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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Being a children's book, this is an incredible read and can be recommended to any age. Unlike the sweet children's fantasies about fairies, this book explores the devious and nasty side of fairy folklore and it's filled with mysteries along the way. Why can the heroine Tanya see these creatures and why do they torment her? Why does her grandmother distance herself from her and what has it to do with a 50 year old disappearance of a girl? What secrets does her heritage and their derelict family mansion hold? Why are children disappearing still and what does it mean for the heroine? My favourite part is the lore about the changelings and the history behind the seelie and unseelie courts.
This book started off slow, for me. I had a hard time getting into it and actually let is sit for a month or so without really sitting down to read it. I'd read a page here or there and set it aside. However, 1/3-1/2 of the way through the book it finally started to pick up. I really enjoyed Tanya's story and am looking forward to the next one on my shelf.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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Este libro me lo leí hace muchísimos años cuando me lo regaló un familiar y me encantó. Cuando termine todos los libros que tengo a medias, lo releeré.
This may be better for younger children but I found it slow. The build took too long and the end was over quickly. I felt Tanya suffered and was wronged/attacked the whole book and then the end all those she felt against her was for her without a good enough explanation for the treatment.... it really didn't make sense for me. Usually when a character treats another awfully to protect them, it comes around they it was beneficial and you can see it but this didn't explain it well enough for that, it just seemed their reasons were enough but went on too long and didn't make up for it at the end of the book.
While exploring the same kind of world as Wicked Lovely and Strange Angels, this book is a younger version and will be a great way to get those readers into this genre. The themes of the changeling child, Seelie/Unseelie Courts, second sight, faeries and all that will be new to younger readers; however, for older readers, there's no new twist.
The world Tanya inhabits feels familiar to any reader of Nesbit or Eager (or Boston or pick another faerie fantasy author) and yet because there's no modern technology (cell phones or computers) it will also feel foreign to today's readers. That's ok, because the story will keep them interested and engaged. It's also clear that this book will have a sequel, and I wonder if Harrison can keep things as interesting as she did here. Why do I think there'll be a sequel? There were enough ends left deliberately loose for me to believe it was sloppy writing/editing.
The world Tanya inhabits feels familiar to any reader of Nesbit or Eager (or Boston or pick another faerie fantasy author) and yet because there's no modern technology (cell phones or computers) it will also feel foreign to today's readers. That's ok, because the story will keep them interested and engaged. It's also clear that this book will have a sequel, and I wonder if Harrison can keep things as interesting as she did here. Why do I think there'll be a sequel? There were enough ends left deliberately loose for me to believe it was sloppy writing/editing.
This is such a lovely story of a friendship that is born between two lonely teenagers who have both suffered from the mischief and magic of the fairy world. There are mysteries to be solved, truths to be learned, and great challenges to be overcome. This is Michelle Harrison's first book and is an obvious testament to her inherent talent as a gifted storyteller.
I would recommend this book to young adult and adult readers alike, as it is quite magical to read!
I would recommend this book to young adult and adult readers alike, as it is quite magical to read!
The book was unique. I liked the fact that the fairies were bad (not like in regular stories).
I couldn't stop reading it until the end
I couldn't stop reading it until the end
It is never a good sign when the novel you are reading feels like it’s dragging and it’s only 326 pages of quite large type. But that’s what happened with The Thirteen Treasures. I’ll admit now that I am not the target audience as it’s more a teenage fantasy than adult but it’s very much in the realm of my reading with two examples being Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom and Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher.
Tanya is sent to her grandmothers to give her mother a break as her mother can’t cope with her behaviour. But Tanya really isn’t to blame it’s the fairies. And at this point I really should have stopped reading. I’m going to try hard not to spoil it too much but I do need to explain a few things in order to say what I’m having problems with so with that in mind…
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!
You’ve got that haven’t you?
SPOILERS!
Right with that out of way. I can say a bit more. When Tanya arrives are her grandmothers she discovers a mystery that no-one in the house speaks of. That isn’t a spoiler it’s in the blurb. As is Fabian, the caretaker’s son being tormented by the disappearance and the fact that his grandfather was the last person to see this person alive. The other thing is that Tanya can’t tell anyone about the fact that she can see fairies.
This leaves Tanya as quite a miserable character. Actually it’s not a bad premise. The trouble comes in after the story starts, how the characters interact and how the story builds. It’s a mental story rather than emotional. Characters like the grandmother and especially the mother fulfil their role without a sense of depth or connection to Tanya. This might be how teenage girls see their elders. So this might suit the audience but it niggled at me a lot.
The other thing that I had problem with is the way Tanya is left alone – and this is where the spoilers come in – you find out at the end that she has been in danger all along and the elders know something about the danger she is in. But the way they act and react throughout makes her being there illogical and why her mother is clueless to her abilities when she must have grown up in the same house with the same rumours can’t possibly be ignored.
There really are too many holes that can be poked here. The story felt like it was progressing by numbers and so long as everything fitted it would work. But it doesn’t, not when you look back over it. There are too many strange choices, interactions, lack of interventions and explanations that would have stopped the story in its tracks. And things that could have had more impact weren’t used like the bracelet and the compass.
I’m afraid to say that by the time I got the end I was glad to shut the covers.