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larakai's review against another edition
3.0
Despite spending most of the book annoyed at Henrietta, it was fun to see how the story is developing. There were a few scenes that were a bit confusing and I didn't completely follow them, but it wasn't that big of a deal. All in all, I enjoyed it and am excited to read the next book!
dumnonius's review against another edition
3.0
Lacks the unique inventiveness of the first book, but still enjoyable; it is basically Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl in fantasy form.
tmleblanc's review against another edition
2.0
The first book was excellent. It really grabbed me and I had high hopes for the 2nd book. I was, however, sorely disappointed. There were too many story lines that haphazardly came together in the last 100 pages of the novel with little to no explanation. I was left feeling confused and have a definite lack of enthusiasm to read the 3rd book in the series.
rachelsnowden's review against another edition
5.0
Even better than the first! I was so drawn into this story! So much that was profound in this book but simply and artfully woven into a captivating story.
daniella84's review against another edition
3.0
I was going to give this a 2 until the last hundred pages cause nothing really happened in this? Like things happened but they didn’t feel like they really meant anything - maybe a 2.5
The middle especially dragged and I think this is because there was just so much description or content that I didn’t think was particularly important. Side characters we saw once were either described way too much or in way too similar a way for me to distinguish between them (especially the scene with the wizards and the faeries on the beach). There were also so many conversations between side characters about things that had happened in the past or bylaws that I just didn’t care at all about and just felt like info dumps about the world.
I also really didn’t like Henrietta at all - even since the first book she really hadn’t learnt anything and continued to rush into things blind even after she learnt of the potentially devastating consequences of her actions. Her recklessness just seemed too over the top to be anything but a device to keep the plot moving forward. In this book she at least acknowledges that she has caused problems but doesn’t really grow from this. I get she’s young but it was just so frustrating to read about her because of this.
From when they left the faerie prison until like halfway through the siege was definitely the most interesting part of this book, but 460 pages is so much to have maybe 100 be exciting...also no girls were in the battle at all they were just being healing and peaceful :( the chopping between characters in the middle of chapters was also confusing and I think would have been easier to follow if it followed only a couple characters or had clearer breaks between the perspectives.
The middle especially dragged and I think this is because there was just so much description or content that I didn’t think was particularly important. Side characters we saw once were either described way too much or in way too similar a way for me to distinguish between them (especially the scene with the wizards and the faeries on the beach). There were also so many conversations between side characters about things that had happened in the past or bylaws that I just didn’t care at all about and just felt like info dumps about the world.
I also really didn’t like Henrietta at all - even since the first book she really hadn’t learnt anything and continued to rush into things blind even after she learnt of the potentially devastating consequences of her actions. Her recklessness just seemed too over the top to be anything but a device to keep the plot moving forward. In this book she at least acknowledges that she has caused problems but doesn’t really grow from this. I get she’s young but it was just so frustrating to read about her because of this.
From when they left the faerie prison until like halfway through the siege was definitely the most interesting part of this book, but 460 pages is so much to have maybe 100 be exciting...also no girls were in the battle at all they were just being healing and peaceful :( the chopping between characters in the middle of chapters was also confusing and I think would have been easier to follow if it followed only a couple characters or had clearer breaks between the perspectives.
ehays84's review against another edition
4.0
Speaking of better fantasy children's novels/series, here is one. I really enjoyed the world that Wilson had created with the first book in this series, and my reading list is long enough that I don't continue a series unless it has really grabbed me.
There are problems with this book, and the main one is the middle of the book once we kind of lose our tethering to the mooring of the house in Kansas which has kept the series rooted so far, but Wilson can really write, and is good enough to keep me going despite the flaws. I think because he has undertaken such an ambitious "world" which is really many worlds, we missed having that "home" of the house in Kansas. One thing I liked about the ending was how they brought baseball with them to Hylfing, which symbolizes bringing home with them, and encourages me for the conclusion of the series.
The prose is always very well done, he can really write characters and dialogue, and his ideas are big and broad enough to keep you thinking. I think the fairies, who were kind of like mischievous and bureaucratic leprechauns, didn't really work out very well. And the compelling character of Darius didn't end up getting developed enough to really drive that home.
At the end of the day, though, you can really lose yourself in this series, and that is a fun thing to do in the world he has created. I also like that these books aren't super long because sometimes fantasy can do that and sort of rely on you just wanting to stay there forever, which is not always the case. I won't go and read the final one right away, but I will read it, and I will read his other series too.
There are problems with this book, and the main one is the middle of the book once we kind of lose our tethering to the mooring of the house in Kansas which has kept the series rooted so far, but Wilson can really write, and is good enough to keep me going despite the flaws. I think because he has undertaken such an ambitious "world" which is really many worlds, we missed having that "home" of the house in Kansas. One thing I liked about the ending was how they brought baseball with them to Hylfing, which symbolizes bringing home with them, and encourages me for the conclusion of the series.
The prose is always very well done, he can really write characters and dialogue, and his ideas are big and broad enough to keep you thinking. I think the fairies, who were kind of like mischievous and bureaucratic leprechauns, didn't really work out very well. And the compelling character of Darius didn't end up getting developed enough to really drive that home.
At the end of the day, though, you can really lose yourself in this series, and that is a fun thing to do in the world he has created. I also like that these books aren't super long because sometimes fantasy can do that and sort of rely on you just wanting to stay there forever, which is not always the case. I won't go and read the final one right away, but I will read it, and I will read his other series too.
booksnorkel's review against another edition
This is a better book than I originally thought. I think perhaps my initial dislike was because I had read it too fast without actually reading. Sometimes a book needs to be re-read, given a second chance, or even just read closer to finishing the first in the series. Henry continues on his journey through the cupboards, though frustratingly no one bothers to read the journals that the grandfather left behind. We also get to see what happens when his cousin Henrietta goes off on her own. I wish that there was a map of the world behind the cupboards, it would help...
Basically a good follow up, leaves it open for the next. A series for people who like Narnia, Harry Potter, and magic.
Basically a good follow up, leaves it open for the next. A series for people who like Narnia, Harry Potter, and magic.
margeryb's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to the audio
As for the audio production, they had the perfect narrator for this type of book, with a tone of voice that worked perfectly for when the characters were in Kansas as when they were in various fantasy worlds.
However, this second part in this series didn't grab as much as the first title even though this one was probably objectively more exciting and definitely had a better-balanced climax to set up that the first book. It's just that the first book felt like a twist on the portal fantasy genre, while this one seemed to go in the more traditional fantasy route. This is not to say Wilson didn't create an imaginative tapestry of lore and worldbuilding to play out... it's just not what I was expecting and wanting from the sequel exactly. When you have 99 cupboards leading to potentially leading to 99 worlds, and you only explore 3 or 4 of them it makes you wonder about the point of the other cupboards were.
I'm probably giving this book a harsher assessment that it deserves, but I did not personally enjoy it as much as the first and was disappointed by its more conventional turn. As it also resolved the plotlines of the previous book and this one, I'm sort of at a loss for where book 3 would naturally go.
As for the audio production, they had the perfect narrator for this type of book, with a tone of voice that worked perfectly for when the characters were in Kansas as when they were in various fantasy worlds.
However, this second part in this series didn't grab as much as the first title even though this one was probably objectively more exciting and definitely had a better-balanced climax to set up that the first book. It's just that the first book felt like a twist on the portal fantasy genre, while this one seemed to go in the more traditional fantasy route. This is not to say Wilson didn't create an imaginative tapestry of lore and worldbuilding to play out... it's just not what I was expecting and wanting from the sequel exactly. When you have 99 cupboards leading to potentially leading to 99 worlds, and you only explore 3 or 4 of them it makes you wonder about the point of the other cupboards were.
I'm probably giving this book a harsher assessment that it deserves, but I did not personally enjoy it as much as the first and was disappointed by its more conventional turn. As it also resolved the plotlines of the previous book and this one, I'm sort of at a loss for where book 3 would naturally go.
danicamidlil's review against another edition
4.0
I'm loving this series!! Uncle Frank is one of my favorite characters of all time.
akroth's review against another edition
5.0
Magic. Pure magic.
"He wanted words in his mouth to be alive, to take on flesh, wood, bark, sap, leaves, rings of annual laughter and sorrow. He wanted to speak life."
"The trees and wind were shouting their names, their histories, proclaiming their glories with violence."
"She was beautiful and tired. Her eyes were deep, her voice, her motion, deep with a slow, terrible joy. A joy despite sadness. A joy build on sadness."
"He spent days in the streets, working like he had never worked. But those days were also filled with meals like he had never eaten, laughter and singing like he had never heard, nights full of stories, and the sleep of a body and mind used like tools and not like treasures."
Thank you, N.D.
"He wanted words in his mouth to be alive, to take on flesh, wood, bark, sap, leaves, rings of annual laughter and sorrow. He wanted to speak life."
"The trees and wind were shouting their names, their histories, proclaiming their glories with violence."
"She was beautiful and tired. Her eyes were deep, her voice, her motion, deep with a slow, terrible joy. A joy despite sadness. A joy build on sadness."
"He spent days in the streets, working like he had never worked. But those days were also filled with meals like he had never eaten, laughter and singing like he had never heard, nights full of stories, and the sleep of a body and mind used like tools and not like treasures."
Thank you, N.D.