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bkwrm127's review against another edition
4.0
Hmmmmm...took me a while to get into it. But now I can't wait to read the next one. Reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. May Bird and her cat Somber Kitty (as opposed to Toto the dog) get trapped in a fantastic world, the world of the dead, where she makes lots of oddball friends as she tries to get back home to her mother. This story is quirky and funny in places, but also a scary...of course, so was the Wicked Witch of the West - here it is the Bogeyman, who hunts May down with dogs instead of flying monkeys. Her main sidekick is a house spirit named Pumpkin (reminiscent of the scarecrow) who has a pumpkin head and a penchant for strange costumes. I really enjoyed it once I got past the initial slowness and into the action. May turns out to be very brave and her hairless kitty, too. I gave it four stars rather than five only because it took me so long to get into it.
erikmartin023's review against another edition
5.0
u ever just reread a book from ur childhood and it holds up and u realize “oh yeah this def uhm influenced me in every way”
tfowler's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this book because of the suspense and the secrecy. I definately recommend this book. The only down-side is that it took a while to get to the point sometimes
collen_vargas's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
eyescanbecruel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
saintofmercy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vermidian's review against another edition
5.0
I actually picked this one up from a thrift store on a whim along with the second book and man, I was not disappointed. While I think I'd only give it 4.5 stars out of 5 if I had the option, rating it 5 stars would nudge the book closer to that rating than it's current community rating of 3.94.
I have to say, this was waaaaay darker than I anticipated it being for a kid's book. If you've ever played the game Don't Starve or if you've ever seen the Tim Burton-y style of weird art, that's how I pictured a lot of the ghosts and ghouls and creatures of the Ever After being like. At first, the world is truly kind of scary. The thirteen year old protagonist, May, is thrust into this world with almost no warning and everything she sees is either dead or has never been alive in the strictest sense of the word, usually with jagged teeth and distorted proportions. As you get used to it, it's not quite as frightening in the same way because so much of the world is like that.
A lot of stress is relieved as May gets used to it as well and makes friends along the way, something she didn't have back home. The character growth in the story is truly great. May goes from timid and lonely to bold and with a multitude of friends - albeit dead friends - in the course of a single book. She also grows to appreciate what she had and was overlooking. While I may not be a thirteen year old girl, I can definitely understand the fear of peers and the fear of an unknown future. I feel like this is definitely a good book for other children who are facing similar predicaments as it may be empowering to them, especially young girls who often have difficulty finding female protagonists in young adult literature.
I don't want to get too much into this review and spoil anything, but be advised that the plot does not resolve itself at the end of the book. Apparently it's a trilogy, so if you're planning on reading this and you hate to leave a story unfinished, I recommend just going ahead and getting all three books so you can read through them. Maybe you won't read the first book in a day like I did, but it's really nicely paced for a book.
I would recommend this to kids who like reading horror stories and stories of kids going on journeys through unseen worlds running parallel to the real one. Definitely take into consideration how prone you are to nightmares when reading this book, as some of the descriptions of creatures are kind of unsettling and some events are a little bit horrifying. If you really like Tim Burton, you'll probably enjoy this.
I have to say, this was waaaaay darker than I anticipated it being for a kid's book. If you've ever played the game Don't Starve or if you've ever seen the Tim Burton-y style of weird art, that's how I pictured a lot of the ghosts and ghouls and creatures of the Ever After being like. At first, the world is truly kind of scary. The thirteen year old protagonist, May, is thrust into this world with almost no warning and everything she sees is either dead or has never been alive in the strictest sense of the word, usually with jagged teeth and distorted proportions. As you get used to it, it's not quite as frightening in the same way because so much of the world is like that.
A lot of stress is relieved as May gets used to it as well and makes friends along the way, something she didn't have back home. The character growth in the story is truly great. May goes from timid and lonely to bold and with a multitude of friends - albeit dead friends - in the course of a single book. She also grows to appreciate what she had and was overlooking. While I may not be a thirteen year old girl, I can definitely understand the fear of peers and the fear of an unknown future. I feel like this is definitely a good book for other children who are facing similar predicaments as it may be empowering to them, especially young girls who often have difficulty finding female protagonists in young adult literature.
I don't want to get too much into this review and spoil anything, but be advised that the plot does not resolve itself at the end of the book. Apparently it's a trilogy, so if you're planning on reading this and you hate to leave a story unfinished, I recommend just going ahead and getting all three books so you can read through them. Maybe you won't read the first book in a day like I did, but it's really nicely paced for a book.
I would recommend this to kids who like reading horror stories and stories of kids going on journeys through unseen worlds running parallel to the real one. Definitely take into consideration how prone you are to nightmares when reading this book, as some of the descriptions of creatures are kind of unsettling and some events are a little bit horrifying.
Spoiler
Take for instance being absorbed by a man driving a pack of vicious, red eyes dogs to hunt down the living. If the dogs don't rip you apart, he uses his hands to suck you away into nothingness.ineffable97's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
sneezer's review
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75