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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This is a great, fun, clean book, taking place in an alternative world. One where dragons, giants, sasquatches and mermaids exist, a Dark Cloud comes to take a person when it's time for them to die, and the world without magic is thought to be only a myth. Only a few believe it even exists, and Gracie's dad is one of them.
A Dark Cloud appears for her brother, and, wanting to outrun his death, the family goes in search of the Extraordinary World. A world where Dark Clouds don't exist, and their brother might get to stay with them for a bit longer. They go to their Grandmother, who's a witch, to ask for directions. Her house is the typical scary, witchy sort of house.
On their journey trying to find it, they meet a cast of magical creatures to help them out, and, we discover, along with Gracie, that not everything is quite as they thought.
I personally saw the twist coming, which might be because it's not meant for my age, but that didn't make it any less fun and interesting to read.
The book is written by Gracie, in diary form.
It's meant for ages 9-12, and, the death theme means it's not suitable for much younger than that. However, it would work for children a few years older than 12, too.
There are wars, dragons burning down stores and houses, people have to hide when they migrate, because it's not safe around them. A ghoul is mentioned to have escaped the underworld on Halloween. The magical creatures in their world generally only cause destruction. Also, one of the people the family comes across is a boy whose parents were killed by sasquatches.
There's mentions of greek Gods as immortal people, and the CNN having a segment on them once a week, as well as a bunch of other mythical creatures - demons, nymphs, mermaids, angels.
Besides for the Guardian angel they hire, the mythical creatures are just mentioned in passing. The Guardian angel has a crush on Gracie's older sister, Millie. Gracie dwells on other events in a diary, so we don't hear much about it.
There are very frequent mentions of products and stores in our world, especially in the beginning.
The book is very family oriented, and realistically portrays all her siblings and parents. The dad is a bit absent, especially before Sam (the brother)'s Dark Cloud appears, more interested in his inventions and science than anything, but as the book progresses, so does his relationship with his family.
The whole writing is very realistic, and if not for the fictional lands, creatures and ideas, the book could be real.
A Dark Cloud appears for her brother, and, wanting to outrun his death, the family goes in search of the Extraordinary World. A world where Dark Clouds don't exist, and their brother might get to stay with them for a bit longer. They go to their Grandmother, who's a witch, to ask for directions. Her house is the typical scary, witchy sort of house.
On their journey trying to find it, they meet a cast of magical creatures to help them out, and, we discover, along with Gracie, that not everything is quite as they thought.
I personally saw the twist coming, which might be because it's not meant for my age, but that didn't make it any less fun and interesting to read.
The book is written by Gracie, in diary form.
It's meant for ages 9-12, and, the death theme means it's not suitable for much younger than that. However, it would work for children a few years older than 12, too.
There are wars, dragons burning down stores and houses, people have to hide when they migrate, because it's not safe around them. A ghoul is mentioned to have escaped the underworld on Halloween. The magical creatures in their world generally only cause destruction. Also, one of the people the family comes across is a boy whose parents were killed by sasquatches.
There's mentions of greek Gods as immortal people, and the CNN having a segment on them once a week, as well as a bunch of other mythical creatures - demons, nymphs, mermaids, angels.
Besides for the Guardian angel they hire, the mythical creatures are just mentioned in passing. The Guardian angel has a crush on Gracie's older sister, Millie. Gracie dwells on other events in a diary, so we don't hear much about it.
There are very frequent mentions of products and stores in our world, especially in the beginning.
The book is very family oriented, and realistically portrays all her siblings and parents. The dad is a bit absent, especially before Sam (the brother)'s Dark Cloud appears, more interested in his inventions and science than anything, but as the book progresses, so does his relationship with his family.
The whole writing is very realistic, and if not for the fictional lands, creatures and ideas, the book could be real.
I love this story so much the way the family sticks together and the journey that they take makes me keep on reading.I have cried before when I read the part when Millie died.But extremely well righten
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You enter into a world of the familiar, and wham—it’s not familiar but so close. A place where encroaching forests nurture sasquatches, elves, and ghosts, who enter this Earth from deep underground caves. A place where a dark drifting cloud waits to snatch up the dying. Somewhere in Cliffden, Maine.
Twelve-year-old, Gracie Lockwood, decides to write in the diary her mother gave her, after two bad omens, both a sign that someone is about to die, and she’s going to document it. “I want to be able to prove that I knew it first.”
Our MC, Gracie, is a funny young writer. A “Tasmanian-she-devil” her father says. In the beginning, Gracie tells us she has to set the scene, which she does. And what a scene it is! Dragons fly overhead, in from the north to hibernate in South America. A time when all the townspeople take cover or use tunnels to get from place to place. The dragons have burned down the TJMAxx, and Applebees among other familiar places in this fantastical world. I love that the dragons drop scales here and there that people use for decoration. There are tales of mermaids rising from the seas to hunt. And there’s the Dark Cloud.
“Dark Clouds come for people when they die.” Waiting outside their homes. Hanging around. Gracie’s eight-year-old brother is ill. Surely it’s waiting to take him. What does the Lockwood family do?
Gracie’s family escapes. Her meteorologist, absent-minded father, her cheerful mother, who always raises the family’s spirits, an older sister, she doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with, and her beloved little brother, Sam, she calls mouse, who’s a little small for his age, and always has a cold.
The family escapes to about as far away as they can from the Dark Cloud—to the Extraordinary World! A place everyone says does not exist. On their way, Oliver, a child Gracie’s age, who has lost his family at the hands of sasquatches, is invited along for the ride in the Winnebago.
Adventure ensues! Gracie keeps us updated on all that’s happening through the writings in her diary. I enjoyed the diary aspect, very much. As a kid who kept several, I could relate. Especially the parts where she’s worried who will read it. Three cheers, to the coolest grandmother ever. When Gracie’s family and Oliver, swing by to visit, she points them in the direction of the Extraordinary World. Confirming the suspicion of Gracie’s father, while no one in the family believed him. Lost in equations, and the scientific process, the Extraordinary World could just be another hypothesis. The Lockwood family set out to find it, hoping to leave the Dark Cloud behind. After much hijinks and scary near misses, this story wraps into to a delightful and surprising discovery. Await the chill bumps!
Twelve-year-old, Gracie Lockwood, decides to write in the diary her mother gave her, after two bad omens, both a sign that someone is about to die, and she’s going to document it. “I want to be able to prove that I knew it first.”
Our MC, Gracie, is a funny young writer. A “Tasmanian-she-devil” her father says. In the beginning, Gracie tells us she has to set the scene, which she does. And what a scene it is! Dragons fly overhead, in from the north to hibernate in South America. A time when all the townspeople take cover or use tunnels to get from place to place. The dragons have burned down the TJMAxx, and Applebees among other familiar places in this fantastical world. I love that the dragons drop scales here and there that people use for decoration. There are tales of mermaids rising from the seas to hunt. And there’s the Dark Cloud.
“Dark Clouds come for people when they die.” Waiting outside their homes. Hanging around. Gracie’s eight-year-old brother is ill. Surely it’s waiting to take him. What does the Lockwood family do?
Gracie’s family escapes. Her meteorologist, absent-minded father, her cheerful mother, who always raises the family’s spirits, an older sister, she doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with, and her beloved little brother, Sam, she calls mouse, who’s a little small for his age, and always has a cold.
The family escapes to about as far away as they can from the Dark Cloud—to the Extraordinary World! A place everyone says does not exist. On their way, Oliver, a child Gracie’s age, who has lost his family at the hands of sasquatches, is invited along for the ride in the Winnebago.
Adventure ensues! Gracie keeps us updated on all that’s happening through the writings in her diary. I enjoyed the diary aspect, very much. As a kid who kept several, I could relate. Especially the parts where she’s worried who will read it. Three cheers, to the coolest grandmother ever. When Gracie’s family and Oliver, swing by to visit, she points them in the direction of the Extraordinary World. Confirming the suspicion of Gracie’s father, while no one in the family believed him. Lost in equations, and the scientific process, the Extraordinary World could just be another hypothesis. The Lockwood family set out to find it, hoping to leave the Dark Cloud behind. After much hijinks and scary near misses, this story wraps into to a delightful and surprising discovery. Await the chill bumps!
DNF at 38% - I was SURE I was going to love this, but it was just too slow paced for me.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Terminal illness
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced