2.67k reviews for:

Tuck Everlasting

Natalie Babbitt

3.8 AVERAGE


I liked it. Why didn't Winnie drink the water though!!!

I love this book but it would have been so much better if she was older.
adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

I owned a copy of this when I was little and I loved it because it had a frog on the cover but never read it. I wish I had because little me would have loved this. This is an amazing example of how thoughtful and meaningful middle grades books can be, and I'm sure it will remain a classic. Babbitt did a great job of showing how living forever can be painful and lonely, even to a child audience. And Winnie is such a fun character. Overall an excellent book, I'd recommend to anyone, especially if you missed reading this when you were younger!

I've heard about this book, and finally got around to it. Audio is only 4 hours, narrator is excellent.
emotional fast-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: No
reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Reading this again, I know I was harsh on this book when I read it as a child (mostly because I thought it was a romance, so it was fascinating to find that my memory of the relationship with Jesse was wildly exaggerated). That said, it does do a thing that bothers me a lot in (especially older) middle grade. We have a young, precocious MC who has way too close a relationship with adults, and it just makes me uncomfortable.
That aside, however, the themes are beautiful. The pacing is good. I enjoyed the writing. This is a book that has honestly withstood the test of time.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
lighthearted reflective 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: No
adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated