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lilianne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
lolaleviathan's review
4.0
I love books that create their own language and don't try too hard to explain it to you, but just let you learn by immersion.
tiareleine's review
3.0
2.5 Stars. I’m sure there’s a lot more happening here than I picked up on. It’s about growing up and realizing that adults are imperfect and they lie and they make mistakes. Unfortunately, I just didn’t quite connect with it.
cindywho's review against another edition
3.0
The style of this story is fascinating, with Saskia's Homerian daydreams influencing her experiences. She is growing up in the aftermath of a commune that had been dominated by a guru. She has a girl-crush on the new girl at school and they embark upon an intense friendship, but then the return of her father distracts her and twists events around. Her quest for the truth brings the story to many uncomfortable places. I almost gave the book up in disgust, but it was saved by the ending.
libbi_cat's review against another edition
2.0
This book was recommended to me by a close friend of mine. It was really the only reason I finished the novel. The first half was very lovely; I loved gaining an entrance into Saskia's mind and her world with her friends, Marco and such. It took me a while to understand all that Saskia was saying, especially with the mentions of "Tylerian weather". That one took me a while to get.
The character of Jane was a nice addition because she helped Saskia discover who she was a person. Also, through Jane, I was able to understand more of Saskia' world. However, once Thomas entered the picture, I got very confused. The relationship between Thomas and Jane seemed too far-fetched and wrong. And trying to straighten out Lauren's side of the story versus Thomas' side of the story was another matter!
In short, I really enjoyed the first half of the novel for the imaginative prose, but once Thomas came back to "Wonderland", I thought the novel went downhill. I especially disliked the ending; it seemed [a:Brian Hall|24838|Brian Hall|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] added on the part with Russel without much thought; I really didn't see any development in Saskia's character. Also, the readers and Saskia never learned what her name meant, which was a running bit the entire novel, and that made the novel incomplete.
The character of Jane was a nice addition because she helped Saskia discover who she was a person. Also, through Jane, I was able to understand more of Saskia' world. However, once Thomas entered the picture, I got very confused. The relationship between Thomas and Jane seemed too far-fetched and wrong. And trying to straighten out Lauren's side of the story versus Thomas' side of the story was another matter!
In short, I really enjoyed the first half of the novel for the imaginative prose, but once Thomas came back to "Wonderland", I thought the novel went downhill. I especially disliked the ending; it seemed [a:Brian Hall|24838|Brian Hall|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] added on the part with Russel without much thought; I really didn't see any development in Saskia's character. Also, the readers and Saskia never learned what her name meant, which was a running bit the entire novel, and that made the novel incomplete.
bookmage's review
3.0
I actually give this 3.5 stars. I surprisingly liked this, considering it's a "coming of age", which I usually hate. The first half was awesome. The middle was kinda eh, mostly because I could care less about hiking and nature. The end was not surprising, but I was a little tired of Saskia's inside world of Tycho, Odysseus and Marco Polo.
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