Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
A solid 4.5 Stars.
The ONLY reason this book doesn't get the full 5 stars is I felt the beginning was a bit slow, however once we got going, it was a real fun time so much so that I definitely see myself the future looking back on my rating and review of this book and thinking, 'That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean the beginning wasn't all that bad - I may just bump this up to 5 stars real quick.'
This was an awesome read (and bonus points for being super Canadian - heyo! Go Canada!)
So as I mentioned, the beginning was a bit slow but definitely NOT ENOUGH to have people turn away from this book. It's more of me saying "Just FYI, get through the first little bit and then you will be flying. You won't have to wait too long."
The story itself was magical the whole way. I loved being on that train, hearing it work, seeing the snow and landscape fly by. It was really beautiful. Of course the story within the train was even better.
Plot
This is aimed more at middle-grades but this did nothing to the quality of the book, meaning that no matter your age, you can enjoy it. It's Middle-Grade/Meant-For-All, if you know what I mean.
It wasn't a complicated read nor did it leave anything missing. It was paced well, giving you enough time to appreciate each new setting in the train but not staying anywhere long enough for you to get bored.
Writing
Third Person / Present Tense
Kenneth Oppel really brought the world to life. I felt the snow, felt the rumble of the train, saw the different passengers ...etc, which is all you can really ask of an author when writing a story (that and a good story, I guess).
I haven't seen a story written in present tense before (or at least don't remember if I have). It made it more intriguing though. It almost created this sense that even the story teller didn't know what was about to happen, and was just updating you as the story progressed. Pretty nifty stuff.
Characters
I don't believe there were any stupid characters! (You know what I mean, the ones that make stupid mistakes just to create situation with a lil' drama that were otherwise TOTALLY AVOIDABLE, and you're just sitting there thing - "Well, I mean Okay - but I feel more mad at you than worried.")
Will
Protagonist
A shy character but written well. Sometimes I find with shy characters, they are rather bland because "Oh, I am shy so I don't do much." but shy people are still super interesting, they just might not talk as much. Luckily with Will here, we got to see different parts of him, not just shy. He also had a nice character development throughout the story. It made sense and went at a steady pace. I liked who he was at the end of the book compared to the beginning.
Maren
Tight Rope Walker
Overall just a very sweet character. I liked her a lot. She was powerful, capable, and - once again - really sweet. I don't have much more to say about her except it was very easy to root for her -and Will - in the story.
Mr.Dorian
Ring Leader
To put it shortly - an interesting man. His demeanour was wonderful (casual, but purposeful, in control, and a tad mysterious). I don't really know how else to put it except saying, "I like his aesthetic".
Borgan
Brakeman/Antagonist
I can appreciate a good middle-grade villain when I see one. There were actually stakes with this guy, actual danger. While I was reading this I couldn't help think of [b:InkHeart|28194|Inkheart (Inkworld, #1)|Cornelia Funke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538266636s/28194.jpg|2628323]'s villains where we were continually told "These are bad guys. CAREFUL! BAD. GUYS." but didn't really see the extent of it, whereas in The Boundless it was inverted. We weren't told these were bad guys, we were shown, which makes everything more thrilling.
BONUS: Cover
Real quick - can we just appreciate the beauty of this cover. Literally the reason I picked it up (I know, I know) and I was lucky enough to enjoy it as well.
Overall - it was good. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and it does have a little more magic and wonder than you'd expect.
The ONLY reason this book doesn't get the full 5 stars is I felt the beginning was a bit slow, however once we got going, it was a real fun time so much so that I definitely see myself the future looking back on my rating and review of this book and thinking, 'That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean the beginning wasn't all that bad - I may just bump this up to 5 stars real quick.'
This was an awesome read (and bonus points for being super Canadian - heyo! Go Canada!)
So as I mentioned, the beginning was a bit slow but definitely NOT ENOUGH to have people turn away from this book. It's more of me saying "Just FYI, get through the first little bit and then you will be flying. You won't have to wait too long."
The story itself was magical the whole way. I loved being on that train, hearing it work, seeing the snow and landscape fly by. It was really beautiful. Of course the story within the train was even better.
Plot
This is aimed more at middle-grades but this did nothing to the quality of the book, meaning that no matter your age, you can enjoy it. It's Middle-Grade/Meant-For-All, if you know what I mean.
It wasn't a complicated read nor did it leave anything missing. It was paced well, giving you enough time to appreciate each new setting in the train but not staying anywhere long enough for you to get bored.
Writing
Third Person / Present Tense
Kenneth Oppel really brought the world to life. I felt the snow, felt the rumble of the train, saw the different passengers ...etc, which is all you can really ask of an author when writing a story (that and a good story, I guess).
I haven't seen a story written in present tense before (or at least don't remember if I have). It made it more intriguing though. It almost created this sense that even the story teller didn't know what was about to happen, and was just updating you as the story progressed. Pretty nifty stuff.
Characters
I don't believe there were any stupid characters! (You know what I mean, the ones that make stupid mistakes just to create situation with a lil' drama that were otherwise TOTALLY AVOIDABLE, and you're just sitting there thing - "Well, I mean Okay - but I feel more mad at you than worried.")
Will
Protagonist
A shy character but written well. Sometimes I find with shy characters, they are rather bland because "Oh, I am shy so I don't do much." but shy people are still super interesting, they just might not talk as much. Luckily with Will here, we got to see different parts of him, not just shy. He also had a nice character development throughout the story. It made sense and went at a steady pace. I liked who he was at the end of the book compared to the beginning.
Maren
Tight Rope Walker
Overall just a very sweet character. I liked her a lot. She was powerful, capable, and - once again - really sweet. I don't have much more to say about her except it was very easy to root for her -and Will - in the story.
Mr.Dorian
Ring Leader
To put it shortly - an interesting man.
Spoiler
I liked him a lot but had conflicting feelings about him in the end.Borgan
Brakeman/Antagonist
I can appreciate a good middle-grade villain when I see one. There were actually stakes with this guy, actual danger. While I was reading this I couldn't help think of [b:InkHeart|28194|Inkheart (Inkworld, #1)|Cornelia Funke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538266636s/28194.jpg|2628323]'s villains where we were continually told "These are bad guys. CAREFUL! BAD. GUYS." but didn't really see the extent of it, whereas in The Boundless it was inverted. We weren't told these were bad guys, we were shown, which makes everything more thrilling.
BONUS: Cover
Real quick - can we just appreciate the beauty of this cover. Literally the reason I picked it up (I know, I know) and I was lucky enough to enjoy it as well.
Overall - it was good. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and it does have a little more magic and wonder than you'd expect.
Not my favorite book by Mr. Oppel, but still a very fun, fast-paced read. I enjoyed it very much. Worth the read if you like adventure stories with a hint of romance. 4 out of 5 stars. Very good.
The CPR is near and dear to my heart as my father works for them. I grew up around tracks and trains. The Boundless while highly fantastical, is deeply engaging and I am remind why Kenneth Oppel is one of my favorites.
Kenneth Oppel excels at writing edge-of-your-seat adventures. I was holding my breath at many points throughout the story, and the characters were all interesting. I can't wait to start recommending this to patrons.
A wonderful adventurous book! I would love to ride the Boundless!
The Boundless is another entertaining adventure from Kenneth Oppel. He has a grasp on action scenes in Teen or younger books like nobody else writing today and I wish more people would try his books out. While this fell a little short of the Matt Cruse series, it had much the same appeal but with its own charm. The story moves along as fast as The Boundless itself!
1 STAR!
I really, really wanted to enjoy this book. It had trains, which I love, it took place in an alternate Victorian era, and it was an adventure. But alas I could not get past two very big things, the first it being so incredibly boring and slow. It took at least 200 pages to get going and it takes place on a train which you'd think would go by even quicker, but no. There's also a hint of romance in this which I wasn't for, you all know how I feel about MG books with romance in them. I don't like it. This could've been a favorite of mine, and that cover!! it's gorgeous but it just didn't work out for me. NOW! let's get to the second and most important to me, the usage of Blackface/Brownface as a disguise. I won't spoil it too much but Blackface/Brownface is used on the main character in this book and how the author didn't see that that was a gigantic no-no is beyond me. And what bothers me even more is that other reviews on Goodreads haven't mentioned this.
Lately I've been seeing a discussion going around on Twitter about authors who write historical fiction disregarding diversity because of the time period they write in and I think it's a load of bull. It's historical FICTION for a reason, you can do whatever you want with it. So using the time periods as an excuse needs to stop. And I feel like that is the argument that would be used in this book's case. But as I said above, this takes place in an alternate Victorian era, again ALTERNATE so this is the author's own creation of the Victorian era we are reading and maybe the usage of Blackface/Brownface was unintentional, but still, it doesn't mean it isn't WRONG.
All in all I'd say to pass on this. Something I would recommend better than this is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Now that is a Historical Fiction Middle-Grade book done right with lots of adventure and an amazing young protagonist. - Richard
I really, really wanted to enjoy this book. It had trains, which I love, it took place in an alternate Victorian era, and it was an adventure. But alas I could not get past two very big things, the first it being so incredibly boring and slow. It took at least 200 pages to get going and it takes place on a train which you'd think would go by even quicker, but no. There's also a hint of romance in this which I wasn't for, you all know how I feel about MG books with romance in them. I don't like it. This could've been a favorite of mine, and that cover!! it's gorgeous but it just didn't work out for me. NOW! let's get to the second and most important to me, the usage of Blackface/Brownface as a disguise. I won't spoil it too much but Blackface/Brownface is used on the main character in this book and how the author didn't see that that was a gigantic no-no is beyond me. And what bothers me even more is that other reviews on Goodreads haven't mentioned this.
Lately I've been seeing a discussion going around on Twitter about authors who write historical fiction disregarding diversity because of the time period they write in and I think it's a load of bull. It's historical FICTION for a reason, you can do whatever you want with it. So using the time periods as an excuse needs to stop. And I feel like that is the argument that would be used in this book's case. But as I said above, this takes place in an alternate Victorian era, again ALTERNATE so this is the author's own creation of the Victorian era we are reading and maybe the usage of Blackface/Brownface was unintentional, but still, it doesn't mean it isn't WRONG.
All in all I'd say to pass on this. Something I would recommend better than this is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Now that is a Historical Fiction Middle-Grade book done right with lots of adventure and an amazing young protagonist. - Richard
full of action. enjoyed the historic value after a grade school assignment on the last spike.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Here's a video with my thoughts on The Boundless: http://youtu.be/6nuH8l8MRkE