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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
No
This book was soooo good! I typically don't post actual reviews for the books that I listen to in the classrooms I'm in, but this one was AMAZING! It gave me the right amount of spooky, creepy, scary for this age group and it was very reminiscent of Coraline for me. Coraline has such a special place in my heart and this book just gave me the same feelings I had when I first read Coraline as a kid. Just the perfect, all around spooky book. I loved following Harvey along on his crazy journey with the friends he made along the way. Would 100% read something else by this author!
Like most horror books, I wasn't too impressed with this one. I'm not a big fan of the genre and I'm not young enough to be in the target audience for this book. I'm having some of my students read it and I'll be interested to see what they think of it. Overall my biggest complaint was believability. Harvey was too dumb and the house (the creatures especially) were too easy to defeat. Not a fan!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This was ok .
Nice illustrations.
Reminded me of Coraline.
Nice illustrations.
Reminded me of Coraline.
I don't generally do YA, but I thought I'd give this a try and it was The Damnation Game as a YA novel. That's not a bad thing. It was a cute novel with a cute message.
I've been searching for this book; it is the first book my son loved. Once he read it he said if all books were like it he'd enjoy reading. Finally remembered the title, ordered a used copy, and just finished it- Clive Barker calls it a Fable, and certainly there is a lesson in the end about time and wishes. Mr Hood has created a magical house that captures children's imaginations and gives them every with they want until.... (no spoiler here). It's a great story, mild in violence compared to the books published for kids today, but still engaging and a page turner.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
THIS BOOK IS SO FREAKING GOOD. I DON'T EVEN LIKE HORROR/CREEPY BOOKS AND THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING.
This was truly a fast and delightful read. Barker flawlessly mixes childhood fantasy with dark horror and tops it off with his own nightmarish illustrations. It shouldn't work but it does, and brilliantly.
It was strangely difficult for me to get my hands on a physical copy of this book. I am sure it was simply due to user error. I finally had a pristine copy of the version I was looking shipped down to me from Nate’s Blast From the Past out of Portland, Oregon. (Thanks Nate!) Was it worth the effort to track this book down? Yes! Many reviewers referred to this book as a “children’s book”. It has been a long time since anyone would could consider me a child, yet (to quote Harvey) reading this book I felt “we were children together… at least for a little while”.
I am not sure how this book initially came to my attention but thanks to the review from William Johnson for steering me in the right direction.
I am not sure how this book initially came to my attention but thanks to the review from William Johnson for steering me in the right direction.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes