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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
So this was a cool concept, but I felt it wasn't executed properly. To me if felt like National Treasure in Disneyworld. I loved the part of Walt Disney leaving clues around the park to help defeat the evil magic of Malificent and the other Overtakers. I loved that part of the book.
But I felt it fell flat with what they did with those clues. There were a lot of loose ends that I was still confused about. Did the clues help anything? What is Malificent doing now? And what about Jez and Amanda? The book wasn't really clear with any of these things.
I may read the others to see if it clears things up or not. I had high hopes, but we'll see of the other books can redeem this first one.
But I felt it fell flat with what they did with those clues. There were a lot of loose ends that I was still confused about. Did the clues help anything? What is Malificent doing now? And what about Jez and Amanda? The book wasn't really clear with any of these things.
I may read the others to see if it clears things up or not. I had high hopes, but we'll see of the other books can redeem this first one.
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-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:
Complicated
The chapter layout of this book can be a little jarring, and the conclusion seems to get tied into a nice, little bow pretty quickly, but it still really makes me want to go to Disney World.
it’s an ok book, i guess. as long as you don’t continue. DO NOT CONTINUE THIS SERIES. it all goes downhill.
for the book itself, the plot is kinda everywhere, countless plotholes as well. the author did not do their “research” very well as well.
go in with low expectations.
for the book itself, the plot is kinda everywhere, countless plotholes as well. the author did not do their “research” very well as well.
go in with low expectations.
The story was a little campy, but it was an easy read and I absolutely love all things to do with Disney World. At some point, I'll read the rest of this series, but I'm in no hurry.
I saw this book on the shelves of several gift shops last month when I was at Walt Disney World. Being a huge fan of Disney, I thought the premise of the book sounded interesting. The basic idea is that a group of kids ends up battling fictional Disney characters who have come to life in the parks and are trying to "take over."
The basic premise, as I say, is interesting, and parts of the book were fun to read. It's a young adult novel, so I did not expect Jane Austen quality writing. However, I found the quality of the writing rather disappointing, and the reactions of the characters completely unbelievable. Several of the more critical reviews have complained about this sort of thing -- that the characters aren't particularly well-drawn, and I agree with that criticism. One problem is that the author only gave the four co-stars of Finn (the main character) a single obvious trait that was supposed to make him or her unique, and this made them seem utterly fake -- no real person is that simplistic. A second problem is that the traits are rather trite, such as Charlene being the easily-scared, panicky girl who screams a lot. But worse than this was the author's violation of the "show don't tell" principle. Pearson spends too much time telling us what the traits are, and not enough time showing us.
But the shallow characterization would be less of a problem if the story were in any way believable. Now, don't get me wrong; I knew this was a fantasy story going in, and I went into it perfectly prepared to accept that the characters of Disney World were going to come to life. But that's not the part I find unbelievable. What I find unbelievable are the reactions of the characters in the story. The five main kids, for example, going to bed at 8 PM at the age of 13-14 years old. No kid that age goes to bed so early. And although their parents question the kids' strange behavior, those parts of the novel are brief and half-hearted -- almost as if an editor told Pearson "Why haven't the parents said something by now?" and he threw in a couple of lines to mollify the person.
The kids' interactions with each other are also very unrealistic. When Amanda, who's not one of the "Disney five" special kids, inserts herself into the investigation, the other characters question it, but again, it's only half-hearted. They trust when they should not trust, and their ideas for how to solve problems seem to pop into their heads in a completely unbelievable way.
The sad part is that the basic premise of the book and the ideas for the plot are quite good. I don't mind that the kids can do super-special things by "just believing" -- that's the whole premise of Disney World. But the kids should have had to go on a real journey of discovery here, and instead they just blunder onto the key points and then "own" them as if it all makes sense. In a later novel, I'd buy it, but this is like the first book of the Harry Potter novels. The characters are being introduced to a new world with new rules, just like the reader, but they don't act the way they should in those circumstances. Everything was so rushed that the characters all just accept whatever outlandish things they are told, with, as I say, only the most half-hearted of objections.
This is a story that could have been great, especially for a Disney buff like me. Instead it was merely mediocre, and I don't see myself caring enough about the main characters to bother reading the rest of the series.
The basic premise, as I say, is interesting, and parts of the book were fun to read. It's a young adult novel, so I did not expect Jane Austen quality writing. However, I found the quality of the writing rather disappointing, and the reactions of the characters completely unbelievable. Several of the more critical reviews have complained about this sort of thing -- that the characters aren't particularly well-drawn, and I agree with that criticism. One problem is that the author only gave the four co-stars of Finn (the main character) a single obvious trait that was supposed to make him or her unique, and this made them seem utterly fake -- no real person is that simplistic. A second problem is that the traits are rather trite, such as Charlene being the easily-scared, panicky girl who screams a lot. But worse than this was the author's violation of the "show don't tell" principle. Pearson spends too much time telling us what the traits are, and not enough time showing us.
But the shallow characterization would be less of a problem if the story were in any way believable. Now, don't get me wrong; I knew this was a fantasy story going in, and I went into it perfectly prepared to accept that the characters of Disney World were going to come to life. But that's not the part I find unbelievable. What I find unbelievable are the reactions of the characters in the story. The five main kids, for example, going to bed at 8 PM at the age of 13-14 years old. No kid that age goes to bed so early. And although their parents question the kids' strange behavior, those parts of the novel are brief and half-hearted -- almost as if an editor told Pearson "Why haven't the parents said something by now?" and he threw in a couple of lines to mollify the person.
The kids' interactions with each other are also very unrealistic. When Amanda, who's not one of the "Disney five" special kids, inserts herself into the investigation, the other characters question it, but again, it's only half-hearted. They trust when they should not trust, and their ideas for how to solve problems seem to pop into their heads in a completely unbelievable way.
The sad part is that the basic premise of the book and the ideas for the plot are quite good. I don't mind that the kids can do super-special things by "just believing" -- that's the whole premise of Disney World. But the kids should have had to go on a real journey of discovery here, and instead they just blunder onto the key points and then "own" them as if it all makes sense. In a later novel, I'd buy it, but this is like the first book of the Harry Potter novels. The characters are being introduced to a new world with new rules, just like the reader, but they don't act the way they should in those circumstances. Everything was so rushed that the characters all just accept whatever outlandish things they are told, with, as I say, only the most half-hearted of objections.
This is a story that could have been great, especially for a Disney buff like me. Instead it was merely mediocre, and I don't see myself caring enough about the main characters to bother reading the rest of the series.
I read this book because I love Disney World and I like fiction so it seemed like a good combination. The story was odd. It had an odd primise that took a while for me to get into. Basiclly Disney had invinted virtual tour guides (like holograms) that can walk around the park and give tours to guests. Instead of using workers they used kids to base this program off of. Now the holograms are taking over the Magic Kingdom, and pretty soon the world.
Okay, not really the type of thing I normally read, but like I said I'm a Disney fan so I gave it a try. It might just be me and my lack of imagination, but I don't think I ever really go into the story. I like the idea of something that is happening in the parks, this just wasn't my storyline.
Okay, not really the type of thing I normally read, but like I said I'm a Disney fan so I gave it a try. It might just be me and my lack of imagination, but I don't think I ever really go into the story. I like the idea of something that is happening in the parks, this just wasn't my storyline.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I healed a little piece of my inner child reading this book :’)
The ending was a bit abrupt and anti-climactic for me but the book kept my interest throughout so I gave it 3 stars because of it. Maleficent is my favorite Disney villain and like the Once Upon a Time TV show, I feel they didn't make her as sinister as she appears in the Disney movies in this book. Hope the next book is better.