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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Just wish it was shorter. The back middle dragged quite a bit but the redemptive ending was worth it all.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“And joy filled him from head to foot, the joy of living and the joy of being himself. He was newborn. And the best part of it was that he was now the very person he wanted to be. If he had been free to choose, he would have chosen to be no one else. Because now he knew that there were thousands and thousands of forms of joy in the world, but that all were essentially one and the same, namely, the joy of being able to love.”
“Why do you force me to defeat you in order to save you?”
4.5⭐️
I could tell Ende had a blast creating the World of Fantastica — the species, settings, customs, character designs, all of it was his minds funkiest creations in a book. His knowledge of Fantastica felt like he knew the world and the characters himself. He would make this fact known by describing a side characters future outside of the plot, and then following it up with “But that is another story for another time.” He knows the lore of Fantastica, but he is only permitted to stay focused on the story of Bastian and Atreyu.
Speaking of which — I love Atreyu. So much. And Falkor. His quest is my favorite part of the book. I liked Bastians thoughts while reading Atreyu’s heroic deeds, but when Bastian chooses not to save the Childlike Empress out of fear of embarrassment, I immediately became annoyed. He finally saves her and all of Fantastica and is given AURYN, a gem that grants him any wish he could want. Immediately, he changes his appearance from fat bowlegged cowardly boy to handsome strong hero, which is only understandable considering his history of bullying and shame but quickly sets up his character arc.
While at first all seems well, he makes friends with Atreyu and Falkor, Bastian quickly becomes obsessed with his power of creation and his title as Savior of Fantastica. He feels threatened by Atreyu and becomes the worst version of himself, a power hungry selfish unfeeling boy. The scene when he stabs Atreyu left my agape. I couldn’t believe how far he had fallen. This book squeezed my heart when Bastian became the fallen hero, and Atreyu had to resort to violence to stop his friends path of destruction - but when the time came, he couldn’t hurt his friend because he was his friend!
After he realizes his atrocities and fears what will happen if he doesn’t stop his current course, he becomes a better person and learns to wish not for himself but for the ability to love another. Bastians character development is the heart of the Neverending Story, and his journey to self-love is so fulfilling to read. Though he made lots of mistakes and is pretty unlikable, his transformation is earned!
His and Atreyus friendship is one of the best things about the book. He couldn’t hurt Bastian. He is finishing all of Bastians unfinished stories. He saw him in the Mirror Gate. They hold hands numerous times. I love them.
Overall, I loved this book. A classic for a reason, and such a charming, fantastical [;)] read. Highly recommend!
“Why do you force me to defeat you in order to save you?”
4.5⭐️
I could tell Ende had a blast creating the World of Fantastica — the species, settings, customs, character designs, all of it was his minds funkiest creations in a book. His knowledge of Fantastica felt like he knew the world and the characters himself. He would make this fact known by describing a side characters future outside of the plot, and then following it up with “But that is another story for another time.” He knows the lore of Fantastica, but he is only permitted to stay focused on the story of Bastian and Atreyu.
Speaking of which — I love Atreyu. So much. And Falkor. His quest is my favorite part of the book. I liked Bastians thoughts while reading Atreyu’s heroic deeds, but when Bastian chooses not to save the Childlike Empress out of fear of embarrassment, I immediately became annoyed. He finally saves her and all of Fantastica and is given AURYN, a gem that grants him any wish he could want. Immediately, he changes his appearance from fat bowlegged cowardly boy to handsome strong hero, which is only understandable considering his history of bullying and shame but quickly sets up his character arc.
While at first all seems well, he makes friends with Atreyu and Falkor, Bastian quickly becomes obsessed with his power of creation and his title as Savior of Fantastica. He feels threatened by Atreyu and becomes the worst version of himself, a power hungry selfish unfeeling boy. The scene when he stabs Atreyu left my agape. I couldn’t believe how far he had fallen. This book squeezed my heart when Bastian became the fallen hero, and Atreyu had to resort to violence to stop his friends path of destruction - but when the time came, he couldn’t hurt his friend because he was his friend!
After he realizes his atrocities and fears what will happen if he doesn’t stop his current course, he becomes a better person and learns to wish not for himself but for the ability to love another. Bastians character development is the heart of the Neverending Story, and his journey to self-love is so fulfilling to read. Though he made lots of mistakes and is pretty unlikable, his transformation is earned!
His and Atreyus friendship is one of the best things about the book. He couldn’t hurt Bastian. He is finishing all of Bastians unfinished stories. He saw him in the Mirror Gate. They hold hands numerous times. I love them.
Overall, I loved this book. A classic for a reason, and such a charming, fantastical [;)] read. Highly recommend!
First off...the book is completely different in comparison to movie adaptions with the except of some events in the first half of the book and I can see why the author disowned the movie adaptions. At the same time I understand why the book was picked up for movies in the first place....very good fantasy and very mature, sophisticated themes for kid's book, even for adults tastes.
I had high hopes for this as I loved the movie as a kid, but ultimately it's too long and needlessly complex with many parts of the story not having much to do with the overall story at all.
I saw the movie first and it is still one of my top favorites. Read the book in high school and loved it. I re-read it a few years ago because while I remember great God themes in the book, I could remember the particulars. On the re-read, I found it more new-agey. Sum up: stick to the movie.
I listened to the part of the story that I knew from the movie and really enjoyed it. Then it had another half and I lost interest.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure whether I want to give this book five stars or one. Therefore I settled on three stars.
Almost the entire first part of the book had me prepared to give the book five stars, but then Bastian arrived in Fantastica. Even then, I still thought it was worth at least four stars as Bastian changed his appearance, met Grograman, found Atreyu and Falkor, and started on a quest. The reason why I didn't like this part of the story as well was because of Bastian's lost memories. I didn't like that very well, but I was still enjoying the story.
Then the worst thing that can happen in a story happened; Bastian started to 'shrink' (for lack of a better word for the opposite of character growth.) I know it was the main plot-point for this part of the story, but it's something that I just can't abide. I mean, a few character-growth-slipups are acceptable, but when a main-character's character degenerates as much as Bastian's did (or as much as Katniss did in 'Mockingjay') then the story isn't going anywhere, and the characters become unlikable.
So all-in-all, if the author had kept Bastian growing, or at least not made him shrink, then this book could have gotten four stars at least, and maybe five, but because of that flaw it gets three, and I almost only gave it two.
Almost the entire first part of the book had me prepared to give the book five stars, but then Bastian arrived in Fantastica. Even then, I still thought it was worth at least four stars as Bastian changed his appearance, met Grograman, found Atreyu and Falkor, and started on a quest. The reason why I didn't like this part of the story as well was because of Bastian's lost memories. I didn't like that very well, but I was still enjoying the story.
Then the worst thing that can happen in a story happened; Bastian started to 'shrink' (for lack of a better word for the opposite of character growth.) I know it was the main plot-point for this part of the story, but it's something that I just can't abide. I mean, a few character-growth-slipups are acceptable, but when a main-character's character degenerates as much as Bastian's did (or as much as Katniss did in 'Mockingjay') then the story isn't going anywhere, and the characters become unlikable.
So all-in-all, if the author had kept Bastian growing, or at least not made him shrink, then this book could have gotten four stars at least, and maybe five, but because of that flaw it gets three, and I almost only gave it two.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced