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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
A pleasantly layered short novel in the vein of myths of yore. The talking animal-gods grated on my nerves, but I liked that Odd is such an imperturbable character: you think you can figure him out, but you'll never be fully sure of your theories, and that uncertainty is quite attractive. [EDITED 1/21/14] In fact, Odd's--and the narration's--imperturbability is likely what made this book more challenging to some of my EL410 students, despite its short length and larger font, and despite the fact that said students actually did well with the longer and more difficult [b:The Maze of Bones|2921082|The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues, #1)|Rick Riordan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385117877s/2921082.jpg|2948317]. You're never quite sure what Odd's thinking, because the narration purposely obscures his thoughts from us. This definitely meant that some of my students had more difficulty getting a handle on Odd's character, and his motivations, etc.
I listened to this on my early morning commute. Kids books + Neil Gaiman at 4:30 am. It was great! Full review at wrapped up in books.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Like every other book from Neil Gaiman this gets 5 perfect stars from me. The man can't write a bad book it seems. I mean, yes, it's written for middle-grade and Thor and Loki are cute and Odin is inscrutable as always and the frost giant is funny rather than scary because, after all, EVERYONE is afraid of Freya's tongue... but it's still a real delight!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Read for the Believathon. It fit three prompts: Seasonal middle grade, featuring an animal character, as well as myths and legends.
"Somebody was talking," said Odd, "and it wasn't me. There isn't anyone else in here, that means it was you lot. And there's no point in arguing.
"We weren't arguing," said the bear, "because we can't talk." Then it said, "Oops."
12-year old Odd lives in ye old Viking times. His father died on a ship, his mother remarried a man who is mostly okay when he hasn't been drinking, though he has no patience for Odd. Through it all, Odd just keeps smiling his infuriating smile and going about his days.
Until one winter, when the snow never melts, and Spring doesn't arrive. Something very strange is happening here. And that's before the Fox, Bear, and Eagle show up.
This is an incredibly fun story of one small, clever boy who saves Asgard. The audiobook is read by Neil Gaiman himself, and there is no one I would rather have read me a book.
Absolutely delightful.
"Somebody was talking," said Odd, "and it wasn't me. There isn't anyone else in here, that means it was you lot. And there's no point in arguing.
"We weren't arguing," said the bear, "because we can't talk." Then it said, "Oops."
12-year old Odd lives in ye old Viking times. His father died on a ship, his mother remarried a man who is mostly okay when he hasn't been drinking, though he has no patience for Odd. Through it all, Odd just keeps smiling his infuriating smile and going about his days.
Until one winter, when the snow never melts, and Spring doesn't arrive. Something very strange is happening here. And that's before the Fox, Bear, and Eagle show up.
This is an incredibly fun story of one small, clever boy who saves Asgard. The audiobook is read by Neil Gaiman himself, and there is no one I would rather have read me a book.
Absolutely delightful.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was delightful.
Neil Gaiman is such a good storyteller.
Neil Gaiman is such a good storyteller.
I just love illustrations by Chris Riddell everywhere. So this short story from the Nordic mythology is no exception. The Nordic atmosphere is amazing and you can feel the cold from those illustrations.
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No