Reviews - The Story of the Amulet

This one is a bit darker than the others. After all, mother is sick and father is going off to war (it sounds like WWI). It was interesting to see the growth in the boys and the conflict between them and Anthea. I was absolutely disgusted with Jane, who seems to have regressed in age and behavior, but then I decided that it was part of the genius of Nesbit for, after all, don't children react that way when they become stressed? It didn't really change my irritation at her, but I tolerated her whining after that.

I think the end was a bit interesting, different than her others. Was that a sly jab at magical tricks? It was a nice ending to a clever series.

aunt_clara's review against another edition

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5.0

Those are adorable tales and it's so good for children to be exposed to how life used to be over 100 years ago.

mnkgrl's review against another edition

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4.0

I really love this whole series by E Nesbit. I remember first reading them all: Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet and this one, when I was pretty young. They all have lots of great and magical adventures that 5 siblings experience. And even though they were written in the early 1900's, I feel like they still hold up well and still seem almost "modern" in a way.

ktrucke3's review against another edition

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3.0

I prefer the first two books.

dennisfischman's review against another edition

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3.0

Well, now I think [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564671804p2/1069006.jpg] stole shamelessly from Edith Nesbit. There are the four children, two boys and two girls (including the youngest) like Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy in [b:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353029077l/100915._SY75_.jpg|4790821] and subsequent Narnia books. There is travel through an archway that's reminiscent of travel through the wardrobe. The amulet itself is a bit like the rings in [b:The Magician's Nephew|65605|The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)|C.S. Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1308814770l/65605._SY75_.jpg|1031537], and the Queen of Babylonia is more than a little like the Queen of Charn--only she brings a biting social perspective on wage slavery to the story! The professor in this book does not have the same personality as either Digory's uncle or Digory himself, but structurally, he plays a similar role.

The other unfortunate similarity is the casual antisemitism and xenophobia you find in British writers of this era. That's why, even though I enjoyed this book and especially the ending, I had to dock one star from my rating.

ftrebelo's review against another edition

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4.0

The third and final adventure of the five children, who upon reuniting with It find half an amulet and go through a series of (mis)adventures to find the other half and be granted one last wish.

toddgrotenhuis's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated

emilygray4's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

kkolstad's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.0

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