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melissasarahrobinson's review against another edition
3.0
Not as wonderful as the first book, but still a good read.
anndeehi's review against another edition
5.0
I love this series. I am hoping that it will someday be made into a movie or two. It is filled with wonderful characters and stories about everyday life in 19th Century Texas.
joshua_shaw's review against another edition
5.0
As charming as the first book. The only criticism I can possibly level at this book is its short length, as I wanted to read more adventures of Calpurnia Tate, Travis, and the rest of their family. I sure hope this isn't the last entry in this series, as I could follow these characters into adulthood. Highly recommended.
readingthroughthelists's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I came to The Curious World hopeful that it would improve on the things I felt were lacking in Evolution. Unfortunately, The Curious World felt even less substantial than its predecessor.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate was meandering, to be sure, but at its core there was a story present: Calpurnia’s growing relationship with her grandfather and her burgeoning love of science and discovery.
In The Curious World, these elements are already firmly established and no new ones are brought in. Thus the book just isn’t about anything. Things happen, and are sometimes even fun to read about, but there is no deeper meaning or significance brought out in any of these events.
Calpurnia wants to become a veterinarian and faces (more) sexism. That’s it. No relationships are deepened, no meaningful connections are formed (yes Calpurnia and Aggie become friends of a sort, but their bond is never really explored or explained).
At the end of the day, there just isn’t much here.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate was meandering, to be sure, but at its core there was a story present: Calpurnia’s growing relationship with her grandfather and her burgeoning love of science and discovery.
In The Curious World, these elements are already firmly established and no new ones are brought in. Thus the book just isn’t about anything. Things happen, and are sometimes even fun to read about, but there is no deeper meaning or significance brought out in any of these events.
Calpurnia wants to become a veterinarian and faces (more) sexism. That’s it. No relationships are deepened, no meaningful connections are formed (yes Calpurnia and Aggie become friends of a sort, but their bond is never really explored or explained).
At the end of the day, there just isn’t much here.
ashleygsiler's review against another edition
4.0
I adore Calpurnia Tate and this sequel delivered more of that feisty, whip-smart, adventurous character. This book picks up in 1900, the year after the first book. It brings more of the small episodic family stories that were so fun in the first book, but considerably less Grandfather, which was less fun. It also brings more of an overarching plot line with the arrival of a cousin displaced by the Galveston hurricane, but that story’s ending was wrapped up so absurdly quickly that it left me annoyed. Still, Calpurnia and her adventures in science shine, and I can’t wait to pick up the related series for young readers, Calpurnia Tate: Girl Vet.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/07/2015-book-171.html
The sequel to The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is more of the same--it's early 1900s Texas, and a little girl, taught by her grandfather, longs to be a scientist, but everyone is sexist! Your feminist hackles will be raised! In this one, a major storm in Galveston sends a cousin to stay with the family, but she's not really as much a character as a plot device. The foreshadowing here is seriously heavy-handed, too, though maybe that's to be expected of a middle-grade book? So they'll like, notice it. I like Calpurnia and her brother Travis a lot though, and find their animal-saving adventures to be pretty entertaining. B.
The sequel to The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is more of the same--it's early 1900s Texas, and a little girl, taught by her grandfather, longs to be a scientist, but everyone is sexist! Your feminist hackles will be raised! In this one, a major storm in Galveston sends a cousin to stay with the family, but she's not really as much a character as a plot device. The foreshadowing here is seriously heavy-handed, too, though maybe that's to be expected of a middle-grade book? So they'll like, notice it. I like Calpurnia and her brother Travis a lot though, and find their animal-saving adventures to be pretty entertaining. B.
itziars's review against another edition
5.0
Me encantan estos libros, realmente espero que saquen más. Por una parte, me encanta Calpurnia, la niña texana de principios del siglo pasado a la que le interesa la naturaleza y desafia los planes que la sociedad y sus padres tiene para ella. Además, en este libro podemos ver mejor la relación entre Travis y Calpurnia y el hermano pequeño me ha encantado.
ejimenez's review against another edition
4.0
. . . On the one hand, this is an engaging and fun piece of historical fiction, with quirky, likable characters.
On the other hand, I kept being distracted by the extent to which Callie is incredibly privileged in her context. The story foregrounds her lack of gender privilege (which is a real thing, and a legitimate problem), but glosses over her race and class privilege. Compare her choices and opportunities to the opportunities a Native American girl, a Hispanic girl, a Black girl, or a poor white girl would have had in Texan at the time the story was written, and the difference is stark. From the trajectory of the story, it's clear that her family's relative wealth will allow her to achieve her dreams despite the sexism she faces. Good for her, but . . .
On the other hand, I kept being distracted by the extent to which Callie is incredibly privileged in her context. The story foregrounds her lack of gender privilege (which is a real thing, and a legitimate problem), but glosses over her race and class privilege. Compare her choices and opportunities to the opportunities a Native American girl, a Hispanic girl, a Black girl, or a poor white girl would have had in Texan at the time the story was written, and the difference is stark. From the trajectory of the story, it's clear that her family's relative wealth will allow her to achieve her dreams despite the sexism she faces. Good for her, but . . .
libscote's review against another edition
4.0
This book does not quite capture the magic of the first book, but I'll take any excuse to spend more time with Callie Vee and her family. I just love their adventures, especially Travis and his love of animals. I do wish that this story had a bit more of an arc to it, rather than feeling like a collection of events in Callie Vee's life. The other part that annoyed me more this time around were references to inventions that exist now, but did not in 1900. I'm sure these were pleasant in the first book, but they were jarring to me in this one. Even so, I still am a huge fan of the whole family and look forward to any other adventures Ms. Kelly would like to bestow upon us.
I did get an advanced readers' copy of the book, for which I am especially grateful.
I did get an advanced readers' copy of the book, for which I am especially grateful.