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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This whole book feels like a dream, even beyond the actual dream sequences. It starts off with a child's nightmare: being abandoned by the side of the road and forgotten by your family. Then, it turns into a child's fantasy: being important and really good at something that requires little effort, surrounded by loving adults, in a fantastical location that takes cues from real-life buildings.
Although I don't really like surreal types of books, this one is enjoyable. The graphic novel aspects of it are contrasted with the text, and we get a look at what both sisters are doing over the course of the novel. I enjoyed the way the book allows you to piece together what's going on through the mostly wordless scenes of Honey's experiences, and tie them in with Hope's.
I do think a little more attention could have been paid at the end, with a little more information about the world, and why the Memory Bank exists, but that's just my natural curiosity.
Although I don't really like surreal types of books, this one is enjoyable. The graphic novel aspects of it are contrasted with the text, and we get a look at what both sisters are doing over the course of the novel. I enjoyed the way the book allows you to piece together what's going on through the mostly wordless scenes of Honey's experiences, and tie them in with Hope's.
I do think a little more attention could have been paid at the end, with a little more information about the world, and why the Memory Bank exists, but that's just my natural curiosity.
This would be a great book for a kid who does not feel loved to pick up and read. The story of a girl, who has never experienced parental affection, searching for her sister, who has literally been abandoned by the parents, is touching. I loved the illustrations and how they were so integral to the story. I agree with others who have noted this is kind of a blend of Roald Dahl type characterizations and Brian Selznick's Invention of Hugo Cabret. The story is what makes it - dreams in life are paramount, hope must spring eternal, and we all must be loved in some way in order to do well in life. The factory ladies and their expressions of affecton for Hope are so so wonderful.
A nice touch is the relationship between the head guy at the Memory Bank and his teenage daughter, which in itself goes under a major transformation as a result of Hope and Honey and their reunion. Makes you just want to put everything down and hug your kids as if it might be the last time.
A nice touch is the relationship between the head guy at the Memory Bank and his teenage daughter, which in itself goes under a major transformation as a result of Hope and Honey and their reunion. Makes you just want to put everything down and hug your kids as if it might be the last time.
Lemony Snickett and Roald Dahl collide with Brian Selznick in this unusual story of a sister's refusal to forget about the baby sister her parents abandon. Carolyn Coman's text is full of her signature sly humor, and Rob Shepperson's illustrations (a combination of finished pictures and unfinalized sketch art in the ARC) are beautifully expressive, but sadly, I think the target audience is going to be lost. What worked so well in Hugo Cabret with the marriage of text and graphics just doesn't flow here. An ambitious attempt, and enjoyable on several levels, but not quite a win for the audience for whom it's intended.
The premise of this book is very thin. In fact, I could hardly make sense of it. I ended up skimming through it, and I liked the artwork, but nice pictures don't make an otherwise vapid chapter book fly.
This is a beautiful little book about memory, loss, love and recovery of that which is lost -- with a quirky storytelling approach. Plus, wonderful illustrations.
I only have the ARC, so I have not seen the final art of this book. Which is a shame and a problem with the ARC, as half the story is told through the art, and it is hard to follow as a result. What is there looks very promising, and I like that as a reader you don't quite know if what you are seeing in illustrations is really happening or in Hope's dreams.
I like the concept of this book, and I like that it hearkens back to Roald Dahl. However, if you are going to consciously do this kind of book, you have to remember that Dahl was fairly mean and nasty to his characters. This book is simply too nice for its storyline.
Given all that, I can't really say if I would recommend it or not. There are certainly things I like about it, and that will be memorable, but the ARC is too hard to judge.
For grades 3-6.
I like the concept of this book, and I like that it hearkens back to Roald Dahl. However, if you are going to consciously do this kind of book, you have to remember that Dahl was fairly mean and nasty to his characters. This book is simply too nice for its storyline.
Given all that, I can't really say if I would recommend it or not. There are certainly things I like about it, and that will be memorable, but the ARC is too hard to judge.
For grades 3-6.
Eh. This was a little twee for my tastes. Hope and Honey’s horrible parents abandon Honey and order Hope to forget her sister, but she can’t. Hope ends up at the World Wide Memory bank, where she is a champion dreamer and is ordered to start making more memories, as they fear she’s been interfered with by the Clean Slate Gang. It has a mix of illustrations and text which has a lot of kid appeal, but I just found it to be too silly.
