Scan barcode
breadbummer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I'll be honest—the version I read had lots of essays from various authors about how much they love this book and how much it inspired them, but I didn't feel like reading them lol.
I did enjoy reading this, what with how imaginative it is, but I feel like I would've liked it more if I had read it as a kid rather than just now. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted by the imaginative lesson on finding joy and wonder in the everyday, but the whole thing about "casting out the demons" to build a kingdom left a bad taste in my mouth. There are so many great teachings in this book, but the parallels to the colonization of native lands—in which Indigenous peoples have commonly been referred to as "demons" and having backwards ideals in order to excuse land theft—are shockingly regressive compared to these, even if this story was written in the '60s.
I dunno, maybe I'm looking too far into it, and I don't exactly engage with "forward-thinking" content from that long ago that often to really know how prevalent pro-colonization subtext was among this type of content
I did enjoy reading this, what with how imaginative it is, but I feel like I would've liked it more if I had read it as a kid rather than just now. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted by the imaginative lesson on finding joy and wonder in the everyday, but the whole thing about "casting out the demons" to build a kingdom left a bad taste in my mouth. There are so many great teachings in this book, but the parallels to the colonization of native lands—in which Indigenous peoples have commonly been referred to as "demons" and having backwards ideals in order to excuse land theft—are shockingly regressive compared to these, even if this story was written in the '60s.
I dunno, maybe I'm looking too far into it, and I don't exactly engage with "forward-thinking" content from that long ago that often to really know how prevalent pro-colonization subtext was among this type of content
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Racism
More...