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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I read this entire series in like 3 weeks! I am now a MAJOR KOTLC fan!
I would 10000% recommend!
I mean seriously! Like, Sophie is so stinking amazing and I feel so bad for Dex who is just adorable and KEEFE!!! And oh my gosh I could probably go on forever!
Someone needs to stop me from reading this entire series for the 5th time
I read this entire series in like 3 weeks! I am now a MAJOR KOTLC fan!
I would 10000% recommend!
I mean seriously! Like, Sophie is so stinking amazing and I feel so bad for Dex who is just adorable and KEEFE!!! And oh my gosh I could probably go on forever!
Someone needs to stop me from reading this entire series for the 5th time
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I first read this book (and really the whole series) in sixth grade and the summer before seventh grade. I chose to re-read because I had forgotten most of what the books were about and the memories I had of reading these books were amazing. Now re-reading, I can definitely tell these are more meant for a middle-schooler and not an almost college student, because the characters and some dialogue may be a little cheesy. The main character, Sophie, is the ‘different’ one, the only one with brown eyes, rare abilities, raised in a human family, etc. It follows the generic format for most of these types of books where the main character is the special one, however I do like the foreshadowing they add into the plot. I like that a lot of the plot seems to be well planned out, it doesn’t feel like a book where the author is just coming up with things as they write. Overall, if you can get over /some/ cheesy bits, its a fun and interesting read.
FANTASTIC
My daughter has been begging me to read this series but I always had another "adult" book on my TBR. I caved, read the first few chapters and was hooked. Haven't been this excited to read the second book since Harry Potter. There are definitely parallels and you can tell areas where JKR inspired Messenger here but the story is unique enough to not matter.
My daughter has been begging me to read this series but I always had another "adult" book on my TBR. I caved, read the first few chapters and was hooked. Haven't been this excited to read the second book since Harry Potter. There are definitely parallels and you can tell areas where JKR inspired Messenger here but the story is unique enough to not matter.
This is amazing, I love it so much that I bought it. That is so rare for me. Though I love the way Shannon messenger writes so much, I connect a lot with Sophie and I would give anything to live in that world! :) If I could I would give it six stars
Update 2017: I love it just as much as when I read it last time- I can't wait for the sixth book to come out in November!
2024: I didn't realize the last time I read this was in 2017 but honestly that kind of tracks. This was genuinely just as much fun as it was back in the day and I'm looking forward to making my way back through the series in hopes of picking up the latest book!
Update 2017: I love it just as much as when I read it last time- I can't wait for the sixth book to come out in November!
2024: I didn't realize the last time I read this was in 2017 but honestly that kind of tracks. This was genuinely just as much fun as it was back in the day and I'm looking forward to making my way back through the series in hopes of picking up the latest book!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD and AWESOME. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. THIS SERIES IS SO AMAZING. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK. Now I have to wait for the next book.
It's been a while since I've read a good book and I'm glad that I've started this one. This could be one of my favorite MG books given time, maybe after I've read the next few books.
What I love about this series is diving on a whole new world of fantasy and adventures. I've been through the world of wizardry, demigods, ghost hunters, fairy tales and the like. And this series is about elves but not like the LOTR ones with pointy ears, great eyesight and hearing, and clearly not the fairy tale ones with pointy shoes.
We have elves with different abilities. Telepaths, Meismers, In flicters, Vanishers and more! They go to a school to discover their innate power (if they do not already now). Yeah, I know that you're thinking that it's like some other MG books but that's what I like about it. I just miss reading a book series like this.
This was like Harry Potter! But elves!
I loved reading this and can't wait to read the next book.
It starts a bit frantically but then finds its pace once we get to the school. Then it starts to shine. Great things to study here for aspiring upper middle grade writers (like me), like how to introduce a big cast of characters. There were some rough edges that didn't land with me, but the whole book was compelling. I'm glad it's a long series! Excited to see what happens next.
It's been a while since I've read a good book and I'm glad that I've started this one. This could be one of my favorite MG books given time, maybe after I've read the next few books.
What I love about this series is diving on a whole new world of fantasy and adventures. I've been through the world of wizardry, demigods, ghost hunters, fairy tales and the like. And this series is about elves but not like the LOTR ones with pointy ears, great eyesight and hearing, and clearly not the fairy tale ones with pointy shoes.
We have elves with different abilities. Telepaths, Meismers, In flicters, Vanishers and more! They go to a school to discover their innate power (if they do not already now). Yeah, I know that you're thinking that it's like some other MG books but that's what I like about it. I just miss reading a book series like this.
This was like Harry Potter! But elves!
I loved reading this and can't wait to read the next book.
It starts a bit frantically but then finds its pace once we get to the school. Then it starts to shine. Great things to study here for aspiring upper middle grade writers (like me), like how to introduce a big cast of characters. There were some rough edges that didn't land with me, but the whole book was compelling. I'm glad it's a long series! Excited to see what happens next.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
annoying mary sue characters. not for me.
This book left a bad taste in my mouth :'(. A pale-skinned, blue-eyed race has been practicing eugenics for years, and they grandfather in our blonde waifish protagonist to their private school. She almost didn't qualify because she has brown eyes. But hey, at least she's not like those other "stupid" or boorish "chubby, brown-skinned" races, who are inferior intellectually and morally, and - at best - are grateful for any menial labor the pale race throws their way.
....
See what I mean?
But hey, maybe you're not in the mood for positive messaging in your middle grade fantasy. Maybe you're just here for the magic and glitter. Ok, let's talk glitter:
Sophie the Snowflake is the Bella-est of Bella Swan's: Wah, I'm so smart and magical and misunderstood and well-ahead of my peers. I feel like a loner even in my own family. But when a magical teenager shows up and tells me how amazing I am, I instantly romanticize him, allow him to kidnap me, adopt his family as my own, and want to abandon my life for his world.
The "wise", emo protagonist is tropetastic, as is the magical boyfriend and the hidden magical race and being whisked off to magic school... I can't be mad that these tropes are in this book; they're tropes for a reason, and any one of them could be a sub-genre onto themselves. But there is something particularly icky about how the tropes were handled in this book. Sophie isn't an older teen on the cusp of adulthood, uncertain of her future, ready to leap into a wild romance or adventure that will test and shape her. Sophie is 12! She is not even a teenager, being treated with the same level of maturity as a high school senior. No upperclassman should be whisking her anywhere. Fitz's behavior is predatory: He grooms her by telling her how special and unique she is, negs her family and her school, then isolates Sophie. He makes decisions for her without informing her, consulting her, or waiting for consent. He insults everything about her, from her intellect to her diet, while championing her looks and anything she has in common with him, like her magic. He is an arrogant, racist elitist, who immediately makes her feel ashamed of her family and upbringing, and insinuates that Sophie will only continue to be special to him if she molds herself to be exactly like him.
A looot of red flags. A LOT! There are far superior magical academy or paranormal boyfriend or parallel world stories out there.
....
See what I mean?
But hey, maybe you're not in the mood for positive messaging in your middle grade fantasy. Maybe you're just here for the magic and glitter. Ok, let's talk glitter:
Sophie the Snowflake is the Bella-est of Bella Swan's: Wah, I'm so smart and magical and misunderstood and well-ahead of my peers. I feel like a loner even in my own family. But when a magical teenager shows up and tells me how amazing I am, I instantly romanticize him, allow him to kidnap me, adopt his family as my own, and want to abandon my life for his world.
The "wise", emo protagonist is tropetastic, as is the magical boyfriend and the hidden magical race and being whisked off to magic school... I can't be mad that these tropes are in this book; they're tropes for a reason, and any one of them could be a sub-genre onto themselves. But there is something particularly icky about how the tropes were handled in this book. Sophie isn't an older teen on the cusp of adulthood, uncertain of her future, ready to leap into a wild romance or adventure that will test and shape her. Sophie is 12! She is not even a teenager, being treated with the same level of maturity as a high school senior. No upperclassman should be whisking her anywhere. Fitz's behavior is predatory: He grooms her by telling her how special and unique she is, negs her family and her school, then isolates Sophie. He makes decisions for her without informing her, consulting her, or waiting for consent. He insults everything about her, from her intellect to her diet, while championing her looks and anything she has in common with him, like her magic. He is an arrogant, racist elitist, who immediately makes her feel ashamed of her family and upbringing, and insinuates that Sophie will only continue to be special to him if she molds herself to be exactly like him.
A looot of red flags. A LOT! There are far superior magical academy or paranormal boyfriend or parallel world stories out there.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
this was fun