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kitsuneheart's review
5.0
I ADORE this book! In college, I majored in English, and had a fair amount of instruction on Arthurian legends and ballads, including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, so, on seeing this in my birthday gifts, my attention was riveted.
Now, I have been in the bad habit of recent years of taking months to finish a book. Pick up, read half, forget for weeks, read a page or two every few days. This time, it took less than a week, and only that long because the book took some serious water damage (DAMN YOU CONTIGO!). It was just a delightful read, every single page. Full of absurdity and logic jokes, as well as just geenral silliness, but not to a Wonderland level. All the strangeness seemed rather down-to-Earth. There was a reason for it, and it all melded together in what for me will long be a perfect book.
Read it, I command you. Or off with your head!
Now, I have been in the bad habit of recent years of taking months to finish a book. Pick up, read half, forget for weeks, read a page or two every few days. This time, it took less than a week, and only that long because the book took some serious water damage (DAMN YOU CONTIGO!). It was just a delightful read, every single page. Full of absurdity and logic jokes, as well as just geenral silliness, but not to a Wonderland level. All the strangeness seemed rather down-to-Earth. There was a reason for it, and it all melded together in what for me will long be a perfect book.
Read it, I command you. Or off with your head!
rachelhelps's review
3.0
This is a book I kickstarted by the author of Saturday Morning Breakfast cereal. It's really cute, and I liked how Augie learned about ethics through unorthodox quests. But the writing felt a little unpolished--the pacing wasn't quite right. I guess I shouldn't have expected a masterpiece from someone who hasn't written children's chapter books before. I like it, but I don't love it.
ladynigelia's review
4.0
I've got a couple of Zach Weinersmith's other books as well, and loved the idea of this book from the start. The actual production quality is beyond what I'd expected - the gilded edges of the book are such a rarity these days. This is especially remarkable since it's self published using Kickstarter funds. The illustrations are gorgeous, because a cartoonist has good art connections :D
The actual story is a delightfully irreverent retelling of a familiar tale - from the Green Knight's side. I quite enjoyed all the asides and obscure adjectives (insouciant, anyone?) which will encourage expanded vocabularies for anyone who reads it. Now I'm wondering if those words in the middle are actually made up or I just didn't know them.
The actual story is a delightfully irreverent retelling of a familiar tale - from the Green Knight's side. I quite enjoyed all the asides and obscure adjectives (insouciant, anyone?) which will encourage expanded vocabularies for anyone who reads it. Now I'm wondering if those words in the middle are actually made up or I just didn't know them.
hmgauthi's review
3.0
3.5 “It is sometimes your duty to understand that what makes another person happy is not what makes you happy…”
“This is a terrible idea…. I’ll help.”
This is such a cute story! I love how ethics are interwoven into the story and the quests. Newt was most definitely my favorite character and the art was awesome.
I found that the over inclusion of science terms bogged down the reading and made it hard to follow at times.
“This is a terrible idea…. I’ll help.”
This is such a cute story! I love how ethics are interwoven into the story and the quests. Newt was most definitely my favorite character and the art was awesome.
I found that the over inclusion of science terms bogged down the reading and made it hard to follow at times.
wishanem's review
5.0
A delightful take on the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with plenty of educational bits for kids and humor for all ages.
djotaku's review
3.0
Disclaimer: I was a kickstarter backer on this book
I Kickstarted this book because I liked Weiner's work on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and because the description sounded appealing to me - create a book that would appeal to a young, nerdy female. I've two daughters and the one who can talk (the other is only 15 months old) appears to be genuinely curious about the world around her and might relate to Augie in this book.
I think I would have reached peak enjoyment of this book around middle school age. I think it has a good plot for a kid's book and I like the logic, math, and ethical problems it asks the reader to consider. However, it has a certain level of absurdity that I've outgrown - I can appreciate it from a distance, but it doesn't tickle me as it once did. And that's OK, our tastes change as we grow older - I can still appreciate Dr. Suess, but a lot of it was also way more appealing to me when I was in elementary school.
Depending on your child's reading level and understanding of concepts like fractions and logic, I'd recommend somewhere around 7 years old and up as a good age to share this with a budding nerd in your life. Augie's a good role model and while the number of female protagonists continues to grow, it's nice to have one for girls (and guys) to read.
I Kickstarted this book because I liked Weiner's work on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and because the description sounded appealing to me - create a book that would appeal to a young, nerdy female. I've two daughters and the one who can talk (the other is only 15 months old) appears to be genuinely curious about the world around her and might relate to Augie in this book.
I think I would have reached peak enjoyment of this book around middle school age. I think it has a good plot for a kid's book and I like the logic, math, and ethical problems it asks the reader to consider. However, it has a certain level of absurdity that I've outgrown - I can appreciate it from a distance, but it doesn't tickle me as it once did. And that's OK, our tastes change as we grow older - I can still appreciate Dr. Suess, but a lot of it was also way more appealing to me when I was in elementary school.
Depending on your child's reading level and understanding of concepts like fractions and logic, I'd recommend somewhere around 7 years old and up as a good age to share this with a budding nerd in your life. Augie's a good role model and while the number of female protagonists continues to grow, it's nice to have one for girls (and guys) to read.
jeremy_bearimy's review
4.0
I was tempted to give this 5 stars, but agree with others that it could have used another round of edits. If I had a child, especially a daughter, I would love to read them this story about the adventures of a plucky girl in a strange land. It has jokes for people of all ages, especially nerds and geeks. (It seems like that distinction matters to some people, so I'll play it safe and include both.) It reminded me of The Phantom Tollbooth because it explores a fantastical world in a clever way that incorporates (mostly) subtle lessons about how to be a better human. I loved all of the little splashes of absurdity, like the description of greenfish as "like goldfish, but purple". I'm glad that I backed this Kickstarter campaign and look forward to reading it to a kiddo in the future.