altogether building a compelling tale. Ellis's stylized illustrations do even more than the prose to make the story vivid and unique. This is a book to lose yourself in for hours, which is a pleasure in its own right. Although it occasionally grows too quirky and cute (which is a mixed blessing as a St. Johns local—the depiction of the area is idealized, but no less delightful for that), Wildwood is also surprisingly dark. Without forgetting the age of its intended audience, the book recognizes and refuses to romanticize its violence—and so, however sure the reader is that all will turn out well in the end, there's a distinct sense of danger and loss. (Now if only Meloy would stop preferring humanoid lives to anthropomorphic ones.) Not all supporting characters are so lucky, but Prue and Curtis are fantastic—each is distinct, each is remarkably normal, each achieves something beyond their own expectations and perceived limitations, and that's almost exactly what I hope to see in all children's and young adult fiction. Wildwood wants desperately to be something more than this, but it's not—which may be its downfall, making it feel more disappointing and derivative than it really is. But even if the book is disappointed in itself, I'm satisfied with it: this is a solidly enjoyable, if ultimately unremarkable, tale, and I'm glad for the chance to read it. With those caveats, I recommend it to readers of all ages. (And yes, this first installment does stand alone.)
(ARC received in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.)
Instead, Wildwood is just a good book. At a hefty 500 pages, it's an unapologetic epic—and Meloy flows smoothly from city to woods, indulging in the joy of a rambling journey without losing pace, maintaining a sense of humor without becoming twee, and altogether building a compelling tale. Ellis's stylized illustrations do even more than the prose to make the story vivid and unique. This is a book to lose yourself in for hours, which is a pleasure in its own right. Although it occasionally grows too quirky and cute (which is a mixed blessing as a St. Johns local—the depiction of the area is idealized, but no less delightful for that), Wildwood is also surprisingly dark. Without forgetting the age of its intended audience, the book recognizes and refuses to romanticize its violence—and so, however sure the reader is that all will turn out well in the end, there's a distinct sense of danger and loss. (Now if only Meloy would stop preferring humanoid lives to anthropomorphic ones.) Not all supporting characters are so lucky, but Prue and Curtis are fantastic—each is distinct, each is remarkably normal, each achieves something beyond their own expectations and perceived limitations, and that's almost exactly what I hope to see in all children's and young adult fiction. Wildwood wants desperately to be something more than this, but it's not—which may be its downfall, making it feel more disappointing and derivative than it really is. But even if the book is disappointed in itself, I'm satisfied with it: this is a solidly enjoyable, if ultimately unremarkable, tale, and I'm glad for the chance to read it. With those caveats, I recommend it to readers of all ages. (And yes, this first installment does stand alone.)
(ARC received in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.)
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-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:
No