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nessa_8l's review
5.0
I love this book with all my heart and it’ll always have a special place in my heart. I don’t really know why I love this book so much, but I feel as though i love it because it’s very imaginative and I’ve always had a strong imagination and it just made the young child part of me with that strong imagination so happy.
I gotta say the ending was so flipping sad. This is probably the first book that’s ever made me cry.
I gotta say the ending was so flipping sad. This is probably the first book that’s ever made me cry.
plaidpladd's review
3.0
This book had a great concept, kind of middling execution. It felt like it was being made up on the spot, which I guess has a certain charm, but is ultimately kind of unsatisfying.
thearosemary's review
4.0
If you’re not already familiar, Jodi Lynn Anderson is one of my all-time favorite authors. She has made me smile and laugh and cry. (Mainly cry.) She is known to weave beautiful stories that are both beautiful and dark; characters that are honest and raw to the bone.
Despite not being a fan of middle-grade novels, I had a feeling My Diary to the Edge of the World would be one I would enjoy. And thankfully, I was right.
This novel took a fun, magical approach to the world while still keeping it realistic. Among that, the characters were complicated and intriguing. And to my surprise, the parents were alive and involved. How refreshing is that?
For my full review of this family oriented fantasy that left me in a pool of my own tears, click here: https://taylormaemarie.com/2017/04/28/my-diary-to-the-edge-of-the-world-by-jodi-lynn-anderson/
Despite not being a fan of middle-grade novels, I had a feeling My Diary to the Edge of the World would be one I would enjoy. And thankfully, I was right.
This novel took a fun, magical approach to the world while still keeping it realistic. Among that, the characters were complicated and intriguing. And to my surprise, the parents were alive and involved. How refreshing is that?
For my full review of this family oriented fantasy that left me in a pool of my own tears, click here: https://taylormaemarie.com/2017/04/28/my-diary-to-the-edge-of-the-world-by-jodi-lynn-anderson/
chadinguist's review against another edition
3.0
دنیای قاتی‌پاتی بامزه‌ای بود با چاشنی فیزیک کوانتوم, جادو و اژدها, ماجراجویی, و یه مقدار مرگ
برای منی که فیزیک یکی از دلایل غش و ضعف رفتنم حساب میشه اونجایی که داشت آنتروپی و نظریه ابرریسمان رو مختصر توضیح میداد کیف داشت.
حالا دلم میخواد بیشتر در مورد اینا بخونم
پ.ن.
ترجمه خیلی خوبی داشت
پ.پ.ن
ترجمه بد هم مگه از پرتقال داریم؟ :دی
برای منی که فیزیک یکی از دلایل غش و ضعف رفتنم حساب میشه اونجایی که داشت آنتروپی و نظریه ابرریسمان رو مختصر توضیح میداد کیف داشت.
حالا دلم میخواد بیشتر در مورد اینا بخونم
پ.ن.
ترجمه خیلی خوبی داشت
پ.پ.ن
ترجمه بد هم مگه از پرتقال داریم؟ :دی
ratproofed's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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? It's complicated
4.25
I last read a Jodi Lynn Anderson book in I think the fourth grade? And now I'm 24 and still really enjoyed this!!!! Still hits the same. Fave part are random worldbuilding lines dropped in the middle of paragraphs that have no right being so funny. Case in point:
"'Is that a faerie' I asked, surprised. It's illegal to own faeries as pets in the United States unless they go through a very expensive quarantine process. Usually only celebrities and really rich people own them? Meryl Streep has one that she always brings to the Oscars." (kindle p. 64)
ashleylm's review
4.0
Good book, it moved quickly and moved me (see what I did there!) Can't quite bring myself to give it 5 stars as I wished it had more of an unfolding structure where each moment builds on and connects to the ones before (like a bud blossoms to a flower, then fruits) whereas instead it felt very episodic, where you could essentially skip almost any chapter in the large middle section, and it would have no bearing on the book as a whole.
Also, many of the problems encountered by our protagonists were solved by either (a) running away, in some form, or (b) deus ex machina, really, or (c) some combination of both. These are generally my least favourite solutions.
I agree with the quibble that the world building makes no sense, one has to simply accept it (the world is So Very Different from ours that there's no chance in the world, unless you have to accept that every world is possible, that the similarities would be so similar. Normally this sort of similar but different world is dealt with by having a definitive splitting off point (e.g. Nazis win the war), but not here, it's just vastly different in many ways, yet there are R.V.s, Taco Bells, Vegas, etc. Not a chance.
But the narrative voice is charming, the author mostly made the diary form work (I've read books where a narrator-diarist manages to churn our 30 pages of text during a 2 minute attack, say, rather than that night or the next day), and it's well worth reading. Because the episodes and chapters are so short, this was my "waiting for the Nespresso" book.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
Also, many of the problems encountered by our protagonists were solved by either (a) running away, in some form, or (b) deus ex machina, really, or (c) some combination of both. These are generally my least favourite solutions.
I agree with the quibble that the world building makes no sense, one has to simply accept it (the world is So Very Different from ours that there's no chance in the world, unless you have to accept that every world is possible, that the similarities would be so similar. Normally this sort of similar but different world is dealt with by having a definitive splitting off point (e.g. Nazis win the war), but not here, it's just vastly different in many ways, yet there are R.V.s, Taco Bells, Vegas, etc. Not a chance.
But the narrative voice is charming, the author mostly made the diary form work (I've read books where a narrator-diarist manages to churn our 30 pages of text during a 2 minute attack, say, rather than that night or the next day), and it's well worth reading. Because the episodes and chapters are so short, this was my "waiting for the Nespresso" book.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
marlo_c's review
3.0
I’m struggling with my thoughts on this book. It was imaginative. It had a family with dynamics that felt authentic. The idea of going to such extremes to try to save a child from death also rang true. Who as a parent wouldn’t feel that way and do what they could, depending on the circumstances? And yet.... there are aspects of this that don’t work and don’t make sense to me and don’t help children deal with loss. I won’t flesh it out and spoil it, but the ending was disappointing to me.
rachel_abby_reads's review
4.0
Gracie is maybe twelve, living with her 16 year old sister Millie, her younger brother Sam (age unclear, but young enough to cuddle on laps, including Gracie's), and her parents, in Cliffden, Maine. She goes to school, reads, keeps a diary, and lives a largely normal life, in a largely normal world.
But her Earth is flat. It has telephones, electricity and cars, and dragons, ghosts, and other supernatural beings. Sasquatch involvement limited the Civil War to 4 months and WWI was averted by poltergeists in machines. There is no interstate highway system because the forest is reclaiming the country.
And there are Clouds. Clouds come for people - it either takes them and they die, or takes them because they are dying - the causal relationship is unclear, even if the connection isn't. And a Cloud is stalking slowly up their street. Gracie has seen her parents take Sam to the doctor, he's taking medicine - it doesn't look good.
Gracie's dad is a meteorologist, wanna-be physicist, and a little crazy. He believes in the Extraordinary World. It's theoretically possible, due to String Theory (or its flat earth version), that there is a world like Flat Earth, but not like Flat Earth; where there is a Cliffden, Maine, but NOT ghosts. Where they don't have witches and genies, but they do have planes and the internet. Most importantly, they don't have Clouds.
So Gracie's family and runaway/orphan Oliver decide that rather than risk the Cloud, they leave and find a way to the Extraordinary World.
I liked this book. It was interesting to see an alternative view of this world, where there are still Trump Casinos and 60 Minutes, but a Lost Angels, California that is a ghost town, with the loudest sounds being made by crickets and millions of frogs. Definitely worth reading.
Dad: I liked that he was called out for his absenteeism in his role in the family. It was interesting that he was the parent subject to depression, because so often it seems to be the mother. He also seemed generally clueless as to what was going on in the family around him, but strangely aware of the tension between Mom and Captain Bill.
Mom: What about Mom and Captain Bill? I like the way it turned out, but it seems WILDLY unlikely that she wouldn't have realized what signals she was sending while on the ship. I wonder if it was being confronted with the consequences, immediate and delayed, of her temptation that made her snap out of the fantasy fog.
Cloud: peaceful and gentle - to know when your time is up, to have time to prepare, to be able to say goodbye, and gently received. I am curious about the ghosts, and how they died without Clouds.
Medusa: How did she react when her Pegasi were stolen?
I've seen some people complain about the end, but I didn't dive into their complaints, so I don't know the foundation.
Millie dying instead of Sam: I'm okay with that. On reflection, I am curious to know if she WAS able to make a deal with the Cloud to save Sam. If not, how did she know it was there for her, and was she able to ask it to wait?
No exit to Extraordinary World: I'm okay with that. Sometimes there is no escape and we have to deal with what is. Plus, there is no guarantee that getting to EW would have changed anyone's fate.
Oliver and the foster family: There seems a gentle foundation laid for a future relationship between Oliver and Gracie, and it's less complicated if he's not an adopted brother.
Mom not hooking up with Captain Bill: romance is fun, but the fizzy feelings don't endure. Real LOVE is based on consistently loyal choices. Dad may be a little absent, but we now know he wasn't wrong in his theories, and we know what he will do to try to save the people he loves, including put his own life on the line. He would literally go to the ends of the earth to try to save his family. Captain Bill was willing to take Mom away from her family at a critical time, just so he could replace his lost wife. That's not romantic; that's selfish.
So, I liked this book.
But her Earth is flat. It has telephones, electricity and cars, and dragons, ghosts, and other supernatural beings. Sasquatch involvement limited the Civil War to 4 months and WWI was averted by poltergeists in machines. There is no interstate highway system because the forest is reclaiming the country.
And there are Clouds. Clouds come for people - it either takes them and they die, or takes them because they are dying - the causal relationship is unclear, even if the connection isn't. And a Cloud is stalking slowly up their street. Gracie has seen her parents take Sam to the doctor, he's taking medicine - it doesn't look good.
Gracie's dad is a meteorologist, wanna-be physicist, and a little crazy. He believes in the Extraordinary World. It's theoretically possible, due to String Theory (or its flat earth version), that there is a world like Flat Earth, but not like Flat Earth; where there is a Cliffden, Maine, but NOT ghosts. Where they don't have witches and genies, but they do have planes and the internet. Most importantly, they don't have Clouds.
So Gracie's family and runaway/orphan Oliver decide that rather than risk the Cloud, they leave and find a way to the Extraordinary World.
I liked this book. It was interesting to see an alternative view of this world, where there are still Trump Casinos and 60 Minutes, but a Lost Angels, California that is a ghost town, with the loudest sounds being made by crickets and millions of frogs. Definitely worth reading.
Spoiler
Some thoughts:Dad: I liked that he was called out for his absenteeism in his role in the family. It was interesting that he was the parent subject to depression, because so often it seems to be the mother. He also seemed generally clueless as to what was going on in the family around him, but strangely aware of the tension between Mom and Captain Bill.
Mom: What about Mom and Captain Bill? I like the way it turned out, but it seems WILDLY unlikely that she wouldn't have realized what signals she was sending while on the ship. I wonder if it was being confronted with the consequences, immediate and delayed, of her temptation that made her snap out of the fantasy fog.
Cloud: peaceful and gentle - to know when your time is up, to have time to prepare, to be able to say goodbye, and gently received. I am curious about the ghosts, and how they died without Clouds.
Medusa: How did she react when her Pegasi were stolen?
I've seen some people complain about the end, but I didn't dive into their complaints, so I don't know the foundation.
Millie dying instead of Sam: I'm okay with that. On reflection, I am curious to know if she WAS able to make a deal with the Cloud to save Sam. If not, how did she know it was there for her, and was she able to ask it to wait?
No exit to Extraordinary World: I'm okay with that. Sometimes there is no escape and we have to deal with what is. Plus, there is no guarantee that getting to EW would have changed anyone's fate.
Oliver and the foster family: There seems a gentle foundation laid for a future relationship between Oliver and Gracie, and it's less complicated if he's not an adopted brother.
Mom not hooking up with Captain Bill: romance is fun, but the fizzy feelings don't endure. Real LOVE is based on consistently loyal choices. Dad may be a little absent, but we now know he wasn't wrong in his theories, and we know what he will do to try to save the people he loves, including put his own life on the line. He would literally go to the ends of the earth to try to save his family. Captain Bill was willing to take Mom away from her family at a critical time, just so he could replace his lost wife. That's not romantic; that's selfish.
So, I liked this book.
yapha's review
3.0
Gracie lives in a small town in Maine, which is almost like our Maine, except for the presence of monsters. Dragons fly overhead, migrating south for the winter. Krakens and mermaids terrorize the seas. Angels and ghosts waft through the air. And dark clouds come to take people away forever. When such a cloud appears above Gracie's house, her parents fear for her little brother's life. They pack Gracie, her older sister Millie, and her younger brother Sam into a newly purchased Winnebago and head for the edge of their world in the hopes of finding the Extraordinary World (or what we know as the world we live in). They hope to outrun the cloud as they make their way across the country to LA, where they can hire a ship to take them south. Oliver, a new friend of Gracie's whose parents were killed by Sasquatches, stows away to make the journey with them.
This was a fun adventure, but I have one major concern about this book. Where are the Native Americans? Clearly they must have existed because of the Winnebago camper, named after a tribe. But other than this there is no mention. The land between cities is described as empty and dangerous because of the Sasquatches -- vicious beasts that attack people. I sincerely hope that the author did not intend to replace Native American tribes with Sasquatches, but it can certainly be read that way. The sasquatches, though clearly animals, also have certain human characteristics and are accused of destroying settlements and attacking people and railroads. The similarities are disconcerting, to say the least. I would love to hear other opinions on this.
This was a fun adventure, but I have one major concern about this book. Where are the Native Americans? Clearly they must have existed because of the Winnebago camper, named after a tribe. But other than this there is no mention. The land between cities is described as empty and dangerous because of the Sasquatches -- vicious beasts that attack people. I sincerely hope that the author did not intend to replace Native American tribes with Sasquatches, but it can certainly be read that way. The sasquatches, though clearly animals, also have certain human characteristics and are accused of destroying settlements and attacking people and railroads. The similarities are disconcerting, to say the least. I would love to hear other opinions on this.