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katykelly's review
5.0
Exceptionally exciting idea, enticing start to a new series.
It's only now and again that a new children's series really captures my own personal interest and seems destined to be a big hit. I always hoped Artemis Fowl would become a filmed series, the Wundersmith books I hold out hope for junior Hunger Games/Harry Potter kindred spirits. Now this debut, I can already see on the cinema screen. And I really want book 2!
Flick has recently moved, with her often-busy parents and attention-sucking baby brother (whom, as 12 years his senior, she often ends up looking after). Stuck at home most of the time, Flick dreams of travel and adventure. And it seems possible she might be about to find it... in a travel shop...
Jonathan Mercator, young himself to be in charge at Strangeworlds Travel Agency, sees something both unusual and special about Flick when she ends up visiting his 'shop'. He reveals the long-hidden secrets it contains. The hundreds of suitcases each lead to different worlds, and the confidential society he curates are tasked with exploring, chronicling and safeguarding them all.
Flick is delighted and intoxicated to dip her toes into the suitcases of the Travel Agency, though her talents may be very useful when the pair discover that one world is beginning to disappear.
Clearly the first of several possible stories, Flick and Jonathan are set up here to be a partnership with flaws as well as endearing qualities, and a great potential as a team that will become stronger over time.
The world Lapinski conjures up for her readers is astonishingly original and easy to envisage. I loved the idea of the suitcases and the Society. Flick made a tough and empathetic heroine, Jonathan an unusual partner (18 or 19, not the worldly-wise experienced elder you would expect, and not a typical teenager). It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops, especially as Flick enters the teenager years herself.
Some lovely descriptions caught my attention: "Something prickled under her skin... if she'd had to describe it, she would have said it was curiosity mixed with oranges."... "the paint was a green-blue eczema of colour." This one made me laugh: "the game spread along the table like chickenpox at a soft-play centre."
Wonderfully imaginative fare for the age group, visual and exciting and definitely a sequel that readers will clamour for.
For ages 8-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.
It's only now and again that a new children's series really captures my own personal interest and seems destined to be a big hit. I always hoped Artemis Fowl would become a filmed series, the Wundersmith books I hold out hope for junior Hunger Games/Harry Potter kindred spirits. Now this debut, I can already see on the cinema screen. And I really want book 2!
Flick has recently moved, with her often-busy parents and attention-sucking baby brother (whom, as 12 years his senior, she often ends up looking after). Stuck at home most of the time, Flick dreams of travel and adventure. And it seems possible she might be about to find it... in a travel shop...
Jonathan Mercator, young himself to be in charge at Strangeworlds Travel Agency, sees something both unusual and special about Flick when she ends up visiting his 'shop'. He reveals the long-hidden secrets it contains. The hundreds of suitcases each lead to different worlds, and the confidential society he curates are tasked with exploring, chronicling and safeguarding them all.
Flick is delighted and intoxicated to dip her toes into the suitcases of the Travel Agency, though her talents may be very useful when the pair discover that one world is beginning to disappear.
Clearly the first of several possible stories, Flick and Jonathan are set up here to be a partnership with flaws as well as endearing qualities, and a great potential as a team that will become stronger over time.
The world Lapinski conjures up for her readers is astonishingly original and easy to envisage. I loved the idea of the suitcases and the Society. Flick made a tough and empathetic heroine, Jonathan an unusual partner (18 or 19, not the worldly-wise experienced elder you would expect, and not a typical teenager). It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops, especially as Flick enters the teenager years herself.
Some lovely descriptions caught my attention: "Something prickled under her skin... if she'd had to describe it, she would have said it was curiosity mixed with oranges."... "the paint was a green-blue eczema of colour." This one made me laugh: "the game spread along the table like chickenpox at a soft-play centre."
Wonderfully imaginative fare for the age group, visual and exciting and definitely a sequel that readers will clamour for.
For ages 8-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Het is alweer even geleden dat ik een middle grade heb opgepakt. En elke keer als er weer eentje op mijn pad komt, word ik er weer aan herinnerd hoe leuk middle grades zijn, wat voor gave concepten er in middle grades uitgewerkt worden en hoe goed middle grades over het algemeen in elkaar zitten. Dit boek kwam echt puur toevallig op mijn pad. De lokale boekwinkel, Roojboek in Venray, had een recensie-exemplaar binnen gekregen en ik was de gelukkige die het boek mocht lezen.
Ook van dit boek is het concept te leuk. In de proloog wordt het idee van de koffers die toegang geven tot andere dimensies geïntroduceerd en ik was gelijk verkocht. Ik zag al meteen dat de mogelijkheden eindeloos waren en de auteur gebruikt deze mogelijkheden ten volle. Hoewel we uiteraard maar een fractie van alle werelden te zien krijgen in dit boek weet Lapinski een heel mooi beeld te schetsen van wat er allemaal kan en van hoe verschillend al deze werelden kunnen zijn.
Onze gidsen door deze werelden zijn een ongelooflijk leuk en slim meisje, dat weliswaar koppig is, maar ook beschikt over enorm veel wilskracht, en een tienerjongen die al veel te jong veel te veel lasten en verantwoordelijkheid op zijn schouders moet dragen. Ik denk dat heel veel kinderen zich in Felicity gaan herkennen, of zouden willen dat ze waren zoals zij, en dat ze naarmate het boek vordert steeds verder naar het puntje van hun stoel gaan schuiven.
Want, spannend wordt het verhaal zeker ook! Natuurlijk maken we eerst kennis met de personages en de mooie kanten van het reizen, maar langzaamaan worden de werelden en situaties gevaarlijker. Het resultaat is een ongelooflijk tof en verslavend avontuur dat je vanaf de eerste bladzijde helemaal meeneemt en niet meer loslaat. Leg die vergrootglazen en koffers voor je kinderen maar alvast klaar, want ze zullen er na het (voor)lezen van dit boek uren mee willen spelen. Ik ga mijn vergrootglas en koffer ook maar eens zoeken, denk ik. Wie weet...
Ook van dit boek is het concept te leuk. In de proloog wordt het idee van de koffers die toegang geven tot andere dimensies geïntroduceerd en ik was gelijk verkocht. Ik zag al meteen dat de mogelijkheden eindeloos waren en de auteur gebruikt deze mogelijkheden ten volle. Hoewel we uiteraard maar een fractie van alle werelden te zien krijgen in dit boek weet Lapinski een heel mooi beeld te schetsen van wat er allemaal kan en van hoe verschillend al deze werelden kunnen zijn.
Onze gidsen door deze werelden zijn een ongelooflijk leuk en slim meisje, dat weliswaar koppig is, maar ook beschikt over enorm veel wilskracht, en een tienerjongen die al veel te jong veel te veel lasten en verantwoordelijkheid op zijn schouders moet dragen. Ik denk dat heel veel kinderen zich in Felicity gaan herkennen, of zouden willen dat ze waren zoals zij, en dat ze naarmate het boek vordert steeds verder naar het puntje van hun stoel gaan schuiven.
Want, spannend wordt het verhaal zeker ook! Natuurlijk maken we eerst kennis met de personages en de mooie kanten van het reizen, maar langzaamaan worden de werelden en situaties gevaarlijker. Het resultaat is een ongelooflijk tof en verslavend avontuur dat je vanaf de eerste bladzijde helemaal meeneemt en niet meer loslaat. Leg die vergrootglazen en koffers voor je kinderen maar alvast klaar, want ze zullen er na het (voor)lezen van dit boek uren mee willen spelen. Ik ga mijn vergrootglas en koffer ook maar eens zoeken, denk ik. Wie weet...
emilie_rose's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
This was such a fun adventure! When Flick moves to a new town, she discovers a travel agency, one that has the ability to travel to others worlds. Jonathan, the 18 year old running the agency after his father’s disappearance, allows Flick to join the Strangeworlds Society and travel with him. But they discover that there is something wrong with these worlds.
I really loved the dissonance between Flick and Jonathan. Flick is a 12 year old who feels like her parents rely on her too much and like she has had to grow up to fast, while Jonathan’s parents hid a lot of things from him and now that he is in charge, he has to make it appear he knows what he’s doing. They are both children who feel like they had to grow up too fast, but they handle it in every different ways.
I really loved the magic system in this book. Suitcases that contain portals to other worlds, which are actually tears in reality that must be controlled to stop them from having negative effects on the worlds. I feel like the book have just enough detail on how this worked, while leaving enough mystery for future books. I also liked the way the author avoided info-dumping, by interspersing portions of the handbook Flick gets to explain things along the way. We are given the information quickly, but without a character giving a long speech.
I am excited for future additions to this series.
I really loved the dissonance between Flick and Jonathan. Flick is a 12 year old who feels like her parents rely on her too much and like she has had to grow up to fast, while Jonathan’s parents hid a lot of things from him and now that he is in charge, he has to make it appear he knows what he’s doing. They are both children who feel like they had to grow up too fast, but they handle it in every different ways.
I really loved the magic system in this book. Suitcases that contain portals to other worlds, which are actually tears in reality that must be controlled to stop them from having negative effects on the worlds. I feel like the book have just enough detail on how this worked, while leaving enough mystery for future books. I also liked the way the author avoided info-dumping, by interspersing portions of the handbook Flick gets to explain things along the way. We are given the information quickly, but without a character giving a long speech.
I am excited for future additions to this series.
leschroniques_delea's review against another edition
3.0
3,5/5
Pour commencer je trouve que le livre est très beau, la couverture mais aussi les pages et les en-têtes de chapitre. Le travail effectué sur le roman en lui-même est super.
J’ai trouvé l’histoire assez originale puisque pour voyager à travers d’autres mondes, les personnages utilisent des valises. Ça correspond bien à un livre jeunesse.
Ce premier tome est assez long à se mettre en place mais l’histoire reste très prenante. On apprend à découvrir nos deux héros Jonathan Mercator et Flick Hudson. Je trouve que Flick a un humour bien à elle alors que Jonathan est plus réservé et n’aime pas montrer ses émotions.
Tout au long du roman on va découvrir l’univers dans lequel Flick va évoluer grâce à son apprentissage auprès de Jonathan. Puis on va voir enfin les dangers de ses mondes et le mystère qui se cache autour.
J’ai hâte de découvrir le tome 2 pour en savoir plus sur ce mystère et retrouver Flick et Jonathan dans de nouvelles aventures.
Pour commencer je trouve que le livre est très beau, la couverture mais aussi les pages et les en-têtes de chapitre. Le travail effectué sur le roman en lui-même est super.
J’ai trouvé l’histoire assez originale puisque pour voyager à travers d’autres mondes, les personnages utilisent des valises. Ça correspond bien à un livre jeunesse.
Ce premier tome est assez long à se mettre en place mais l’histoire reste très prenante. On apprend à découvrir nos deux héros Jonathan Mercator et Flick Hudson. Je trouve que Flick a un humour bien à elle alors que Jonathan est plus réservé et n’aime pas montrer ses émotions.
Tout au long du roman on va découvrir l’univers dans lequel Flick va évoluer grâce à son apprentissage auprès de Jonathan. Puis on va voir enfin les dangers de ses mondes et le mystère qui se cache autour.
J’ai hâte de découvrir le tome 2 pour en savoir plus sur ce mystère et retrouver Flick et Jonathan dans de nouvelles aventures.
mehsi's review
3.0
Imagine a world where you can travel to other worlds with suitcases.
I have had my eyes on this one for a while and then I decided to buy it. While I did like the book, I don’t know it just missed something. Throughout the book it just felt incomplete. There was something missing that kept me from wanting to flip the pages.
I loved the beginning, I loved the travel agency, I love the idea that one can travel through suitcases, that there are so many worlds to discover. There are also rules which made me happy, because otherwise it would just been too easy to go to these worlds. I love that you could bring a suitcase with you, and that NO MATTER what, you couldn’t lose it. The explanation on how the suitcases work was fab, and I like that there were guidebooks and that we even get a glimpse inside, I would definitely love a separate book with maps and guide stuff. Not just pages in the official book, but a full book of it.
I love how Flick found the agency and how quickly she befriended Jonathan. I loved how she found a home away from her home. And I loved how, unlike so many other books about characters finding out about magic she stays cool and calm. She doesn’t even believe it at first despite what she saw. I love how down to earth she is, but how as the story continues she is getting more and more enthusiastic about it, more open and more believing.
Flick’s official name was also nice, Felicity.
The cover is a delight and is just so much fun.
I loved discovering the worlds and seeing what kind of worlds there were. From forests to Peter Pan situations (and I laughed so hard on how they escaped). The author did well on describing the worlds and I could just envision myself at the worlds and travel along with our duo (or Jonathan/Flick alone).
There were parts of Jonathan I liked and I did feel sorry for him for the losses he had in his life. I loved that nearer to the end he decided to go for it and what he did was just WOW. He went through so much for Flick. I loved how he tried his best to help the agency, learn about things, be strict despite whatever his age must be and how old the other travellers are.
Nicc has a special place in my heart. I love that little Thief. I thought at first she may turn out to be a baddie (like the Overseer) but she turned out to be a sweet girl who was just trying to make a living.
Jonathan, I never could get a grip on his age. At the one hand he felt like 14-15, but on the other hand also 30. It was utterly confusing for me.
Plus, his personality never felt OK to me. I don’t know, he was just so secretive, something was just off. Not to mention that what he held from Flick? I saw that coming a mile of. His reaction to when Flick showed that she knew magic was just too much.
There are very many more questions and mysteries to be answered and solved and that is also the reason why I am rating this one a bit lower because it just seemed we never get that. Instead it just piles on and on and on. It does give the story a bit more excitement.. but it is just frustrating as well.
Flick’s parents were just not my fav. I am happy to read that they do things for Flick, but you cannot expect your 12-year old to care for her baby brother the way she does. Feeding, cleaning, playing, caring. I get you have a job, but you got a kid, it is your baby, take care of it. Don’t dump it all with your other kid who wants to have a life and play.
As you can see, a lot of good, a lot of love… but sadly also things I just wasn’t happy with. For now it is going to be 3 stars as I still enjoyed reading it, and I was happy to see all the worlds and see the characters grow.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have had my eyes on this one for a while and then I decided to buy it. While I did like the book, I don’t know it just missed something. Throughout the book it just felt incomplete. There was something missing that kept me from wanting to flip the pages.
I loved the beginning, I loved the travel agency, I love the idea that one can travel through suitcases, that there are so many worlds to discover. There are also rules which made me happy, because otherwise it would just been too easy to go to these worlds. I love that you could bring a suitcase with you, and that NO MATTER what, you couldn’t lose it. The explanation on how the suitcases work was fab, and I like that there were guidebooks and that we even get a glimpse inside, I would definitely love a separate book with maps and guide stuff. Not just pages in the official book, but a full book of it.
I love how Flick found the agency and how quickly she befriended Jonathan. I loved how she found a home away from her home. And I loved how, unlike so many other books about characters finding out about magic she stays cool and calm. She doesn’t even believe it at first despite what she saw. I love how down to earth she is, but how as the story continues she is getting more and more enthusiastic about it, more open and more believing.
Flick’s official name was also nice, Felicity.
The cover is a delight and is just so much fun.
I loved discovering the worlds and seeing what kind of worlds there were. From forests to Peter Pan situations (and I laughed so hard on how they escaped). The author did well on describing the worlds and I could just envision myself at the worlds and travel along with our duo (or Jonathan/Flick alone).
There were parts of Jonathan I liked and I did feel sorry for him for the losses he had in his life. I loved that nearer to the end he decided to go for it and what he did was just WOW. He went through so much for Flick. I loved how he tried his best to help the agency, learn about things, be strict despite whatever his age must be and how old the other travellers are.
Nicc has a special place in my heart. I love that little Thief. I thought at first she may turn out to be a baddie (like the Overseer) but she turned out to be a sweet girl who was just trying to make a living.
Jonathan, I never could get a grip on his age. At the one hand he felt like 14-15, but on the other hand also 30. It was utterly confusing for me.
Plus, his personality never felt OK to me. I don’t know, he was just so secretive, something was just off. Not to mention that what he held from Flick? I saw that coming a mile of. His reaction to when Flick showed that she knew magic was just too much.
There are very many more questions and mysteries to be answered and solved and that is also the reason why I am rating this one a bit lower because it just seemed we never get that. Instead it just piles on and on and on. It does give the story a bit more excitement.. but it is just frustrating as well.
Flick’s parents were just not my fav. I am happy to read that they do things for Flick, but you cannot expect your 12-year old to care for her baby brother the way she does. Feeding, cleaning, playing, caring. I get you have a job, but you got a kid, it is your baby, take care of it. Don’t dump it all with your other kid who wants to have a life and play.
Spoiler
The whole Flick escaping from the waiting room just felt out of place and unnecessary. At first I thought it was cool, but then she got captured within like 10-15 minutes and it just felt like a plotdevice instead. Like OMG look what Flick can do. She can not just see glitter and sparkles and schisms, but also can open/break closed worlds. *rolls eyes* I think it would have been better if it had been incorporated in the story a bit better, make it natural.As you can see, a lot of good, a lot of love… but sadly also things I just wasn’t happy with. For now it is going to be 3 stars as I still enjoyed reading it, and I was happy to see all the worlds and see the characters grow.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
queerandtalkative's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
readingsari's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
anniekslibrary's review
5.0
Why did I put off reading this for so long? This is exactly the kind of middlegrade adventure I love, with fun worldbuilding full of whimsy and characters full of heart. Can't wait to read the sequels, luckily I checked out all three books from the library!
itaby's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
missbookiverse's review against another edition
4.0
This is the kind of middle grade I love! It's creative and unique with all the different worlds (I especially enjoyed the little candy shop), but also a little complex with the schisms and the multiverse and not completely predictable. The protagonists in this one are interesting, too because their age often is hard to pinpoint. Flick seems to be on the verge of becoming a teenager, so slightly too old for a middle grade, and Jonathan plays the role of the grown-up while not yet being one either. The chemistry between them is interesting, too. I wonder if something more will develop between them. Initially, Flick's home situation reminded me a lot of [b:Coraline|17061|Coraline|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493497435l/17061._SY75_.jpg|2834844], which made the whole book feel even more cozy. Very much looking forward to the sequel.