Scan barcode
finn_evans's review
5.0
Brilliant book! What a nice surprise to see a Bulgarian character in it as well! I do recommend! :)
megpsmit's review
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I read it quite awhile ago, when it first came out and remember liking it although I could not have told you anything about the plot. This time reading it I found it engaging and the characters quite likable. I am planning on continuing with the rest of the series.
tanysha's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thistlechaser's review
5.0
If I were reviewing only the first third of this book, I'd call it one of the best books I've read in years. The worldbuilding was amazing -- so good that I was in awe of the authors. (Zizou Corderis the pseudonym of mother/daughter British writing team.)
Set in a very near future version of our world, all sorts of alternate sciences (alchemy, voodoo, native magics) work, but the author handled it in a way to make them seem commonplace. One sentence went something like His mother was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on her last batch of Breathe Easy potions while Charlie was in the living room watching The Simpsons.. Such a fun mix of what should be exotic mixed in with the everyday.
The family was great. The mother was a "scientist" (alchemist), and the father practiced African magics (native magics from Ghana). They joked that between the two of them (science and magic), they could figure anything out. Charlie, their son, could talk to cats. While how that skill came about would make no sense at all in our world, I loved the story in theirs. [Minor spoiler.]
The world almost had a steampunk feel to it. Gas was mostly gone/banned, so trains and ocean liners were back in style. Only the very rich and powerful could use cars anymore. (Though, like the magic, the lack of gas was very much downplayed -- it was just a fact of life and got a casual mention now and then, it never got a spotlight on it.)
It was only when the plot started that my interest waned. That's not at all to say the plot was bad, but I love worldbuilding and getting to know characters a whole lot more than action.
I was really impressed with how well the authors wrote. The dialogue was so well done! We learned all new things in a natural way, no information dumps. I laughed multiple times in delight at just how well this or that part was written.
The only thing I didn't like about Lionboy is that it's the first book of a trilogy and the authors made no effort at all to give it any kind of a real ending; the end of the book could have easily been a break between chapters or a pause within a chapter. That sort of thing annoys the hell out of me. Want to write a trilogy? GREAT! More for me to read! But it annoys me when an individual book can't stand alone.
I selected Lionboy out of my To Read pile mostly by chance: I was looking for a new one to start and had had a great dream about werelions the night before, so when I spotted Lionboy it seemed a sign that I should read that one. It was a very good book, and I think if I wasn't in a reading slump right now that I'd call it a great one (and have given it a 5 rating). Heck, it really does deserve a 5, I guess I'll change that now.
I really should want to read the next two books in this series, but I really don't feel like reading much of anything. This really was a good book though. It felt a lot like the Chaos Walking series in that it had such a wonderful, realistic, detailed, similar-yet-not world. There was no darkness at all to Lionboy though, even though the plot had serious themes in it. Usually 'no darkness' would be a negative for me, but this story was just so magical and light, like a bedtime story or a generations old fable, I just loved it.
Set in a very near future version of our world, all sorts of alternate sciences (alchemy, voodoo, native magics) work, but the author handled it in a way to make them seem commonplace. One sentence went something like His mother was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on her last batch of Breathe Easy potions while Charlie was in the living room watching The Simpsons.. Such a fun mix of what should be exotic mixed in with the everyday.
The family was great. The mother was a "scientist" (alchemist), and the father practiced African magics (native magics from Ghana). They joked that between the two of them (science and magic), they could figure anything out. Charlie, their son, could talk to cats. While how that skill came about would make no sense at all in our world, I loved the story in theirs. [Minor spoiler.]
The world almost had a steampunk feel to it. Gas was mostly gone/banned, so trains and ocean liners were back in style. Only the very rich and powerful could use cars anymore. (Though, like the magic, the lack of gas was very much downplayed -- it was just a fact of life and got a casual mention now and then, it never got a spotlight on it.)
It was only when the plot started that my interest waned. That's not at all to say the plot was bad, but I love worldbuilding and getting to know characters a whole lot more than action.
I was really impressed with how well the authors wrote. The dialogue was so well done! We learned all new things in a natural way, no information dumps. I laughed multiple times in delight at just how well this or that part was written.
The only thing I didn't like about Lionboy is that it's the first book of a trilogy and the authors made no effort at all to give it any kind of a real ending; the end of the book could have easily been a break between chapters or a pause within a chapter. That sort of thing annoys the hell out of me. Want to write a trilogy? GREAT! More for me to read! But it annoys me when an individual book can't stand alone.
I selected Lionboy out of my To Read pile mostly by chance: I was looking for a new one to start and had had a great dream about werelions the night before, so when I spotted Lionboy it seemed a sign that I should read that one. It was a very good book, and I think if I wasn't in a reading slump right now that I'd call it a great one (and have given it a 5 rating). Heck, it really does deserve a 5, I guess I'll change that now.
I really should want to read the next two books in this series, but I really don't feel like reading much of anything. This really was a good book though. It felt a lot like the Chaos Walking series in that it had such a wonderful, realistic, detailed, similar-yet-not world. There was no darkness at all to Lionboy though, even though the plot had serious themes in it. Usually 'no darkness' would be a negative for me, but this story was just so magical and light, like a bedtime story or a generations old fable, I just loved it.
bluejay21's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
55bookworm63's review against another edition
5.0
Though this story is mainly for a young adult, I found myself wrapped up in the story. Of course I would read anything that had to do with cats, both wild big ones and our house pets! Was bummed to come to the end, but am looking forward to reading the next one! I recommend this to animal lovers and adventurers alike!
leaton01's review against another edition
3.0
This review is of both the book and the audiobook. In “Lion Boy”, the first book in a trilogy by Zizou Corder, we meet Charlie, the boy who can talk to any cat and whose parents have been kidnapped away. Set in a semi-destitute future, where asthma has become a dominating trait for most of the world and oil is no more, Charlie with the help of cats everywhere, sets off from Africa to find his parents. The future world proposed by Corder feels almost like a different world. While they have cell phones and motor vehicles, the story maintains a nostalgic feel to it from the 19th century. This feeling is only further encouraged, when Charlie joins a traveling circus and later on, and later travels by train with the King of Bulgaria.
The story starts off quickly as we are introduced to Charlie and given a brief glimpse at his life. The authors are quick to launch into the kidnapping of his parents and his subsequent transcontinental race to find them. Charlie is smart and cunning and often when he is lacking, the cats come to his rescue. But when Charlie joins a traveling boat circus, he finds and befriends a proud of six lions. These six lions are enslaved and kept timid by constant drugging by the lion trainer. As the boat travels further into Europe, Charlie continually gets word about his parents' whereabouts from various cats he talks to along the way. Throughout the story, Charlie is fleeing from a sociopathic classmate who seeks to capture Charlie and release him to the same party that holds his parents.
An interesting note about the author is that Zizou Corder is the pseudonym for Louisa Young and Isabel Adomakoh Young, a mother and daughter pair who have joined together to give us this trilogy. The story holds a child-like atmosphere to it reminiscent of Peter Pan and other great childhood adventures. Could this book be as much fun without both contributors? There are some fantastic scenes that amazingly capture what is going on around Charlie and what Charlie is going through. During a circus performance, the point of view switches back and forth between Charlie and the events of the circus. When we see the circus, it is through the eyes of a child, capturing all the wonderful details and excitement, which is juxtaposed with Charlie who at that moment is scared for his life and determining his options to flee.
The authors’ choice to not make every cat speak with a rolling R should be commended. Because cats can purr, it’s commonplace in novels that cats roll their R’s. In a book with a lot of cats talking, this could indeed become quite tedious. Instead, cats speak in the accents of the countries in which they are from, so a cat from Britain has a British accent. The cats then became more real and individualized, as they were distinct and not just defined by their ability to catch mice, land on their feet, and purr.
The hardest part about listening to Simon Peter was divorcing him from his most famous audio production: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and the BBC. And yet, by the second CD, you grow accustomed to his voice and realized that he is a fine choice for this book. He easily shifts through continuous word play and convoluted dialogue so easy the reader clearly comprehends the story as well as the subtle humor found throughout the book.
The only questionable decision about the whole production was its use of music in the background. Using a sparse musical background during key events in the story is acceptable and understandable. But background music is not even heard until half way through the fourth CD. The music is well chosen, but it only appears again three or four times through the rest of the book. It was so unexpected when I first heard it; I took off my headphones to see if the music came from somewhere else.
This first book satisfies the reader but also leads one to await the next addition with anticipation. “Lion Boy” held the suspense and excitement much akin to the “Amber Spyglass” trilogy by Phil Pullman. While it felt like a different world, it still resembled our world enough to be engaging for even the staunchest anti-science fiction fan.
The story starts off quickly as we are introduced to Charlie and given a brief glimpse at his life. The authors are quick to launch into the kidnapping of his parents and his subsequent transcontinental race to find them. Charlie is smart and cunning and often when he is lacking, the cats come to his rescue. But when Charlie joins a traveling boat circus, he finds and befriends a proud of six lions. These six lions are enslaved and kept timid by constant drugging by the lion trainer. As the boat travels further into Europe, Charlie continually gets word about his parents' whereabouts from various cats he talks to along the way. Throughout the story, Charlie is fleeing from a sociopathic classmate who seeks to capture Charlie and release him to the same party that holds his parents.
An interesting note about the author is that Zizou Corder is the pseudonym for Louisa Young and Isabel Adomakoh Young, a mother and daughter pair who have joined together to give us this trilogy. The story holds a child-like atmosphere to it reminiscent of Peter Pan and other great childhood adventures. Could this book be as much fun without both contributors? There are some fantastic scenes that amazingly capture what is going on around Charlie and what Charlie is going through. During a circus performance, the point of view switches back and forth between Charlie and the events of the circus. When we see the circus, it is through the eyes of a child, capturing all the wonderful details and excitement, which is juxtaposed with Charlie who at that moment is scared for his life and determining his options to flee.
The authors’ choice to not make every cat speak with a rolling R should be commended. Because cats can purr, it’s commonplace in novels that cats roll their R’s. In a book with a lot of cats talking, this could indeed become quite tedious. Instead, cats speak in the accents of the countries in which they are from, so a cat from Britain has a British accent. The cats then became more real and individualized, as they were distinct and not just defined by their ability to catch mice, land on their feet, and purr.
The hardest part about listening to Simon Peter was divorcing him from his most famous audio production: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and the BBC. And yet, by the second CD, you grow accustomed to his voice and realized that he is a fine choice for this book. He easily shifts through continuous word play and convoluted dialogue so easy the reader clearly comprehends the story as well as the subtle humor found throughout the book.
The only questionable decision about the whole production was its use of music in the background. Using a sparse musical background during key events in the story is acceptable and understandable. But background music is not even heard until half way through the fourth CD. The music is well chosen, but it only appears again three or four times through the rest of the book. It was so unexpected when I first heard it; I took off my headphones to see if the music came from somewhere else.
This first book satisfies the reader but also leads one to await the next addition with anticipation. “Lion Boy” held the suspense and excitement much akin to the “Amber Spyglass” trilogy by Phil Pullman. While it felt like a different world, it still resembled our world enough to be engaging for even the staunchest anti-science fiction fan.
emmi_strawberry's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ravencrantz's review
2.0
This book has been sitting on my shelf since middle school and honestly I wish I read it back then because I think I would have enjoyed it more. I mean, it's great. It has a POC as the main character and that's something I always love because we need more diversity in books. Plus he can talk to cats. I'm thinking that was the reason I picked this book up all those years ago. That or the shiny cover.
I finished it pretty quickly, so I mean it didn't take up a lot of my time, but I just don't think I read this at the right time. It was certainly aimed at a younger audience (which is why I gave it to my younger cousin when I finished it). The writing was very direct and spelled things out for the reader and personally I would rather try to figure things out for myself. It was very imaginative, especially when it came to the circus scenes, but I'm just not a fan of the circus so those scenes kind of bored me. I don't like the man Charlie met towards the end who just seemed to accept everything Charlie threw at him and took Charlie under his wing. I mean, a child sneaks into your train car with six lions and you're like "oh yeah, that's cool". I don't think so.
I would have liked to hear more from the cats. They clearly have some sort of gossip system going around because within hours it seemed every cat in the country knew about Charlie's parents.
Honestly, the only reason I even picked up this book now was because I thought my cousin might want to read it and I wanted to read it before I gave it to her. I should have read it when I bought it all those years ago, and I regret not doing so. It's a series (trilogy I believe?) so nothing was really explained this time around and nothing was really solved in the end. It ended more like a chapter would end rather than a book. I never connected with any of the characters, so I don't care to continue the series.
I finished it pretty quickly, so I mean it didn't take up a lot of my time, but I just don't think I read this at the right time. It was certainly aimed at a younger audience (which is why I gave it to my younger cousin when I finished it). The writing was very direct and spelled things out for the reader and personally I would rather try to figure things out for myself. It was very imaginative, especially when it came to the circus scenes, but I'm just not a fan of the circus so those scenes kind of bored me. I don't like the man Charlie met towards the end who just seemed to accept everything Charlie threw at him and took Charlie under his wing. I mean, a child sneaks into your train car with six lions and you're like "oh yeah, that's cool". I don't think so.
I would have liked to hear more from the cats. They clearly have some sort of gossip system going around because within hours it seemed every cat in the country knew about Charlie's parents.
Honestly, the only reason I even picked up this book now was because I thought my cousin might want to read it and I wanted to read it before I gave it to her. I should have read it when I bought it all those years ago, and I regret not doing so. It's a series (trilogy I believe?) so nothing was really explained this time around and nothing was really solved in the end. It ended more like a chapter would end rather than a book. I never connected with any of the characters, so I don't care to continue the series.
mandi_m's review against another edition
4.0
From Tracey:
a great read. Full of adventure and a nice smattering of fantasy. Lots
of great story telling and i am looking forward to the sequel. Strong
tweenie readers of teens will love it too. A young boy with the
abiltiy to speak with cats joins the circus when trying to find his
kidnapped parents. His nemesis is another teenage boy, giving a nice
annalagy to older kids bullying in the playground.
a great read. Full of adventure and a nice smattering of fantasy. Lots
of great story telling and i am looking forward to the sequel. Strong
tweenie readers of teens will love it too. A young boy with the
abiltiy to speak with cats joins the circus when trying to find his
kidnapped parents. His nemesis is another teenage boy, giving a nice
annalagy to older kids bullying in the playground.