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sqiddo13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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? No
4.0
mwgerard's review against another edition
4.0
Fabulous read. Written for the young, enjoyable at any age. Please read my full review here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-apothecary-by-maile-meloy.html
psal707's review against another edition
3.0
It is 1952, and Janie lives with her parents in LA. When Janie's parents are suspected of being communists, they move to London.
At Janie's new school, she meets Ben. Ben's dad works at the local apothecary. Ben's dad owns a very valuable book, called the Pharmacopeia. When Ben's dad is kidnapped, he stays with Janie. The next day, they bring the book to Mr. Danby, their Latin teacher, to help them translate it. Little do they know, but, he works with the government. He arrests them, and brings them to Juvenile Prison.
They quickly break out, and they go into hiding. Out of their cells, they take a potion, and Janie is turned into a bird. They have an idea of where Ben's dad is, but instead they find Jin Lo, a Chinese scientist. She helps them find Ben's dad.
Back at home, Be, his dad, Jin LO, and Janie go back to their families.
At Janie's new school, she meets Ben. Ben's dad works at the local apothecary. Ben's dad owns a very valuable book, called the Pharmacopeia. When Ben's dad is kidnapped, he stays with Janie. The next day, they bring the book to Mr. Danby, their Latin teacher, to help them translate it. Little do they know, but, he works with the government. He arrests them, and brings them to Juvenile Prison.
They quickly break out, and they go into hiding. Out of their cells, they take a potion, and Janie is turned into a bird. They have an idea of where Ben's dad is, but instead they find Jin Lo, a Chinese scientist. She helps them find Ben's dad.
Back at home, Be, his dad, Jin LO, and Janie go back to their families.
lavoiture's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.5, but I bumped it up because I thought the story was sweet. But I also want to bump it down because I'm REALLY sick and tired of romantic stories in otherwise great girl adventure stories. Oh well, whatever.
Anyway, if you're a Harry Potter/Hugo Cabret fan, I think you'll find this interesting enough.
Anyway, if you're a Harry Potter/Hugo Cabret fan, I think you'll find this interesting enough.
undervmountain's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I have no idea why but from the cover I was expecting more of an alternative old London fantasy vibe, but this story is actually about Post War London, with magic, spies, and secret Russian plots, with a group of teenagers finding themselves in the middle of it.
The combination of magic and science was interesting, but over the course of the story, felt like it started to get more and more convoluted as people revealed themselves to be villains, large plans to do with some sort of bomb were made and yeah, I started to completely lose track of what the story was and where it was going.
The ending was good though, and I think moving the next book on by a year or too will make this really interesting, I didn't initially think I would be continuing the series but I'm now just curious enough to.
The combination of magic and science was interesting, but over the course of the story, felt like it started to get more and more convoluted as people revealed themselves to be villains, large plans to do with some sort of bomb were made and yeah, I started to completely lose track of what the story was and where it was going.
The ending was good though, and I think moving the next book on by a year or too will make this really interesting, I didn't initially think I would be continuing the series but I'm now just curious enough to.
nssutton's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely darling. Meloy has been on my radar since I put Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It -- that's a sentiment I can get behind, even if I haven't gotten around to reading that short story collection yet. That should change shortly -- if she writes for adults as well as she writes for kids I may not make it through the rest of this BEA stack without breaking for it. She creates a beautiful cast of characters and has created a page-turner that kept me up against my will late into the night. Janie is a fantastic narrator and her letter on the first page is a fantastic tease that you quickly forget about until the very last chapter, when the inevitable piece of information she reveals suddenly comes to a sad, beguiling reality.
I love the way the fantastical elements are approached from a scientific point of view. Each character connected to the Pharmacopoeia has a skill that could easily sound too spell-book-shtick, but are made to sound like science, real science (or how I imagine real science to be). The prose has a cinematic feel to it -- the time period lending to a picturesque background, the Pharmacopoeia containing tricks so rich with visuals I can't wait to see which studio gets the movie rights. I liked reading the fact that it was a friend's movie idea first, before Meloy nabbed it and ran with it, producing a hell of a story.
Anticipated release October 2011. A must-read for middle school librarians, adults who wish they could turn into birds and adventurous children at heart.
I love the way the fantastical elements are approached from a scientific point of view. Each character connected to the Pharmacopoeia has a skill that could easily sound too spell-book-shtick, but are made to sound like science, real science (or how I imagine real science to be). The prose has a cinematic feel to it -- the time period lending to a picturesque background, the Pharmacopoeia containing tricks so rich with visuals I can't wait to see which studio gets the movie rights. I liked reading the fact that it was a friend's movie idea first, before Meloy nabbed it and ran with it, producing a hell of a story.
Anticipated release October 2011. A must-read for middle school librarians, adults who wish they could turn into birds and adventurous children at heart.
epgr's review against another edition
3.0
Three stars for my enjoyment of it, probably four for it's intended audience, which is YA.