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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Great book. I look forward to more from this author.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started the book. I asked my library to buy it because I follow the authors youtube channel and she's Canadian and I wanted to support her as a fellow Canadian who likes songs about having too many books and the horror genre.
I noticed that it had been compared to books by Diana Wynne Jones so my hopes we're raised. I have read this book now and I can say. Oh my god. This is the most Diana Wynne Jones book I have read since I read ones of her books. It's glorious.
I loved the characters, the time travel didn't get me mixed up like it tends to in a lot of books and just everything about it was awesome. I really, really hope the author writes more, especially if they're more fantasy DWJ like books. The world needs more of those. But really this book will ensure that I'll probably read their next book, whatever they write, just in case it's as good as this one.
OH! AND IT WAS SET IN CANADA. BLESS. We never get genre books set in Canada. The world also needs more Canadian books like this. I might have to buy this for myself now just so I can own a copy.
I noticed that it had been compared to books by Diana Wynne Jones so my hopes we're raised. I have read this book now and I can say. Oh my god. This is the most Diana Wynne Jones book I have read since I read ones of her books. It's glorious.
I loved the characters, the time travel didn't get me mixed up like it tends to in a lot of books and just everything about it was awesome. I really, really hope the author writes more, especially if they're more fantasy DWJ like books. The world needs more of those. But really this book will ensure that I'll probably read their next book, whatever they write, just in case it's as good as this one.
OH! AND IT WAS SET IN CANADA. BLESS. We never get genre books set in Canada. The world also needs more Canadian books like this. I might have to buy this for myself now just so I can own a copy.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was good, but I would probably never read it again & it was very slow. I also think that it was trying to hard to hit the quirkyness of A Wrinkle in Time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Ableism, Emotional abuse
This and more @ The Local Muse:
Freddy lives with her younger sister, her deaf step-brother, her step-father, and her mother. She can't seem to get along with her step-brother Roland, who has bounded with her sister Mel over role-playing games, and her step-dad and mother are never around. Freddy feels out of place at home and at school. When new neighbors move into the often-vacant house next door, Freddy quickly discovers they are not who, or even what, they claim to be.
I'm pretty sure I saw this book on a list of books recommended to fans of Stranger Things right after I finished season two. And since I, like the rest of the world, am a HUGE fan of Stranger Things I decided to check this one out.
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and parts that I felt underwhelmed by. I really liked the concept, and the supernatural elements were really unique. The neighbors, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance were unlike any supernatural force I have encountered before, and I'm always interested by time travel in a plot. Even with these super cool individual elements, there was something missing. The characters fell a bit flat for me, and the time travel section of the novel was a bit too scattered and didn't add enough to the overall plot. The mystery of the novel was interesting enough to keep me reading in order to unravel it, but once it was unraveled it was a bit underwhelming.
The end of the novel was also a little scattered and there was a couple of events that I didn't entirely understand how they were resolved. I know that the supernatural is not always meant to be understood, but I don't think that was what was going on here.
One element of the novel that I really enjoyed was its connection to the Coleridge poem "Kubla Khan." I'm a sucker for contemporary fiction, particularly YA, that aligns itself with or references a classic work, and this one did it really well. "Kubla Khan" is a heck of a roller coaster ride, and it served its purpose very well in this novel. I thought that was a really clever addition.
Overall, this was a super quick read and a pretty unique plot. I'm glad I picked this one up from the library, as it was entertaining and pretty light-hearted. I've really been in the mood for sci-fi and historical fiction lately, and this one kind of checked both boxes. If you like supernatural/sci-fi reads, I would give this one a try!
Freddy lives with her younger sister, her deaf step-brother, her step-father, and her mother. She can't seem to get along with her step-brother Roland, who has bounded with her sister Mel over role-playing games, and her step-dad and mother are never around. Freddy feels out of place at home and at school. When new neighbors move into the often-vacant house next door, Freddy quickly discovers they are not who, or even what, they claim to be.
I'm pretty sure I saw this book on a list of books recommended to fans of Stranger Things right after I finished season two. And since I, like the rest of the world, am a HUGE fan of Stranger Things I decided to check this one out.
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and parts that I felt underwhelmed by. I really liked the concept, and the supernatural elements were really unique. The neighbors, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance were unlike any supernatural force I have encountered before, and I'm always interested by time travel in a plot. Even with these super cool individual elements, there was something missing. The characters fell a bit flat for me, and the time travel section of the novel was a bit too scattered and didn't add enough to the overall plot. The mystery of the novel was interesting enough to keep me reading in order to unravel it, but once it was unraveled it was a bit underwhelming.
The end of the novel was also a little scattered and there was a couple of events that I didn't entirely understand how they were resolved. I know that the supernatural is not always meant to be understood, but I don't think that was what was going on here.
One element of the novel that I really enjoyed was its connection to the Coleridge poem "Kubla Khan." I'm a sucker for contemporary fiction, particularly YA, that aligns itself with or references a classic work, and this one did it really well. "Kubla Khan" is a heck of a roller coaster ride, and it served its purpose very well in this novel. I thought that was a really clever addition.
Overall, this was a super quick read and a pretty unique plot. I'm glad I picked this one up from the library, as it was entertaining and pretty light-hearted. I've really been in the mood for sci-fi and historical fiction lately, and this one kind of checked both boxes. If you like supernatural/sci-fi reads, I would give this one a try!
I was so excited for this one but I have to say it was not what I was expecting, not enough story when it came to the time travel characters were lacking and this was just a very slow read at times.
This book...amazing!! I’m not going to say much because, honestly, this book is so unique, adventures, mysterious, fun and full mischief but logic as well that you just have to read it for yourself and witness it brilliance. 5 out of 5 for sure.
It was honestly very weird, but weird in a way where I couldn’t put the book down.
what an absolutely fabulously brilliant book. not at all what I expected, and I'm so glad for that. a better review to come at some point.