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theseventhl's review
4.0
I came into this story knowing pretty much nothing about the plot beyond the title (dang it, Goodreads, why didn't you have a summary for this?). In a way, I'm kind of glad. Despite the rather 'okay' opening, by the time after the burglary and Michael the mysterious starts to make his presence known in Edda's life I found myself irreversibly drawn into Alette Willis' story. Fans of coming-of-age novels with a supernatural bent will certainly enjoy this one. Plus, who doesn't love a good golem in their middle school lit?
You can read my full review of Alette J. Willis' book over at my review blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/novel-review-how-to-build-golem-and.html
You can read my full review of Alette J. Willis' book over at my review blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/novel-review-how-to-build-golem-and.html
itsme_lori's review
4.0
A cute coming-of-age middle grade book about facing your fears.
How to Make a Golem and Terrify People is written from Edda’s point of view. The book opens with Edda sitting on her front lawn after burglars have broken into her house and taken her birthday presents. We learn that Edda has moved around quite a bit in her 13 years, is nicknamed Mouse because she is always scared, and has only ever felt at home in this house. Until she no longer does. To keep her parents from moving again, she decides she’s going to stop being Edda the Mouse for good and start being brave. And her new friend, the strange new student Michael Scot, is going to help her. Edda confides in Michael that she is scared and together they set out on an adventure that he promises will cure Edda of her scaredy-cat ways and maybe even keep the school bully away from her for good.
Alette J. Willis does a wonderful job writing this coming-of-age story. As readers we are given the chance to watch Edda grow from a scared little girl into a brave teenager who believes in herself. As the mother of a preschool girl, this is the kind of book I will want my daughter to read as she gets older and Edda is the kind of character I want her looking up to and relating to. While Edda doesn’t always make the best choices, she always learns from her mistakes and makes everything right in the end. There isn’t a lot of depth given to the secondary characters and the younger readers may not understand who Michael Scot is or why he is so strange, but the main characters are all very well written and relatable to the younger readers.
How to Make a Golem and Terrify People is full of suspense and real-life situations. While the title and cover suggest a scary, horror-filled book, the characters are never in much danger. Other than the burglary at the beginning and the short-lived fear the characters feel when faced with the Golem, the book is never too scary. This is ultimately a story about friendships, believing in yourself, working together, and facing your fears, not an action-adventure horror story about monsters.
And that is my favorite part. I would be perfectly happy for my kids to read this and they would be happy to pick up a book with the promise of a Golem inside. Teaching kids how to overcome fears by facing them head-on, that friendships aren’t always easy but always worth it, and that you should always stand up for yourself, whether to the school bully or to your parents, is very important. When a book has both those lessons and a just-right amount of suspense and monsters for the younger readers, we can all be happy with it. I would definitely recommend How to Make a Golem and Terrify People to anyone over the age of eight.
How to Make a Golem and Terrify People is written from Edda’s point of view. The book opens with Edda sitting on her front lawn after burglars have broken into her house and taken her birthday presents. We learn that Edda has moved around quite a bit in her 13 years, is nicknamed Mouse because she is always scared, and has only ever felt at home in this house. Until she no longer does. To keep her parents from moving again, she decides she’s going to stop being Edda the Mouse for good and start being brave. And her new friend, the strange new student Michael Scot, is going to help her. Edda confides in Michael that she is scared and together they set out on an adventure that he promises will cure Edda of her scaredy-cat ways and maybe even keep the school bully away from her for good.
Alette J. Willis does a wonderful job writing this coming-of-age story. As readers we are given the chance to watch Edda grow from a scared little girl into a brave teenager who believes in herself. As the mother of a preschool girl, this is the kind of book I will want my daughter to read as she gets older and Edda is the kind of character I want her looking up to and relating to. While Edda doesn’t always make the best choices, she always learns from her mistakes and makes everything right in the end. There isn’t a lot of depth given to the secondary characters and the younger readers may not understand who Michael Scot is or why he is so strange, but the main characters are all very well written and relatable to the younger readers.
How to Make a Golem and Terrify People is full of suspense and real-life situations. While the title and cover suggest a scary, horror-filled book, the characters are never in much danger. Other than the burglary at the beginning and the short-lived fear the characters feel when faced with the Golem, the book is never too scary. This is ultimately a story about friendships, believing in yourself, working together, and facing your fears, not an action-adventure horror story about monsters.
And that is my favorite part. I would be perfectly happy for my kids to read this and they would be happy to pick up a book with the promise of a Golem inside. Teaching kids how to overcome fears by facing them head-on, that friendships aren’t always easy but always worth it, and that you should always stand up for yourself, whether to the school bully or to your parents, is very important. When a book has both those lessons and a just-right amount of suspense and monsters for the younger readers, we can all be happy with it. I would definitely recommend How to Make a Golem and Terrify People to anyone over the age of eight.
jowillread's review
3.0
"It’s easier to believe in things after dark."
I seem to say this a lot but this book was not what I was expecting.
Maybe I should just start reading synopses and stop throwing myself into books like...um, a literary bull in a library.
Or something along those lines.
This book was an incredibly sweet, well-written story about amouse girl who finds a way to stand up to bullies and weird boys with glasses and get muddy at the same time.
It’s also about facing your fears, friendship and believing in yourself told with lots of humour and lovely dialogue.
I could have done with a bit more action, and perhaps some more mild peril, in some of the chapters and I found myself being sceptical towards the end. There was one point that had me thinking “That would never happen.”
And before you say “What bit was that? The bit where three Scottish children, cute as buttons, made and then tamed a golem out of mud? Was that the part that you thought would never happen?”
Nope… I was on board with all that.
There was another bit that had me frowning a bit.
I still enjoyed it though.
Edda was just lovely and Lucy was brilliant.
Not completely decided on Euan yet though.
Also, as a further note: It appears that a golem, a creature I am not very familiar with, is similar to a boggart.
So, if you find yourself faced with one you grab a bunny and tickle its feet with their fluffy tails.
Or laugh at it.
Bunnies are cuter though… and it would give you a valid excuse to carry them around in your handbag.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers.
I seem to say this a lot but this book was not what I was expecting.
Maybe I should just start reading synopses and stop throwing myself into books like...um, a literary bull in a library.
Or something along those lines.
This book was an incredibly sweet, well-written story about a
It’s also about facing your fears, friendship and believing in yourself told with lots of humour and lovely dialogue.
I could have done with a bit more action, and perhaps some more mild peril, in some of the chapters and I found myself being sceptical towards the end. There was one point that had me thinking “That would never happen.”
And before you say “What bit was that? The bit where three Scottish children, cute as buttons, made and then tamed a golem out of mud? Was that the part that you thought would never happen?”
Nope… I was on board with all that.
There was another bit that had me frowning a bit.
I still enjoyed it though.
Edda was just lovely and Lucy was brilliant.
Not completely decided on Euan yet though.
Also, as a further note: It appears that a golem, a creature I am not very familiar with, is similar to a boggart.
So, if you find yourself faced with one you grab a bunny and tickle its feet with their fluffy tails.
Or laugh at it.
Bunnies are cuter though… and it would give you a valid excuse to carry them around in your handbag.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers.
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