Reviews

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel

emburklin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

onceuponacarm's review against another edition

3.0

So terrifying and creepy. I wouldn't have picked this up had the audiobook cover given a better hint as to what this is about, but I had seen it mentioned in several ads and such in SLJ so I thought I'd try it. Not a book to read if you're pregnant or have a baby. I'm not really sure who the audience is for this. Certainly not me. However, it is very well written and affecting, so much so that in spite of having a feeling of horror and disgust throughout most of my listening to it, I kept going till the end (and glad I did).

kit_e's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I can’t believe I haven’t read this book before now! This is an amazing middle grade horror book that deftly shows that life can be scary and complicated, but that you are strong enough to face it. It also reminds the reader that imperfect is okay. It’s better than okay. Those imperfection are hard, but they are what makes us who we are. 

bekahnae's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jessethereader's review against another edition

3.0

This was such a strange book. The writing wasn't my favorite, which is surprising, because I loved The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel. The writing in The Boundless was rich and lively, but the writing in The Nest was a little bit dry for my liking. I did enjoy the pictures drawn by illustrator John Klassen. Unfortunately though, this book just fell short for me.

amelia_j_reads's review against another edition

4.0

This book was freaky and terrifying. Horror is not my genre of choice so at times if felt a little too scary to be YA. It has a whimsical feel which immediately reminded me of Coraline which I LOVE! A lot of details that seemed unrelated to the plot were tied to the ending which I thought was done really well. Also the illustrations are amazing. I thought that Steve’s fear was really well portrayed as through the eyes of a child although it was hard for me to tell exactly how old he was.

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

This is a book that I feel like I would have absolutely obsessed over as a child, what with the wasps, the worry, the man with only eight fingers.  The utterly believable part of Steve that has OCD, that worries too much, that doesn't know enough.  

The Nest hangs around the divide between belief and disbelief, providing just enough information to make things seem real, and taking away just enough to make us wonder whether it had all really happened.  It's a layer away from reality, one where dreams are real, and white wasps exist, and where sometimes you can love someone the wrong way.  The hard questions also appear in this book--what would you do if somebody offered to completely fix the one person in your family that was sick?  What if you were allergic to the very thing trying to kill you?  And what if the responsibility of your family's whirlwind of emotions all rested upon your shoulders?

Review cross-listed here!

astrawitch's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

cleaoverstreet's review against another edition

5.0

What a trippy book! But it was soooooo good. The main character is a boy who suffers from anxiety, as well as an allergy to wasp stings. His parents have just had a baby boy, Theo, who has a congenital disorder. The family is super worried about the baby's well-being and future health problems. The main character begins having dreams where a Queen wasp is telling him that she and her fellow wasps will "fix" the baby. However, he soon discovers the dreams are real, he and the baby are in grave danger, and the wasps might not be as benevolent as they make themselves out to be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an appetite for the strange and unpredictable.

saraa_t's review against another edition

4.0

Oppel's The Nest is shelved as middle grade, but it's even more deliciously creepy than I was expecting.

Protagonist Steven is plagued with anxiety and nightmares, and after his newest sibling is born with a congenital disorder, he begins to dream about a queen wasp who claims to be able to "cure" his little brother. After agreeing to something he can't take back, Steven's world begins to spiral out of control at the hands of the wasps who live in the nest outside his brother's window.

Coupled with John Klassen's illustrations, which tie in with the creepier elements of this story perfectly, Oppel succeeds in delivering (another) original story that will stick with me.