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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
4, maybe 3.5.
This was enjoyable enough, but it didn’t have the same thrilling mystery as the previous books in the series. It had a more somber tone and felt longer, though it was shorter. A lot happens that moves Flavia’s own story along. It also has a focus on events leading up to a funeral.
Most Flavia de Luce novels could be read as a standalone, but this one really is required reading for the next book in the series.
CW: grieving, mention of miscarriage
This was enjoyable enough, but it didn’t have the same thrilling mystery as the previous books in the series. It had a more somber tone and felt longer, though it was shorter. A lot happens that moves Flavia’s own story along. It also has a focus on events leading up to a funeral.
Most Flavia de Luce novels could be read as a standalone, but this one really is required reading for the next book in the series.
CW: grieving, mention of miscarriage
The Flavia series has turned into a completely improbable spy novel...and I love it. Let's not debate how highly unlikely the premise is. After all, we have an 11 year old who has been allowed to play with chemicals completely unsupervised since the beginning of the series so the 'probable' ship has already sailed.
Instead, let's just delight in the ruminations of little Flavia...who is slowly maturing, and yet still believes that science can be miraculous, even to the point of raising the dead to life. Let's enjoy the irony of how much she despises the precocious Undine, somehow failing to realize that Undine is her and that she stands accused of being as dismissive of this interloper as adults have always been of her.
Yes, Flavia is growing up, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.
Instead, let's just delight in the ruminations of little Flavia...who is slowly maturing, and yet still believes that science can be miraculous, even to the point of raising the dead to life. Let's enjoy the irony of how much she despises the precocious Undine, somehow failing to realize that Undine is her and that she stands accused of being as dismissive of this interloper as adults have always been of her.
Yes, Flavia is growing up, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
I do love this series and Flavia but this one was definitely a 3.5. I liked it but not nearly as much as the others. As historical fiction it would be four stars but as a mystery it's barely three. It does however tie up the dangling plot threads of Flavia's missing mother Harriet and the threat of losing the familial home, Buckshaw due to a lack of a will on Harriet's part.
The last book ended with Harriet's body being found. She is brought back to Buckshaw on a train where in a stranger tells Flavia something enigmatic about the gamekeeper being in trouble and then he's promptly pushed under the train...and forgotten for at least the first half of the book.
Flavia has to deal with friends and family, including some branches she hasn't met before and her Aunt Felicity who might just hold all the answers Flavia seeks. Flavia finds and develops old film with her parents on it that might hold more clues.
At one point Flavia is convinced that she can restore her mother to life and here's a very false note. When she is prevented it's almost forgotten about except that it allowed her to find some important clue. How likely is it that an 11 year old girl would be so calm and accepting of this failure?
Felicity finally fills in Flavia on the true importance of the de Luce family which is about all I can say about it without spoiling things. The mystery is finally remembered and solved and the ending sets up the next leg of the series and it's a big change and honestly not one that I'm looking forward to and I can't really say why in the review without ruining it.
Did I like it, yes I did. Was I disappointed a little? Sadly yes I was. I'm sure I'll get the next one just to see where it goes. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
The last book ended with Harriet's body being found. She is brought back to Buckshaw on a train where in a stranger tells Flavia something enigmatic about the gamekeeper being in trouble and then he's promptly pushed under the train...and forgotten for at least the first half of the book.
Flavia has to deal with friends and family, including some branches she hasn't met before and her Aunt Felicity who might just hold all the answers Flavia seeks. Flavia finds and develops old film with her parents on it that might hold more clues.
At one point Flavia is convinced that she can restore her mother to life and here's a very false note. When she is prevented it's almost forgotten about except that it allowed her to find some important clue. How likely is it that an 11 year old girl would be so calm and accepting of this failure?
Felicity finally fills in Flavia on the true importance of the de Luce family which is about all I can say about it without spoiling things. The mystery is finally remembered and solved and the ending sets up the next leg of the series and it's a big change and honestly not one that I'm looking forward to and I can't really say why in the review without ruining it.
Did I like it, yes I did. Was I disappointed a little? Sadly yes I was. I'm sure I'll get the next one just to see where it goes. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
I think Alan Bradley has shown us with this book and with I am Half-Sick of Shadows, that he is only at his best when he is taking his time. His last book was big and wonderful and subtle and intriguing. This one just hit us in the face all at once, and not within very many pages. There were a lot of good things. We had some emotional reminders that Flavia is only 11, and meaningful interactions between her and her family members. Family secrets were exposed, quickly and without much warning, revealing unexpected and not necessarily wanted revelations. The climax happened before I even realized what was happening at first, and it happened quickly, and was unnecessarily gruesome. Then the ENDING. I won't give any spoilers, but it certainly made me wonder about where this series is going.
Flavia is used to dealing with dire situations but when her mother Harriet, who has been absent most of Flavia's life, returns to Buckshaw after her disappearance ten years ago, Flavia's emotions run the gamut, leading her to an ambitious and outrageous plan. Though this sixth book in the series is by far the most heart-wrenching, Flavia's unusual way of thinking can still make the reader smile and some of the mysteries surrounding Harriet's life are finally revealed. As usual, Jayne Entwhistle brings Flavia gloriously to life with sprightly narration and author Alan Bradley seems poised to take his ingenious and perceptive young heroine in a new direction on the cusp of her 12th year.
Jayne Entwistle is really what keeps me coming back to these books. She is an amazing voice actress and I love listening to her as Flavia de Luce. I think the inner turmoil of the de Luce family is what's starting to get tiresome. The sisters are so terribly mean to one another, and Flavia's father is so terrible and cold, that reading these stories, despite the satisfying endings, is starting to wear on me.
The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley. Got a copy of the sixth book in the Flavia De Luce series from the National Post, as part of their The Afterword Reading Society, to which I belong. We (various volunteer readers) get books and some questions to answer, which are then put together in a one-page spread each Tuesday in the Post. Anyway, rather than a regular review, here are my answers:
Rate this book between 0 and 100 A: 90.
I read the book in 5 sittings.
What was better, the beginning or the ending? A: Ending
Who was your favourite character? A: Flavia of course! Just as her precociousness was getting on my nerves, Bradley threw in a couple curve balls and reminded us readers that she is still just a young girl, doing her best to deal with life.
If you like this book, you'll like... why? A: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. Ella lives on the island where the author of 'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' is from; as letters begin dripping off a sing immortalizing this pangram, island elders begin banning the use of said letters. What follows is a hilarious and clever story of a girl fighting for freedom of speech and from totalitarianism.
Have you read any previous Flavia de Luce books? If so, what's your favourite one and why? A: I read the first one (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) and LOVED it, particularly Flavia, immediately. So I guess that is my favourite of his previous. But of both, I choose this one-the twist at the end has left me wanting MORE!
Rate this book between 0 and 100 A: 90.
I read the book in 5 sittings.
What was better, the beginning or the ending? A: Ending
Who was your favourite character? A: Flavia of course! Just as her precociousness was getting on my nerves, Bradley threw in a couple curve balls and reminded us readers that she is still just a young girl, doing her best to deal with life.
If you like this book, you'll like... why? A: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. Ella lives on the island where the author of 'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' is from; as letters begin dripping off a sing immortalizing this pangram, island elders begin banning the use of said letters. What follows is a hilarious and clever story of a girl fighting for freedom of speech and from totalitarianism.
Have you read any previous Flavia de Luce books? If so, what's your favourite one and why? A: I read the first one (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) and LOVED it, particularly Flavia, immediately. So I guess that is my favourite of his previous. But of both, I choose this one-the twist at the end has left me wanting MORE!
3.5 stars. The plot was a little disjointed and it wasn't a mystery in the same way as the others of the series. But it was really good as far as character development and furthering Flavia's story.
Disclaimer: I did not read the entire series.
I did not know this book was part of a series when I picked it up so I am basing my review on this book alone. I enjoyed the characters and the plot but I did not like the route it took. I felt the book was very distracted, constantly sending Flavia to start a task but then instead taking her on a walk through the fields. It happened very often. In fact, the reason I was intrigued by the book (the mystery man and his message) is ignored for a very large portion of the book. I felt like we weren't given much detective clues and rather watched someone fail to accomplish errands. I might give the first book a chance but if it is written with another winding plotline, I'll pass.
I'd recommend this book to someone with a lot of time, a small interest in chemistry/English history, and a dislike for clues.
I did not know this book was part of a series when I picked it up so I am basing my review on this book alone. I enjoyed the characters and the plot but I did not like the route it took. I felt the book was very distracted, constantly sending Flavia to start a task but then instead taking her on a walk through the fields. It happened very often. In fact, the reason I was intrigued by the book (the mystery man and his message) is ignored for a very large portion of the book. I felt like we weren't given much detective clues and rather watched someone fail to accomplish errands. I might give the first book a chance but if it is written with another winding plotline, I'll pass.
I'd recommend this book to someone with a lot of time, a small interest in chemistry/English history, and a dislike for clues.