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ponch22's review against another edition
3.0
Read this book after it got a shout out on the podcast, Reading Glasses.
I'm not sure I've read a middle-grade book since my college Children's Lit class in college almost two decades ago (ouch...) but I don't think any of the kids' books I've read were quite this creepy.
Steve, a middle-school-aged boy, has a younger sister and a new baby brother who seems to spend more time in the hospital than at home. One night, Steve has a dream with a glowing angel-like creature who seems to have plans to save the baby. Steve just needs to agree to the angel's plan but sometimes dreams aren't exactly what they seem...
Unfortunately, the ebook I read seemed to be missing most of the illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner [a:Jon Klassen|3118934|Jon Klassen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1320343513p2/3118934.jpg]. I only realized this as I look at other reviews and notice some artwork I do not recall seeing in my copy (although I did read it a month ago so maybe I'm forgetting them??).
[a:Kenneth Oppel|88922|Kenneth Oppel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1460937107p2/88922.jpg] is a new author to me, but I doubt I'm going to rush out to read any of his other books any time soon—[b:The Nest|23271637|The Nest|Kenneth Oppel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425076899l/23271637._SX50_.jpg|42811477] just didn't grab or excite me all that much. The twist is interesting in theory, but as written I got sort of confused—was the magical realism a metaphor for his mental illness? Or did Steve suffer from anxiety and the whole [spoiler]wasps wanting to replace his baby brother with a Steve-slash-wasp clone[/spoiler] just a crazy coincidence to freak him out?
Definitely something I could have read in one sitting, but instead it took me four days to complete. Nice to read something short and sweet to get a little closer to completing my reading challenge, but nothing great.
I'm not sure I've read a middle-grade book since my college Children's Lit class in college almost two decades ago (ouch...) but I don't think any of the kids' books I've read were quite this creepy.
Steve, a middle-school-aged boy, has a younger sister and a new baby brother who seems to spend more time in the hospital than at home. One night, Steve has a dream with a glowing angel-like creature who seems to have plans to save the baby. Steve just needs to agree to the angel's plan but sometimes dreams aren't exactly what they seem...
Unfortunately, the ebook I read seemed to be missing most of the illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner [a:Jon Klassen|3118934|Jon Klassen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1320343513p2/3118934.jpg]. I only realized this as I look at other reviews and notice some artwork I do not recall seeing in my copy (although I did read it a month ago so maybe I'm forgetting them??).
[a:Kenneth Oppel|88922|Kenneth Oppel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1460937107p2/88922.jpg] is a new author to me, but I doubt I'm going to rush out to read any of his other books any time soon—[b:The Nest|23271637|The Nest|Kenneth Oppel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425076899l/23271637._SX50_.jpg|42811477] just didn't grab or excite me all that much. The twist is interesting in theory, but as written I got sort of confused—was the magical realism a metaphor for his mental illness? Or did Steve suffer from anxiety and the whole [spoiler]wasps wanting to replace his baby brother with a Steve-slash-wasp clone[/spoiler] just a crazy coincidence to freak him out?
Definitely something I could have read in one sitting, but instead it took me four days to complete. Nice to read something short and sweet to get a little closer to completing my reading challenge, but nothing great.
andranyat's review against another edition
4.0
This book was kind of crazy! But I liked it!
There's this little boy, Steven, who has a little sister who talks to an imaginary friend on a toy telephone, a baby brother that has a serious congenital disorder and is near death, parents who use all of their energy to take care of the baby, a baby sitter who's studying biology, a magical wasp nests that has unusual wasps and Steven himself; serious OCD, anxiety and allergies to said wasps.
Steven is faced with a lot in this book! But ultimately, I think he has to decide if he wants to replace something that is broken with something that is perfect... his baby brother.
There's this little boy, Steven, who has a little sister who talks to an imaginary friend on a toy telephone, a baby brother that has a serious congenital disorder and is near death, parents who use all of their energy to take care of the baby, a baby sitter who's studying biology, a magical wasp nests that has unusual wasps and Steven himself; serious OCD, anxiety and allergies to said wasps.
Steven is faced with a lot in this book! But ultimately, I think he has to decide if he wants to replace something that is broken with something that is perfect... his baby brother.
icanreadish's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
5.0
❤️ Such a creepy little book !!!
❤️ Loved the MC and the parents. All were believable, flaws and beautiful. The Queen was a fantastic villain with a mix of Mother Gothel and Glinda the Good Witch
❤️ The action scene at the end was thrilling and surreal. Thousands of wasps ??? Raid and a little knife ???? Please ;-;
❤️ Appreciated the writing style and the spooky art
An excellent little horror book for all readers.
❤️ Loved the MC and the parents. All were believable, flaws and beautiful. The Queen was a fantastic villain with a mix of Mother Gothel and Glinda the Good Witch
❤️ The action scene at the end was thrilling and surreal. Thousands of wasps ??? Raid and a little knife ???? Please ;-;
❤️ Appreciated the writing style and the spooky art
An excellent little horror book for all readers.
breakfastgrey's review against another edition
4.0
This book was awesome. It was creepy and weird and I dug it. It wasn't perfect, but I'm cool with that.
jo_crescent's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Well that was a weird & intense realistic fantasy coming of age book. Recommend. I believed completely in Steve’s dreams … others may have a different understanding. If you have a wasp phobia, might want to skip this one …
sophie211green's review against another edition
4.0
Wow.
In the beginning of the book I was a little underwhelmed and was about to update saying that I wished the book had been written with the same story line but for an older group of people when all of a sudden this book took a turn. “The Nest” is creepy and weird and has a lot of really cool messages involving anxiety and mental illness and so many other things.
The only reason I have given it four stars instead of five is because i felt as though the end got a bit confusing and jumbled and went on for a bit too long but other than that this story was amazingly written and I will definitely re-read it in the future.
I definitely recommend.
In the beginning of the book I was a little underwhelmed and was about to update saying that I wished the book had been written with the same story line but for an older group of people when all of a sudden this book took a turn. “The Nest” is creepy and weird and has a lot of really cool messages involving anxiety and mental illness and so many other things.
The only reason I have given it four stars instead of five is because i felt as though the end got a bit confusing and jumbled and went on for a bit too long but other than that this story was amazingly written and I will definitely re-read it in the future.
I definitely recommend.
dinoreader84's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
This was very well done and genuinely creepy. What a great book.
wanderinginaforest's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
fairytaleknitter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was excellent and bizarre and well-paced.