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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
The audio was excellent. The narrator with the Irish accent set the tone and made the play on Irish fairy lore come to life. Her voice for the Changeling was distinct and appropriately baby/creepy-ish for the tone of the book. I do not know if I would have liked the book as much if I had read it versus being enchanted by the narrator.
Despite what I felt was a creepy cover, it isn't that "scary" of a book. I am familiar with fairie lore and the idea of Changelings so I thought it was interesting. I didn't end up with a clear understanding of what a "traveler" was though which was another sort of type of person, like humans and Kinde Folk. This could have been due to me getting distracted though while listening to the audio. The main character Mollie Cloverall starts out easy to dislike and leaves you questioning a bit which way her story will go. She is jealous of her perfectly adorable baby brother and the attention he gets and the beautiful protective necklace and she becomes the cause of him getting switched with the changeling.
There starts to be a little bit of character redemption when she decides (finally) to go look for her brother. She takes the Changeling called Guest along with her with the intent of trading for her brother. They meet a traveler who who helps them along and there are twists and turns. Slowly, Mollie and Guests relationship starts to change and so does Mollie's intent with the Kinde Folk and her brother. Her character becomes easier to like as the book goes on and she is less jealous and mean towards Guest. I felt the climax was a bit lacking in action maybe but for a middle grade book it has the right level of eeriness. The talk of breast-feeding at the beginning will probably have the younger readers giggling and slightly older readers joking.
The dad is a pretty big jerk in that he leaves his wife and daughter behind when the changeling shows up because he "can't handle it" and then all of a sudden at the end he is back in the story. Like he magically appeared again and the mom and daughter just forgave him for being a jerk and leaving them to struggle and take care of the Changeling for over a year. Also, maybe I missed it but unsure if the "grandma" gave false advice on purpose or not about feeding human milk to the changeling when it really needed cows milk and food to start thriving and behaving. Did she just not know even though she is a sort of witch or did she want to see them struggle? The ending was a little fitting for a book with an eerie tone because it didn't tie everything up all completely rosey but satisfactory on the "happy" ending.
Themes: Irish Fairie lore, magic, scary genre
Despite what I felt was a creepy cover, it isn't that "scary" of a book. I am familiar with fairie lore and the idea of Changelings so I thought it was interesting. I didn't end up with a clear understanding of what a "traveler" was though which was another sort of type of person, like humans and Kinde Folk. This could have been due to me getting distracted though while listening to the audio. The main character Mollie Cloverall starts out easy to dislike and leaves you questioning a bit which way her story will go. She is jealous of her perfectly adorable baby brother and the attention he gets and the beautiful protective necklace and she becomes the cause of him getting switched with the changeling.
There starts to be a little bit of character redemption when she decides (finally) to go look for her brother. She takes the Changeling called Guest along with her with the intent of trading for her brother. They meet a traveler who who helps them along and there are twists and turns. Slowly, Mollie and Guests relationship starts to change and so does Mollie's intent with the Kinde Folk and her brother. Her character becomes easier to like as the book goes on and she is less jealous and mean towards Guest. I felt the climax was a bit lacking in action maybe but for a middle grade book it has the right level of eeriness. The talk of breast-feeding at the beginning will probably have the younger readers giggling and slightly older readers joking.
The dad is a pretty big jerk in that he leaves his wife and daughter behind when the changeling shows up because he "can't handle it" and then all of a sudden at the end he is back in the story. Like he magically appeared again and the mom and daughter just forgave him for being a jerk and leaving them to struggle and take care of the Changeling for over a year. Also, maybe I missed it but unsure if the "grandma" gave false advice on purpose or not about feeding human milk to the changeling when it really needed cows milk and food to start thriving and behaving. Did she just not know even though she is a sort of witch or did she want to see them struggle? The ending was a little fitting for a book with an eerie tone because it didn't tie everything up all completely rosey but satisfactory on the "happy" ending.
Themes: Irish Fairie lore, magic, scary genre
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another fabulous offering from my personal queen of children's ghost stories! As always, a quick read with lots of twists and turns. I was invested from page one, but the third act twist had me racing to the end to see what happens. Highly recommend this one!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Book 52
I listened to Guest: A Changeling Tale. It was an easy read about girl who's baby brother gets replaced with a changeling and the magical quest she embarks on to get him back.The narration was a little grating.
3.5 stars
I listened to Guest: A Changeling Tale. It was an easy read about girl who's baby brother gets replaced with a changeling and the magical quest she embarks on to get him back.The narration was a little grating.
3.5 stars
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book! Definitely better than anything of Mary Downing Hahn's I remember reading as a kid. It was more magical rather than paranormal and spooky, which is something I prefer. I really only dinged it for having such an unsatisfying ending. It feels like it was setting up for a sequel, but nope, this is it. I guess I'm just not the sort of person who enjoys open-ended stories!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Slavery, Torture, Violence
Irish Travellers are real people, not part-human magical folk.
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
This is definitely a younger middle adult novel. But I enjoyed the influence and use of Irish culture and folklore. I feel like more background was needed for me to fully be immersed in the story, but that’s on me, not on the author. The story of bravery and love of a family was well done.