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thebookkeepers's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was such a cozy and sweet read! I adored the banter between Hugo & Lucy and their character arcs were fun to see developed. I enjoyed the riddles and how this story has other stories nuzzled within. I’d die to read some of the Clock Island books referenced. My critique for this one was that I found it predictable with all the outcomes and twists & missed some of the side character interactions near the end of the contest. All in all, this was a sweet read with great adoption representation and a whimsical setting! I’d read more of this author in the future.
LGBTQ+ rep: this book has a gay male side character, but we don't see his romantic relationships on the page
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Cancer and Child abuse
emilywemily6's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a lighthearted, wholesome, easy read. I liked the premise and the general storyline, and fell in love with Hugo and Jack. This book felt very juvenile though, like just a couple changes would have made this a middle grade novel. It touched briefly on a lot of heavy topics but I would have loved more depth and length in those discussions. I didn’t particularly care for Lucy, she also felt immature and irresponsible in a lot of ways- like I was reading about an 18 year old and not a 25/26 year old. Overall this book was sweet but could have been a knockout if it was handled with different aims.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Bullying, and Chronic illness
Minor: Miscarriage, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Medical content
gpfot's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Incest, and Miscarriage
vievef's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Abandonment
morgan_trainer's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use
Poor handling of advocating for children in foster care, Ill-prepared for trauma informed carelavenderlikings's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I liked the book but it was a little too unserious for me. I wanted a little more depth to the characters and to the story. There were some really serious topics being discussed throughout the book and we only ever went surface level and so when everything wrapped up I never quite felt like I could empathize with the characters but I did speed through it with it being such a light read - very Peter Panesque.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism
mugsandmanuscripts's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
This is a cute story that touches on themes like belonging, found family, and facing one’s fears. It’s an easy read yet not vacuous. I think it’s a well-done, heart-warming novel that’s perfect when you’re looking for a little literary pick-me-up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse
ana_inklings's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There were aspects of this book I really loved: Hugo and Jack’s relationship and the interactions between Hugo and Lucy, most especially.
Without spoiling anything, I found the ending very satisfying, even if other parts of the book were dark and difficult for me to get through because of my own personal story within the foster care system and dysfunctional parts of my home life growing up.
I wanted to love Lucy’s relationship with Christopher, the love, and care, and growth is definitely a beautiful thing, but I found it hard to suspend disbelief regarding the boundaries of their relationship. This read was magical and endearing in its own way, and even healing in parts. I didn’t find it cozy per se, but I’m glad I read it.
Without spoiling anything, I found the ending very satisfying, even if other parts of the book were dark and difficult for me to get through because of my own personal story within the foster care system and dysfunctional parts of my home life growing up.
I wanted to love Lucy’s relationship with Christopher, the love, and care, and growth is definitely a beautiful thing, but I found it hard to suspend disbelief regarding the boundaries of their relationship. This read was magical and endearing in its own way, and even healing in parts. I didn’t find it cozy per se, but I’m glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Abandonment
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Drug abuse and Child death
giraffesandaudiobooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage
jes312's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I wanted to like this more based on the premise; similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with people who love books. But it was poorly written--to much telling, not enough showing, especially in terms of relationships between characters.
There were too many predictable and/or unnecessary subplots; one issue was introduced at the very end just to keep everything from being wrapped up a little too neatly. The thing that bothered me the most wasAutumn's death ; I felt like it was shrugged off by everyone; the author creating the contest and only making it available to kids who did make it to the island felt disrespectful to her memory .
There were too many predictable and/or unnecessary subplots; one issue was introduced at the very end just to keep everything from being wrapped up a little too neatly. The thing that bothered me the most was
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent