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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
Definitely a good recommendation for middle grade readers looking to cure their Harry Potter hangover. As an adult reader, I felt no connection to the characters and their actions, but I can see how younger readers would be engaged in this fantasy-save the world novel.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
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:
N/A
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
I know they’re elves and everything, but honestly the most unbelievable part of this book was that Fitz willingly sits with his little sister at the lunch tables in school. But seriously, I really enjoyed this.
Not gonna lie, reviews saying this was Harry Potter reminiscent made me want to read this asap, because I realized that I missed being invested in a middle-grade, fully immersive world.
But this was not it.
Whereas HP focused purely on the adventure and building on the story before introducing any kind of romance, this is targeted to tween girls fangirling over guys instead of focusing on life and death issues. Sophie is going through some overly TRAUMATIC events at just 12 years of age, and all she thinks in every 2 sentences every single time is "Ah, I like hugging Fitz more than I should. I hope he doesn't see my red cheeks!"
This is not why I started the book and having everything revolve around Sophie and her interest in boys or boys getting jealous/protective over her all the time is annoying. Her girlfriends aren't much better either, and especially Biana makes 0 sense. Interpersonal relationships in this book are not well developed for the most part, but after some time, you can see them just working out.
The world itself is not so well built, and the mystery behind it is not set up that well. Sophie is the integral part, but instead of having the story progress steadily, you keep getting more questions that, in many cases, are not really pressed on enough to get answers. And you have adults like Alden that keep repeating, "Everything is fine. Don't worry. Trust me!" AND SOPHIE KEEPS TRUSTING THEM EVEN WHEN SHE FINDS OUT THEY ARE HIDING STUFF. Elves are supposed to be sooo much smarter than humans, but all we see here are human behaviors from everyone with some extra abilities. That's it.
All I can say is that it's not satisfying enough. I was able to read it really fast (with eye rolls every time they had the 12yo girl crushing on a boy during important times), but I am not sure I'll keep up with the series. I am a bit curious, but I don't feel they set up the story in an interesting way.
But this was not it.
Whereas HP focused purely on the adventure and building on the story before introducing any kind of romance, this is targeted to tween girls fangirling over guys instead of focusing on life and death issues. Sophie is going through some overly TRAUMATIC events at just 12 years of age, and all she thinks in every 2 sentences every single time is "Ah, I like hugging Fitz more than I should. I hope he doesn't see my red cheeks!"
This is not why I started the book and having everything revolve around Sophie and her interest in boys or boys getting jealous/protective over her all the time is annoying. Her girlfriends aren't much better either, and especially Biana makes 0 sense. Interpersonal relationships in this book are not well developed for the most part, but after some time, you can see them just working out.
The world itself is not so well built, and the mystery behind it is not set up that well. Sophie is the integral part, but instead of having the story progress steadily, you keep getting more questions that, in many cases, are not really pressed on enough to get answers. And you have adults like Alden that keep repeating, "Everything is fine. Don't worry. Trust me!" AND SOPHIE KEEPS TRUSTING THEM EVEN WHEN SHE FINDS OUT THEY ARE HIDING STUFF. Elves are supposed to be sooo much smarter than humans, but all we see here are human behaviors from everyone with some extra abilities. That's it.
All I can say is that it's not satisfying enough. I was able to read it really fast (with eye rolls every time they had the 12yo girl crushing on a boy during important times), but I am not sure I'll keep up with the series. I am a bit curious, but I don't feel they set up the story in an interesting way.