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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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I listened to this book while working out and if I had another book on my iPod I would have listened to that instead because this book was pretty lame. I'm not a big fan of the concept to start with and male protagonists aren't my favorite but I got the audio free and it wasn't so long that finishing would be a total waste of time. It also helps that Sage is a pretty cool character. He was a spunky orphan who knows the score and is super mouthy. He's always clever and and compelling. I like Sage. I even liked the kid Tobias and was really pleased he was redeemed. The other characters were pretty weak though and much of the dialogue was heavy handed and awkward. In fact, some of the characters (who were supposed to be cleaver and scheming) were just stupid. I read a few reviews of this once I finished and I was surprised to see that not only did people love this, they thought the plot twist was amazing. I thought the "plot twist" was obvious and was less than impressed.
Despite how lame I thought it was, I do think it's a great book for middle school boys. It's got adventure and betrayal and a fairly cool protagonist.
I listened to this book while working out and if I had another book on my iPod I would have listened to that instead because this book was pretty lame. I'm not a big fan of the concept to start with and male protagonists aren't my favorite but I got the audio free and it wasn't so long that finishing would be a total waste of time. It also helps that Sage is a pretty cool character. He was a spunky orphan who knows the score and is super mouthy. He's always clever and and compelling. I like Sage. I even liked the kid Tobias and was really pleased he was redeemed. The other characters were pretty weak though and much of the dialogue was heavy handed and awkward. In fact, some of the characters (who were supposed to be cleaver and scheming) were just stupid. I read a few reviews of this once I finished and I was surprised to see that not only did people love this, they thought the plot twist was amazing. I thought the "plot twist" was obvious and was less than impressed.
Despite how lame I thought it was, I do think it's a great book for middle school boys. It's got adventure and betrayal and a fairly cool protagonist.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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 was such a fun start to a MG fantasy series! I can't believe I hadn't heard of this book until my friend Izzy told me how much she loves it. It was a super quick, exciting read and I really loved the main character! Definitely am going to have to continue the trilogy to see what happens!
This was a good story about an orphan boy who is keeping a big secret that will change everything once it is found out. Clearly written with a sequel, or two, in mind; the ending is fine, but leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Sage, the protagonist, is an unlikable character until the end when you realize all he has sacrificed. I'm looking forward to the other two books.
Update: I really enjoyed this second read-through. I'm excited to read discuss it with my summer book club with students grades 5-7. It's a great book with a lot of good things to discuss. I'm excited to see what everyone has to say about it.
Update: I really enjoyed this second read-through. I'm excited to read discuss it with my summer book club with students grades 5-7. It's a great book with a lot of good things to discuss. I'm excited to see what everyone has to say about it.
As an young adult novel, this one is pretty good. I certainly would have enjoyed it growing up, and still did to some extent reading it as an older person. There were moments of what read like confused diction within the text several times where the actions just seemed to overtake what was beign written down, thus causing some missing pieces. Overall, it was enjoyable and the plot twist was interesting and something I might not have expected at an earlier age, but seemed almost obvious with the amount of experience I have with other trick plots. For a good, quick read this is something worth picking up just to escape and I am looking forward to the other two parts of the trilogy.
I probably got halfway through and decided that I didn't want to finish this. Nothing much happened... and then nothing much kept happening, so I quit and went on to something else.
I wish I could have like this, but it just didn't do it for me. The characters all felt flat and stereotypical. Sage's interest in Imogen (spelling? Downside of audiobooks) felt superficial at best, and the conspirators felt like stage villains, just shy of mustache twirling.
Even for teen fiction, I just wasn't feeling it.
Even for teen fiction, I just wasn't feeling it.
adventurous
funny
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
I enjoyed this book when i was younger, and wanted to reread it as i never finished the series. I always thought it was more a middle grade book (like percy jackson) instead of YA, and i feel like that category fits better. Yes there is death and violence, but the 14 year old prince Jaron is definitely young. While i found him hnlikeable or annoying at times, i think that worked because 14 year olds CAN be selfish, or do things without thinking. I didnt enjoy the random “or this vial? that i stole from your bedroom? the vial of poison?” coming out as proof felt last minute and not thought through as we never saw him search for it, just that he roamed the grounds at night. it felt like the author made him roam at night just as a cover for whatever scheme she felt like building later on. it wasn’t thought through beforehand, just a built in loophole. It was also weird having a random couple chapters just telling us the full history and backstory. Was definitely disjointed, or more info-dumpy like you would see in Middle grade books. According to google it IS a middle grade book so storybooks has it wrong, which does validate my feeligns on it a bit hence the higher rating