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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
So much potential and so much to like - an epic train, a girl escape artist, a boy artist artist, a circus, a robbery, and a Sasquatch - I wish this was a series.
An interesting combination of historical and fantasy adventure. Starting with the Last spike of the CP rail moving along with Sam Steele, a circus ringmaster of Metis heritage, a Sasquatch captured as a circus marvel, Cornelius Krieghoff, Sir Sanford Fleming, and touching on many aspects of the rail era of Canadian history. Will, an engineers son must travel the length of a mammoth train The Boundless from caboose to locomotive disguised as a circus performer to escape from a murderer by depending on others in an effort to save his father and protect the last spike from the murdering thief.
adventure fantasy
Grades 5- 8
Excellent
adventure fantasy
Grades 5- 8
Excellent
Fast-paced, lots of action. Good for reluctant readers (especially boys)
A cute story, though the pacing was rather slow. Loved the setting!
This book as a little bit for everyone and it kept me engaged. Started it Saturday afternoon and finished early Sunday morning!
I picked this book up at the library for my 11 year old son after reading some intriguing reviews - adventure, mystery, murder, trains - this story has it all, and a stunningly gorgeous cover to boot. My son devoured it and spoke so excitedly about it I decided to read it myself. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it for readers in grade 5 & up.
I find I was surprisingly disappointed with this book. I liked the setting, the characters, the plot...but a lot of little things made it hard to really enjoy.
It was a bit slow to start, and just when the pace picked up...it slowed to a crawl again. I was also left with a lot of questions...sasquatch, wedigo, other cryptid type creatures just exist? Usually I'm fine with just accepting things like that, however in this case, I think the story would have been better without them; removing the fantasy element and letting the characters survive and progress with their own mettle. At times they felt included just to keep the book moving along, giving it an extra shot of adventure. And while it might not bother kids, the whole Dorian Gray aspect just felt out of place.
Sigh. Just not quite the book for me.
It was a bit slow to start, and just when the pace picked up...it slowed to a crawl again. I was also left with a lot of questions...sasquatch, wedigo, other cryptid type creatures just exist? Usually I'm fine with just accepting things like that, however in this case, I think the story would have been better without them; removing the fantasy element and letting the characters survive and progress with their own mettle. At times they felt included just to keep the book moving along, giving it an extra shot of adventure. And while it might not bother kids, the whole Dorian Gray aspect just felt out of place.
Sigh. Just not quite the book for me.
Adventure, mystery, magic, a circus and a luxurious train. Definitely a good read.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This started off so well. Thought it was would be a fun story about solving a murder on a fantastical train and it was, for a while. But then it just got a bit icky.
The white main character puts on make-up to make himself look like an Indian child so he can hide. Why the author thought brownface would be a good idea to include in his story, I really don’t know. And it was only published ten years ago in 2014, how did this get approved?! I then also noticed other things like mentioning how hard it must be to be a girl getting cat called and how hard life must be to third class person or someone who is half Native American etc. None of it was done very well. It was like the story wanted to be a fun, murder mystery with elements of magic aimed at teenagers but also a hard hitting reality check for certain people. It didn’t get the balance right at all.
It was a shame because there were some fun elements to this story and I think many 9-15 year olds would love it.
The white main character puts on make-up to make himself look like an Indian child so he can hide. Why the author thought brownface would be a good idea to include in his story, I really don’t know. And it was only published ten years ago in 2014, how did this get approved?! I then also noticed other things like mentioning how hard it must be to be a girl getting cat called and how hard life must be to third class person or someone who is half Native American etc. None of it was done very well. It was like the story wanted to be a fun, murder mystery with elements of magic aimed at teenagers but also a hard hitting reality check for certain people. It didn’t get the balance right at all.
It was a shame because there were some fun elements to this story and I think many 9-15 year olds would love it.
Lots of fun and adventure. A mix of historical fiction and fantasy -- kind of like The Eyre Affair, now that I think about it.