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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I read this as a part of my Around the Year in 52 Books challenge. This one is for challenge #12 - Read a Childhood Classic.
We’re ramping up the tension in this third novel, not only between the fae themselves, but between the children and the fae as well.
On a visit to their elderly aunt, the children share their story and implore her for advice about what to do with the Guide she isn’t as much help as they’d like her to be. This is when they learn about what happened to Arthur, and that it isn’t safe to stay at the house. This is also when they learn that the Guide has been taken and replaced with a different book. Instead of deterring them from getting more involved the Grace children promise to figure out what happened to their great great uncle.
While searching for answers they stumble upon a grove filled with elves, who trap Jared and threaten to keep him there forever unless they hand over the Guide. Needless to say they weren’t how I imagined them to be at all; they were beautiful, but terrible. Thankfully Jared is clever and tricks them into thinking he’s Simon and makes a deal with them that forces them to let him go, but it’s a close one. They promise to give them the Guide when they get it back. On their way home they come upon information that suggests that Arthur is still alive, imprisoned in Faerie by the elves to never set foot on human soil again.
We’re ramping up the tension in this third novel, not only between the fae themselves, but between the children and the fae as well.
On a visit to their elderly aunt, the children share their story and implore her for advice about what to do with the Guide she isn’t as much help as they’d like her to be. This is when they learn about what happened to Arthur, and that it isn’t safe to stay at the house. This is also when they learn that the Guide has been taken and replaced with a different book. Instead of deterring them from getting more involved the Grace children promise to figure out what happened to their great great uncle.
While searching for answers they stumble upon a grove filled with elves, who trap Jared and threaten to keep him there forever unless they hand over the Guide. Needless to say they weren’t how I imagined them to be at all; they were beautiful, but terrible. Thankfully Jared is clever and tricks them into thinking he’s Simon and makes a deal with them that forces them to let him go, but it’s a close one. They promise to give them the Guide when they get it back. On their way home they come upon information that suggests that Arthur is still alive, imprisoned in Faerie by the elves to never set foot on human soil again.
3.75
It's picking up. It might have been better to release them as a bind-up or a single volume.
It's picking up. It might have been better to release them as a bind-up or a single volume.
This series is so good! It's been a long time since I have read such a cute fantasy story!
5/5
Even better than the second! It's so fun and eerie. I love the smartness of the children and the intrigue of the fae world. Very good.
Even better than the second! It's so fun and eerie. I love the smartness of the children and the intrigue of the fae world. Very good.
Still enjoying revisiting this series with my younger daughter. We both really liked Lucinda and hope she comes back into the story. Even though it meant people thought she was crazy we liked that she kept on believing.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
This one (Book 3 in the Spiderwick Chronicles) started out very slowly, but reached a point somewhere around the middle when it suddenly became my favorite book of the series, so far. It's definitely more subtle and lacks the action & adventure that propelled the first two stories, but has a sweetness to it that really makes it stand out.
Above all, it very nicely sets the scene for the faerie adventures that lie ahead in the last two books of the series. I can't wait to see what happens next!!
Above all, it very nicely sets the scene for the faerie adventures that lie ahead in the last two books of the series. I can't wait to see what happens next!!