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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I was hesitant to read this novel as I am normally not a fan of fantasy. However, since King is the master of painting a picture, I figured I'd give it a try. I was engrossed in the first half of the book. The budding friendship between the neighborhood curmudgeon, Mr. Bowdich, and high school student, Charlie, is a pleasure to explore. Not to mention my growing appreciation of Radar, the trusty canine. It's hard not to sympathize with Charlie, as his mother's untimely death resulted in his father's alcoholism. I was rooting for his dad's sustained sobriety and loved the close father and son relationship. Halfway through the book, Charlie embarks on a fantastical journey similar to Jack and the Beanstalk. At first, the parallels to childhood fairy tale characters like The Three Little Pigs, Rumpelstiltskin, Ariel, etc. were charming; however, the danger Charlie was placed in seemed mild at best, and I tired of the blond-haired, blue-eyed, white Savior trope. King missed the mark on this one.
Pretty good book except for the 200 pages I skipped in the middle because I got so bored (don’t recommend, I definitely missed some important plot points). First 1/3 of the book is slow build into the actual storyline, but interesting nonetheless, and then it’s good for about a hundred pages before it became boring. Ending was good. Definitely a skippable King book
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
Maybe it isn't actually a perfect book, but I really had a good time reading this. A boy befriends an old man and his dog and then finds himself adventuring in a non-utopian fairy tale world. A bunch of different takes on a lot of older fairy tales!
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An evocative modern fairy tale, with interesting direction. A good read but expect more Oz than Middle Earth
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This was a long one but well worth the time needed to read it. The hard back was heavy, highly recommend getting it on kindle. Fantastic storytelling and great characters.
This book honestly got me HOOKED until about half way. Maybe it just wasn't what I was expecting, but I felt the fairy tale part of the story really wasn't interesting to me and was just a constant meeting of random characters, none of which i really connect with.