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juleskr02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
matilda is a great story. the musical and movie have two different takes and having seen them both, the book was adapted well in both. anything one film skipped out on the other brought in. my one thing i wish both did more of was showcasing how disobedient most of the other kids were. hortensia was a menace and nigel was very short with trunchbull that first lesson.
also yeah i cannot believe this all happened within the span of a week, specifically matilda’s first week of school ever. overall very good!
Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse
rory_john14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
libbyhb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse
scarlettoliver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
Minor: Confinement, Murder, and Torture
katharina90's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Abandonment, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Ableism and Suicide
sophie42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse and Bullying
Moderate: Torture and Abandonment
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
nannahnannah's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh. I'm so disappointed. It's one of those things you loved when you were little, only to discover it's incredibly problematic and lackluster when you grew up.
For one, the tone is so fatphobic it's sometimes hard for me to read the book without contempt. Many of the book's characters the audience are supposed to like are continuously described as "small", "thin", "tiny", etc., while the villains are fat and large and bulging. Fat people are described with such disgust that I'm just revolted by the author. I know this wasn't written recently, but it's just hard to read.
Not only that, but this author seems to project his own anti-feminist, anti-butch lesbian views onto this children's book. Miss Trunchbull is literally the personification of the radical feminist of his time: ugly, manly, large and bulky. She acts like a man, too, participates in what could be seen as stereotypical men's sports, has no need for marriage - in fact, she looks down on it when one of the children sings back Miss Honey's rhyme "Mrs. D Mrs. I Mrs. F F I, etc." and Miss. Trunchbull exclaims "Why are all these women married?".
Miss Trunchbull also hates anything feminine (aka the little girl /growing out/ her pigtails), and hates children. She also literally killed the patriarch of her family so she could be in charge. Reading this as a butch lesbian myself just made me roll my eyes every other page.
The plot started slowly, and then rushed faster and faster until the end just ... happened, and I was left feeling like the book ended without actually finishing, if that makes sense. There was no feeling of an actual conclusion.
And the relationship between Miss Honey and Matilda made me incredibly uncomfortable. The prose even mentions Matilda as a grown-up child rather than an actual child. And that Matilda and Miss Honey were equals. Which could make their relationship ... really weird. It's basically how Miss Honey "opens up" about her past. But she really just blurts out "my father killed himself" to a six-year-old girl. This all reads so awkwardly and worryingly. It doesn't matter if this kid is the most intelligent girl in the world, of all time! She's still a child.
Anyway, yeah ... I didn't enjoy this.
Moderate: Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Sexism
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
also: lesbophobia (specifically anti-butch)chiaraaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
teamoxfordcomma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What I love most about Roald Dahl books is that he treats children like the intelligent beings they are. His are some of the only MG stories I read where it doesn't feel like the author is pandering to young kids, dumbing down language so their little baby brains can comprehend. It's suitable for kids to read, but it doesn't require being a kid to appreciate the book.
Matilda is one of the stories most near and dear to my heart. Both the book and the movie – which, as it happens, is one of the best book-to-movie adaptations I've ever seen. I related to Matilda so, SO much as a kiddo. Though I didn't have a headmistress who would straight up yeet kids by the pigtails, I most certainly was a voracious reader who read way above my grade/reading level and who got that way as a means of escaping a... less-than-ideal home life situation. I used to wish a Ms. Honey would show up in my own life.
Speaking of Ms. Honey, as an adult, I can conclusively say I'd marry her in an instant (if she were real, of course). Wowzers. 💍 I went from loving her as a child to being in love with her now. Both the movie version and the book version have my heart skipping BEATS. One thing I didn't remember from the book and that they changed in the movie is just how poor Ms. Honey was. Like literally, she didn't have a bed, running water, electricity... I was honestly a little shook, but it did make her rightful inheritance of the Red House all the sweeter.
This is a sweet story that made me laugh. It was so familiar, reading it again. Like slipping into an old, cherished sweater. I'm happy this existed for me to grow up with, and I'm thrilled it lives on to reach another generation of young readers.
Moderate: Abandonment and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent