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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Rounded down from 4.5 stars. The only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars is the book was overlong. The climax was set up way too early and then about 80 pages were spent coasting along, saying the same thing over and over. Overall, a wonderful book, if a bit too sophisticated for the readers at my elementary school. Would highly recommend for sixth grade and up.
I liked the concepts here. I thought it was incredibly unique and had almost a Kubo and the Two Strings feel to it. However, it felt like there was too much packed into too few pages to really flesh out the concept. We had too many characters to juggle, and I want to know more about each of them. For a MS level book, this works. For an adult, and someone who has read and loves Maas, I needed more.
Gorgeously written and knitted together, this book is a quiet wonder I couldn't put down. A new fairy tale to join the old, it touches on family, memory, what we do for love, what it does for us, and truth hidden in story all liberally doused in magic.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Loved it. The narrator was phenomenal. So many powerful lines and beautiful words throughout.
“A story can tell the truth...but a story can also lie. Stories can bend and twist and obfuscate. Controlling stories is power indeed.”
“How many feelings can one heart hold?... Infinite, Luna thought. The way the universe is infinite. It is light and dark and endless motion; it is space and time, and space within space, and time within time. And she knew: there is no limit to what the heart can carry.”
“A story can tell the truth...but a story can also lie. Stories can bend and twist and obfuscate. Controlling stories is power indeed.”
“How many feelings can one heart hold?... Infinite, Luna thought. The way the universe is infinite. It is light and dark and endless motion; it is space and time, and space within space, and time within time. And she knew: there is no limit to what the heart can carry.”
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Lovely little story about witches, forests, baby dragons, brain-washed villagers, the moon and paper birds. "There is no love without loss"
It felt like the writing style wasn’t talking down to readers, despite being aimed at younger audiences. I appreciated how there was mention of how magic shouldn’t be used to influence the actions of others and used in this way, there are strong negative consequences.
Themes of grief, loss (sorrow), remembering vs forgetting things that hurt but are important, and how to find hope were skilfully wrapped throughout the story. People of different ages will take away different understandings and aspects from these themes. Along with the multiple journeys that the different characters were travelling along that came together in such a beautiful manner.
Secrets and lies are what divide us, drive those we love further apart. Often, they start with the best of intentions, but that is not always how they end. This was demonstrated strongly between Luna and her Grandmother, as her Grandmother attempts to protect herself from the pain of sorrow and Luna from her magic, lest it burst from her destructively while she cannot control it.
Despite these, the story was wonderfully written, evoked plenty of emotions and left me wanting more, which is sometimes the best place to leave a story behind. When all the answers have been given and it feels like you’re simply stepping away from the characters who will continue to live their lives.
It felt like the writing style wasn’t talking down to readers, despite being aimed at younger audiences. I appreciated how there was mention of how magic shouldn’t be used to influence the actions of others and used in this way, there are strong negative consequences.
Themes of grief, loss (sorrow), remembering vs forgetting things that hurt but are important, and how to find hope were skilfully wrapped throughout the story. People of different ages will take away different understandings and aspects from these themes. Along with the multiple journeys that the different characters were travelling along that came together in such a beautiful manner.
Secrets and lies are what divide us, drive those we love further apart. Often, they start with the best of intentions, but that is not always how they end. This was demonstrated strongly between Luna and her Grandmother, as her Grandmother attempts to protect herself from the pain of sorrow and Luna from her magic, lest it burst from her destructively while she cannot control it.
Spoiler
I wasn’t really sure if having Fyrian finally grow into his simply enormous self, served much purpose, considering how much of the focus was placed on mentioning how tiny he was and the heroic actions of his mother. It was a nice, gentle way to demonstrate the unravelling of Xan’s power. But it just felt a bit lacking. Another thing that I was hoping would have more impact on the story was the castle rooms behind the rock doorways. Felt like this could have been explored more.Despite these, the story was wonderfully written, evoked plenty of emotions and left me wanting more, which is sometimes the best place to leave a story behind. When all the answers have been given and it feels like you’re simply stepping away from the characters who will continue to live their lives.
This book single handedly began a Kelly Barnhill obsession in my life. I immediately shared it with a friend and couldn’t stop talking about it with anyone who would listen!