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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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
Another fun story containing the original lovable characters, along with a few new ones. Very similar plot to the first book with smuggling, secrets, finding hidden objects, ghosts, lots of people inundating the house at Christmas time, mischief, mystery, imagination, children processing family and emotional distress, slowly developing plot, chaos, and a bit of a thrill. If you enjoyed the first book, you will find this one charming as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
3.5
This book has such a gentle and caring stance toward its young protagonist. I loved how Milo uses the book’s version of DnD to embody new ways of being that are anxiety-provoking but also growthful and expansive for him—very endearing. Like the first book in the series, as I read I had both the sense that this book was fun and charming but also an increasingly felt undercurrent of fatigue and irritation—the fun gets bogged down by the sheer amount of new characters and amount of details that are hard to track and the bulk of which ultimately seem to function to obscure / distract rather than add to the story. I will read more in the series but probably continue at the pace I’ve established of one per year.
This book has such a gentle and caring stance toward its young protagonist. I loved how Milo uses the book’s version of DnD to embody new ways of being that are anxiety-provoking but also growthful and expansive for him—very endearing. Like the first book in the series, as I read I had both the sense that this book was fun and charming but also an increasingly felt undercurrent of fatigue and irritation—the fun gets bogged down by the sheer amount of new characters and amount of details that are hard to track and the bulk of which ultimately seem to function to obscure / distract rather than add to the story. I will read more in the series but probably continue at the pace I’ve established of one per year.
I made my first trip to Greenglass House 5 years ago, over the winter break in my new apartment. That apartment was a converted attic, surrounded by leafy California oaks and I remember dragging a mattress to the tiny 2x8 square windows facing the trees and reading that book in the dappled light.
Greenglass House was magical and cosy, but it was also very entertaining centering around a whodunnit theft in a house of smugglers with everyone trapped by a snowstorm. And it had so much soul! The main character was a sensitive and anxious 12-year old called Milo. A boy of Chinese descent adopted into a white family, Milo simultaneously juggles growing questions about his heritage, guilt for wanting to discuss it with his adopted family, and solving the crime!
He does this with the help of a friend, Meddy, who introduces his to a D&D style role-playing game where he picks a character that has the conviction to overcome his anxieties and save the day. I thought it was a really smart way for Milo to explore his feelings with a bit of distance.
You may be wondering why I've spent so much time recapping Book 1, well.. it's because this book has the same plot. Switch out the smugglers for a band of pagan carol-singers, Milo's questions of heritage to that of inclusivity and tact, and.. that's about it, everything else is the same.
I actually don't mind that, in theory, since I already enjoyed the first book so much. Milford is a confident writer and I felt assured that I'd enjoy the book no matter its content. The problem is that this book feels really drawn out compared to its predecessor and at almost 100 pages longer there is some truth to it.
I liked the opening chapter, which sets up Milo's state of mind for the holiday and shows how him and his family have continued to explore his sense of self together since last Christmas. But the next few chapters where the various carol-singer characters are introduced really dragged. The first action doesn't start till after page 160. I think if the first part of the book was cut in half the whole thing would feel a lot tighter.
In general though the stakes seem a lot lower this time around. No one is ever really in any danger, Milo's family is safe, so I didn't get the sense of urgency in the last book.
In her afterword Milford discusses that the inception of the story was the idea that our two master thieves, Clem & Georgie, have a job that goes wrong and this book is the fallout of that. Honestly.. it barely features. What is more prominent is Milford's love of folklore and storytelling and as with the last book, those portions were some of the most enjoyable. I'm really hoping future books will be set partially in the Liberty.
So this book still has a whole lot about it that is enjoyable, fantastical storytelling, pagan folklore, a Christmas-y setting, maps, mystery, and a couple of ghosts, a really creepy horse. And I've already ordered the books set in the rest of the universe, because Milford's writing is so comforting and I'm curious to what she can do when not confined to Greenglass.
3.5 stars rounded down.
Greenglass House was magical and cosy, but it was also very entertaining centering around a whodunnit theft in a house of smugglers with everyone trapped by a snowstorm. And it had so much soul! The main character was a sensitive and anxious 12-year old called Milo. A boy of Chinese descent adopted into a white family, Milo simultaneously juggles growing questions about his heritage, guilt for wanting to discuss it with his adopted family, and solving the crime!
He does this with the help of a friend, Meddy, who introduces his to a D&D style role-playing game where he picks a character that has the conviction to overcome his anxieties and save the day. I thought it was a really smart way for Milo to explore his feelings with a bit of distance.
You may be wondering why I've spent so much time recapping Book 1, well.. it's because this book has the same plot. Switch out the smugglers for a band of pagan carol-singers, Milo's questions of heritage to that of inclusivity and tact, and.. that's about it, everything else is the same.
I actually don't mind that, in theory, since I already enjoyed the first book so much. Milford is a confident writer and I felt assured that I'd enjoy the book no matter its content. The problem is that this book feels really drawn out compared to its predecessor and at almost 100 pages longer there is some truth to it.
I liked the opening chapter, which sets up Milo's state of mind for the holiday and shows how him and his family have continued to explore his sense of self together since last Christmas. But the next few chapters where the various carol-singer characters are introduced really dragged. The first action doesn't start till after page 160. I think if the first part of the book was cut in half the whole thing would feel a lot tighter.
In general though the stakes seem a lot lower this time around. No one is ever really in any danger, Milo's family is safe, so I didn't get the sense of urgency in the last book.
In her afterword Milford discusses that the inception of the story was the idea that our two master thieves, Clem & Georgie, have a job that goes wrong and this book is the fallout of that. Honestly.. it barely features. What is more prominent is Milford's love of folklore and storytelling and as with the last book, those portions were some of the most enjoyable. I'm really hoping future books will be set partially in the Liberty.
So this book still has a whole lot about it that is enjoyable, fantastical storytelling, pagan folklore, a Christmas-y setting, maps, mystery, and a couple of ghosts, a really creepy horse. And I've already ordered the books set in the rest of the universe, because Milford's writing is so comforting and I'm curious to what she can do when not confined to Greenglass.
3.5 stars rounded down.
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Felt just like being back in the first book with a new mystery and satisfying twist. My one critique is that I wish this was the sort of middle grade that had a list of characters with little pictures in the front. I always have a hard time keeping everyone straight.
I love this series. I wish I could have read these as a kid, but I’m just as blown out of the water now. This installment definitely started slower than the first, but the second half really did nail it.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
A solid read. This one definitely leaned more into the supernatural than the first. It was set a year after the first, but the main character didn't seem to have changed much.
This is so overly complicated for a middle school book. It took us months to get through because it bored my child to sleep every night (which as a parent I didn’t really mind.)