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booksthatburn's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent and Death
crownoflaurel's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
T. Kingfisher's middle grade-ish fantasies give me the same inventive, cozy fantasy feels as Diana Wynn Jones. And this one, with its eccentric family of artists and one young member's emerging talents, has Encanto vibes as well! Add in drawings of fanged radishes, an easily distracted corvid, a very cool magical system, and family and friend issues that avoid some of the typical fantasy cliches (no cut-throat rivalries, no chosen-one sacrifices) and you have a delightful story that is perfect for kids, classic fantasy lovers, and families who read together.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
paronomaniac's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
An utter delight!
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and War
displacedcactus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This is one of those T. Kingfisher books that stars a young protagonist and has kid-appropriate themes, but is written a bit more like an adult book. Honestly, I would have loved these when I was 10-12, because I read well above my "grade level", but had parents who were pretty strict about what I was allowed to read. I think parents, grandparents, and piblings could happily give these books to any advanced young readers in their life.
Illuminations follows Rosa, the youngest member of a family of magical artists. Rosa accidentally frees both a terrible monster and a magical talking crow and has to deal with the consequences, while also navigating some Big Feelings about friendship, jealousy, and artistic talent.
There's some violence and perilous situations that feel about on par with a PG-rated movie. No strong language and not even a whiff of sexuality.
My two small quibbles is that I felt the reasoning for waiting so long to tell Rosa's grown-up family members was weak, and that I didn't entirely agree with how they decided to deal with the monster in the end. But over all this was an enjoyable book and a great cozy read for a long holiday weekend.
Illuminations follows Rosa, the youngest member of a family of magical artists. Rosa accidentally frees both a terrible monster and a magical talking crow and has to deal with the consequences, while also navigating some Big Feelings about friendship, jealousy, and artistic talent.
There's some violence and perilous situations that feel about on par with a PG-rated movie. No strong language and not even a whiff of sexuality.
My two small quibbles is that I felt the reasoning for waiting so long to tell Rosa's grown-up family members was weak, and that I didn't entirely agree with how they decided to deal with the monster in the end. But over all this was an enjoyable book and a great cozy read for a long holiday weekend.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Rosa is an orphan and we eventually learn what happened to her parents. It was a traumatic event but is not explained in great detail.
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