Scan barcode
innowen's review against another edition
4.0
I remember picking this book up on a lark. It was the name and the cover that caught my eye. We were just about to leave the store when I saw it and knew I had to have it. I'm glad I got it. Imagine Neil Gaiman meets HP Lovecraft and this is one possible reality. Dragonfly is the story of a 10 year old girl, who foolishly adventures down into a horrible realm (much like Lovecraft's Dreamlands). Dragonfly, follows a strange "exterminator" down into her basement that has been strangely changed into a horrifying world. She then discouvers a horrible plot by the ringleader, Sam Hain (get it? get it? *giggles*), who steals children from our world and forces them into slavery. No matter where she goes, trouble follows; even if all she wants to do is go home. Dragonfly finds that no matter where she goes, trouble follows. People she loves die or get caught and all she wants is to go home. Finally, after a weird and bizarre battle that is both fitting to the story and not quite fitting, she does go home... only to forge a bond with many of the characters that leaves the book open for future sequels. I enjoyed this book, but found it a bit hard to digest. Durbin's prose is thick and dense and filled with puns. The print was small and I found my self constantly re-reading passages that my eye may have skipped over. In the end I added another fiction book to my reading list and cleared one more book off the table. Yay! 7 more to go.
carlydbar's review against another edition
4.0
It has taken me seven tries and thirteen years to finally finish this book. And it was worth it.
awesomelybadbooks's review against another edition
5.0
A fantasy horror novel about a little girl named Bridget Anne aka Dragonfly as she, her Uncle Henry, Mothkin, and others battle the leader (Samuel Hain) of an underground world (Harvest Moon) before he and his people can emerge into the human world, deplete it, and then move on.
This is a reread for me and it’s just as amazing now as the other times I read it. For me, personally, it’s just a perfect story. It’s dark but not graphic. So so beautifully written. Is it wordy? Yes, but I love books like that, books that challenge me and force me to concentrate.
Easily in my top five favorite books!
This is a reread for me and it’s just as amazing now as the other times I read it. For me, personally, it’s just a perfect story. It’s dark but not graphic. So so beautifully written. Is it wordy? Yes, but I love books like that, books that challenge me and force me to concentrate.
Easily in my top five favorite books!
onehtl1ama's review against another edition
2.0
The story could have been okay, but I was distracted from it by terrible writing and editing.
vermidian's review
2.0
I quite reading this book about 90 pages into it and then skipped around a little to see if it got any better. To be really honest with you, most of the people rating this book with four and five star ratings are mostly reveling in the author being a Christian author, which is fine, than actually appreciating the writing style itself. That style, unfortunately, is what disappointed me. What makes that even worse was that I was really optimistic given that it's generally Halloween themed, but even that couldn't save this book.
For one thing, the characters fell flat - including the main character, Dragonfly, for whom the book was named. Dragonfly is a fifth grader, though it's told in past tense, meaning that as the main character is telling you the story, she's older than she is in the story. This creates an odd disconnect. All the other characters are just sort of there. Even though their actions are what seem to drive the plot, and not Dragonfly's actions - all of which seem to be hiding, praying, and generally being swept up in the guidance of side characters.
There's also this weird level of sexual desire in it. Mind you, this is a fifth grader who is being enticed by the smell of the musk of a boy. Having been a fifth grader, I can guarantee you that boys of similar ages to you do not smell good at that age. Hell, you're lucky if they use deodorant at all. Even if they did smell good at that age, there is no way a fifth grader would be smitten with a boy after one chance meeting and continually smell her cloak for hints of his "musk." Seriously. She's twelve, dude. (Spoiler alert: this book is written by a man who has clearly never been a fifth grade girl.)
The final thing that made me want to put down this book was that the author describes everything so extensively that I feel like the book is wasting my time. I question whether or not the editor for this book really read what was being said. These descriptions are tedious, and extensive, and don't actually help the plot along at all. I commented about 50 pages in that it felt like the author would rather be writing poetry than prose. It felt like reading really pointless poems about random topics. And I didn't think they were particularly well written poems.
Ultimately, this is not a book I would recommend to others.
For one thing, the characters fell flat - including the main character, Dragonfly, for whom the book was named. Dragonfly is a fifth grader, though it's told in past tense, meaning that as the main character is telling you the story, she's older than she is in the story. This creates an odd disconnect. All the other characters are just sort of there. Even though their actions are what seem to drive the plot, and not Dragonfly's actions - all of which seem to be hiding, praying, and generally being swept up in the guidance of side characters.
There's also this weird level of sexual desire in it. Mind you, this is a fifth grader who is being enticed by the smell of the musk of a boy. Having been a fifth grader, I can guarantee you that boys of similar ages to you do not smell good at that age. Hell, you're lucky if they use deodorant at all. Even if they did smell good at that age, there is no way a fifth grader would be smitten with a boy after one chance meeting and continually smell her cloak for hints of his "musk." Seriously. She's twelve, dude. (Spoiler alert: this book is written by a man who has clearly never been a fifth grade girl.)
The final thing that made me want to put down this book was that the author describes everything so extensively that I feel like the book is wasting my time. I question whether or not the editor for this book really read what was being said. These descriptions are tedious, and extensive, and don't actually help the plot along at all. I commented about 50 pages in that it felt like the author would rather be writing poetry than prose. It felt like reading really pointless poems about random topics. And I didn't think they were particularly well written poems.
Ultimately, this is not a book I would recommend to others.
marycato's review
4.0
Ok so this books is SO great!
Seriously, you can easily fall in love with this book.
Very descriptive and interesting, you will not be bored ;). It is slightly hard to follow, but you should be able to manage it. The book is told from the view of a girl named Dragonfly (I so jealous of this name) and by an interesting turn of events, she ends up in the Halloween Town that is is her basement. From there she has this crazy adventure that is not always pleasant or happy, but is none the less very intriguing.
If you give the book a chance, you'll probably like it!
Seriously, you can easily fall in love with this book.
Very descriptive and interesting, you will not be bored ;). It is slightly hard to follow, but you should be able to manage it. The book is told from the view of a girl named Dragonfly (I so jealous of this name) and by an interesting turn of events, she ends up in the Halloween Town that is is her basement. From there she has this crazy adventure that is not always pleasant or happy, but is none the less very intriguing.
If you give the book a chance, you'll probably like it!
ladiicatherine's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A fantasy horror novel about a little girl named Bridget Anne aka Dragonfly as she, her Uncle Henry, Mothkin, and others battle the leader (Samuel Hain) of an underground world (Harvest Moon) before he and his people can emerge into the human world, deplete it, and then move on.
This is a reread for me and it’s just as amazing now as the other times I read it. For me, personally, it’s just a perfect story. It’s dark but not graphic. So so beautifully written. Is it wordy? Yes, but I love books like that, books that challenge me and force me to concentrate.
Easily in my top five favorite books!
This is a reread for me and it’s just as amazing now as the other times I read it. For me, personally, it’s just a perfect story. It’s dark but not graphic. So so beautifully written. Is it wordy? Yes, but I love books like that, books that challenge me and force me to concentrate.
Easily in my top five favorite books!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Kidnapping
woodge's review
4.0
I found this while browsing in a bookstore and I must admit that the arresting cover caught my eye. Upon a closer look, the cover would seem to appeal to a Young Adult audience but an even closer inspection revealed that to be misleading. (There's a moral here somewhere.) From the back cover:
As Hallowe'en approaches, young Bridget Anne ("Dragonfly," to her friends) begins hearing strange things coming from the basement of her uncle's funeral parlor peculiar noises and odd voices speaking of a stairway... a stairway that is almost complete. Uncle Henry, suspecting sinister forces may be at work, summons his mysterious friend Mothkin to investigate. Mothkin goes down the laundry chute for a look. And Dragonfly stubbornly follows him into the strange and spooky underworld known as Harvest Moon...
In addition to that were various blurbs that described the book thusly: "Children's fears become real in this intriguingly odd, old-fashioned dark fantasy of a world beneath ours..." and "think of an even more twisted version of a A Nightmare Before Christmas" and "A classic, epic, action-adventure fantasy, chronicling the struggle between good and evil... imaginatively dark with gruesome creatures... " and so forth.
Well, it was as advertised. This imaginative, original story gets cracking from the very first pages. The imagery is lush and painted with a rich vocabulary. There's nothing cutesy about the story (thank God) and it manages to include all sorts of beasties. Vampires, werewolves, gypsies, and other various ghouls all make an appearance in this unpredictable tale. And when the action is really moving it brings to mind thrills you might find in a summer blockbuster. Good times.
As Hallowe'en approaches, young Bridget Anne ("Dragonfly," to her friends) begins hearing strange things coming from the basement of her uncle's funeral parlor peculiar noises and odd voices speaking of a stairway... a stairway that is almost complete. Uncle Henry, suspecting sinister forces may be at work, summons his mysterious friend Mothkin to investigate. Mothkin goes down the laundry chute for a look. And Dragonfly stubbornly follows him into the strange and spooky underworld known as Harvest Moon...
In addition to that were various blurbs that described the book thusly: "Children's fears become real in this intriguingly odd, old-fashioned dark fantasy of a world beneath ours..." and "think of an even more twisted version of a A Nightmare Before Christmas" and "A classic, epic, action-adventure fantasy, chronicling the struggle between good and evil... imaginatively dark with gruesome creatures... " and so forth.
Well, it was as advertised. This imaginative, original story gets cracking from the very first pages. The imagery is lush and painted with a rich vocabulary. There's nothing cutesy about the story (thank God) and it manages to include all sorts of beasties. Vampires, werewolves, gypsies, and other various ghouls all make an appearance in this unpredictable tale. And when the action is really moving it brings to mind thrills you might find in a summer blockbuster. Good times.