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x_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Adorable read. There was a touch of Lemony Snickett to the narrator's voice. Not doom and gloom but very quirky.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
My daughter read this with her dad, then asked me to read it to her so I would know what it was about. There was a lot to like about the book, particularly the voice of the intrusive narrator and the character of Alex. I felt, though, that Kress wasn't that familiar with genre conventions, for she mixed elements from lighthearted adventure, spooky/creepy fantasy (a la Neil Gaiman/CORALINE), horror, and realism together without regard for the way that these different genres set different expectations for their readers. I like it when authors break conventions, but only when they KNOW they are breaking them, and are breaking them for a reason. In this book, it just felt like Kress didn't know any better, didn't know how one genre's conventions are often at odds with another's...
The peripatetic plot also left me confused -- the opening so clearly promises a pirate adventure story, but doesn't deliver it until the final quarter of the book. In between Alex slips into fantasy spaces -- a train where people gradually disappear, a movie set with a talking star octopus, a hotel with no guests -- each fascinating, but with no real connection to the main pirate plot.
An author worth watching...
The peripatetic plot also left me confused -- the opening so clearly promises a pirate adventure story, but doesn't deliver it until the final quarter of the book. In between Alex slips into fantasy spaces -- a train where people gradually disappear, a movie set with a talking star octopus, a hotel with no guests -- each fascinating, but with no real connection to the main pirate plot.
An author worth watching...
beccadavies's review against another edition
3.0
Some bits were very funny and witty while other bits just made the story drag on.
Some of Alex's adventures on her way to rescuing her teacher were genius (my favourite was the champagne on the train) but other adventures didn't drive the plot forward and fell flat with me.
I nearly gave this book 2 stars as I really struggled to finish it and had to convince myself to pick it up again. However, I loved the author's telling of the story and how she seemed to poke fun at herself and the story. For this and because it made me smile, it gets 3 stars.
Overall, very cute and very fun at times but the editor should have been more ruthless with the cutting of non-essential parts to the story.
Some of Alex's adventures on her way to rescuing her teacher were genius (my favourite was the champagne on the train) but other adventures didn't drive the plot forward and fell flat with me.
I nearly gave this book 2 stars as I really struggled to finish it and had to convince myself to pick it up again. However, I loved the author's telling of the story and how she seemed to poke fun at herself and the story. For this and because it made me smile, it gets 3 stars.
Overall, very cute and very fun at times but the editor should have been more ruthless with the cutting of non-essential parts to the story.
kraley's review against another edition
4.0
This book would make an excellent read aloud for ages 8-12ish. Alex (a girl who is confused with a boy sometimes), sets out to rescue her kidnapped sixth grade teacher. He's been kidnapped for a treasure map which Alex has found. Each chapter is its own adventure. The book is nicely paced and the writing style is very LemonySnicketesque. The author talks to us (the audience) in asides a lot, but I like that. I have another Kress book on reserve at the library. I listened to this one and enjoyed the reader's rendition.
dude_watchin_with_the_brontes's review against another edition
4.0
Why is this book amazing? Is it because it's hilarious and well written, like a Canadian Lemony Snicket? (Is Lemony Snicket Canadian?) Is it because it's full of awesome adventures? Is it because it has an kick-ass female protagonist but doesn't get all preachy about it? Is it because it's actually self-contained rather than leading to sequel after sequel, which eventually degrade in quality after the third or so book? (I'm looking at you, Rowling.) Is it because there's a guy named after one of my favorite spices? I don't know, but I wish this book had been around when I was 10!
danicamidlil's review against another edition
4.0
It was an excellent adventure! Great vocabulary and I personally loved the snarky, tongue-in-cheek narator! Very funny indeed. Would be wonderful for advanced fifth-grade readers.
(Highly wonderful audiobook provides wonderfully accented voices to the large cast of characters!)
(Highly wonderful audiobook provides wonderfully accented voices to the large cast of characters!)
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
3.0
less snarky lemony snicket; what I imagine lafevers' theodosia to be like. except with pirates. and an extremely ginormous octopus. fun but not earth-shattering.
ashleylm's review against another edition
2.0
I bought it ... didn't read it ... then read the reviews, and decided (despite some) to give it a whirl. And it wasn't so bad! Clearly the author was aiming for a Rouald Dahl, Lemoney Snicket, Joan Aiken-ish kind of milieu, where over-the-top baddies imperil decent young protagonists. I actually like that sort of thing.
And yet, but about page 100, it all began to pall. It was too picaresque, too odd without the counter-balance of anything especially funny or touching, essentially too uninteresting. So ultimately it wasn't the unsettling strangeness of old ladies basically torturing a child for crossing the rope, it was the way it was all handled, both in the scene itself, and how it knits together into a book.
I found it unsatisfying, and have moved on to the sequel to The Willoughbys which is similarly over the top, but (so long as it matches the power of Lowry's first volume) much better handled.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
And yet, but about page 100, it all began to pall. It was too picaresque, too odd without the counter-balance of anything especially funny or touching, essentially too uninteresting. So ultimately it wasn't the unsettling strangeness of old ladies basically torturing a child for crossing the rope, it was the way it was all handled, both in the scene itself, and how it knits together into a book.
I found it unsatisfying, and have moved on to the sequel to The Willoughbys which is similarly over the top, but (so long as it matches the power of Lowry's first volume) much better handled.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
maggietokudahall's review against another edition
4.0
When I was a bookseller, this book made me want to write for kids. Totally adorable. A more full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9kdg87XJM4
cleverruhs's review against another edition
3.0
This book seemed to take a lot of its inspiration and style from the Lemony Snicket books. That being said, I enjoyed the story and its entertaining characters.
Alex is enjoying a new school year with new teacher Mr. Underwood. Things take a turn for the strange, however, when Mr. Underwood's past is revealed and he is kidnapped by pirates. Alex sets out on a quest to rescue her favorite teacher and, possibly, to discover some buried treasure.
Alex is enjoying a new school year with new teacher Mr. Underwood. Things take a turn for the strange, however, when Mr. Underwood's past is revealed and he is kidnapped by pirates. Alex sets out on a quest to rescue her favorite teacher and, possibly, to discover some buried treasure.