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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I absolutely loved this trilogy as a kid, but never actually got around to reading the third book. I wanted to start over and actually finish, partly for closure and partly to see if I still think it’s as good as I used to.
Overall, I still loved this book. Many actual tears were shed at various points, and the sibling dynamic is very realistic. My only real gripe with this book is a phenomenon I’ve been noticing more and more with the books I read as a kid - they’re all incredibly (or at least very overtly) fatphobic, usually in the form of comedy.
In this book, a lesser antagonist is portrayed as disgusting, lazy, a “worthless drunk”, and a LOT of emphasis is put on his weight being the butt of the joke and part of what makes him so repulsive. JKR does this, Lemony Snicket (one of my all-time-favorite authors) does it, and Obert Skye does it.
I notice it even more in books that were “weird” or creepy - which is unfortunate because those were my favorite kinds of books to read as a child/teen (and frankly still are). I am begging writers to find other ways to be funny or to make a “bad” character, without making them fat (or, for that matter, disabled - I see that one a lot too).
Also, it made me somewhat uncomfortable that the dwarves (something I already don’t love, because people with dwarfism are just regular people, not a mythical fantasy race) have their own entire culture and history and customs, but a pivotal moment of the story is when a human boy “calls out” the above mentioned fatphobic caricature as being “not a real dwarf”, and then proceeds to educate the dwarf population about what makes them who they are, after which he wins a medal and is appointed the official guardian of dwarf customs (or something similar, I forget the exact title). It felt extremely white-savior-ish to have someone from outside the “species” tell the dwarves how they should and shouldn’t behave in order to be considered a “real dwarf”. Which he has the authority to say because he... reads about dwarves? From one book? Rather than actually BEING one? Or even just living with them and studying their culture first hand?
Overall, I still loved this book. Many actual tears were shed at various points, and the sibling dynamic is very realistic. My only real gripe with this book is a phenomenon I’ve been noticing more and more with the books I read as a kid - they’re all incredibly (or at least very overtly) fatphobic, usually in the form of comedy.
In this book, a lesser antagonist is portrayed as disgusting, lazy, a “worthless drunk”, and a LOT of emphasis is put on his weight being the butt of the joke and part of what makes him so repulsive. JKR does this, Lemony Snicket (one of my all-time-favorite authors) does it, and Obert Skye does it.
I notice it even more in books that were “weird” or creepy - which is unfortunate because those were my favorite kinds of books to read as a child/teen (and frankly still are). I am begging writers to find other ways to be funny or to make a “bad” character, without making them fat (or, for that matter, disabled - I see that one a lot too).
Also, it made me somewhat uncomfortable that the dwarves (something I already don’t love, because people with dwarfism are just regular people, not a mythical fantasy race) have their own entire culture and history and customs, but a pivotal moment of the story is when a human boy “calls out” the above mentioned fatphobic caricature as being “not a real dwarf”, and then proceeds to educate the dwarf population about what makes them who they are, after which he wins a medal and is appointed the official guardian of dwarf customs (or something similar, I forget the exact title). It felt extremely white-savior-ish to have someone from outside the “species” tell the dwarves how they should and shouldn’t behave in order to be considered a “real dwarf”. Which he has the authority to say because he... reads about dwarves? From one book? Rather than actually BEING one? Or even just living with them and studying their culture first hand?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
A fresh fantasy that has it all: spunky and engaging siblings, the wise wizard, and enough twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats. While Harry Potter spawned a whole slew of mediocre wannabes, this is the real thing. Now the wait begins for the sequel...
This review isn’t going to be as long as some of the others I’ve written because this book isn’t excessively deep. I enjoyed it and I think I would have been obsessed with it if I read it while I was still the target demographic. The Emerald Atlas is a heartwarming story about family and a thrilling children’s fantasy about time travel all rolled into one, with a premise that is both sound and sounds developed enough for the two subsequent books. We follow Kate, Michael, and Emma three unextrordinary orphans who find out there’s more to the world than they’d previously thought; and after the perils of this book our heroes find our that their parents are prisoners of an extremely powerful entity that’s after the key to all magic. Again, sound and interesting!
I wish I hadn’t consumed so much media that features time travel because I wasn’t surprised at any of the twists. Which isn’t a bad thing! There were bread crumbs all the time to lead to the conclusions being drawn by the various characters, and the fact that we saw the whole thing largely through Michael, Kate, and Emma, it was localized enough not to be confusing. The whole thing flowed and was captivating from the first, and it was all brought alive by my favorite narrator, Jim Dale. If I ever meet any middle school book-heads, I’ll be sure to keep this recommendation in my back pocket.
I wish I hadn’t consumed so much media that features time travel because I wasn’t surprised at any of the twists. Which isn’t a bad thing! There were bread crumbs all the time to lead to the conclusions being drawn by the various characters, and the fact that we saw the whole thing largely through Michael, Kate, and Emma, it was localized enough not to be confusing. The whole thing flowed and was captivating from the first, and it was all brought alive by my favorite narrator, Jim Dale. If I ever meet any middle school book-heads, I’ll be sure to keep this recommendation in my back pocket.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is fantastic! I had wanted it the day I saw it in the book store and I finally got around to picking it up at the library. It was action packed, held my attention, it was very emotional (many parts almost had me crying), and even a little funny. The plot was great.
Three books of power that are tied to the lives of three orphaned children, just doing their best to stay together as a family. (boy did I cry with this one).
Review repost from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyeR4RlBX-j/?img_index=1
Amazing books I have read them over and over and over and over again and I have never gotten tired of them.
Review repost from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyeR4RlBX-j/?img_index=1
Amazing books I have read them over and over and over and over again and I have never gotten tired of them.
Very enjoyable adventure novel. Looks like a fun series.
Didn't read for 8 years, but I was overwhelmed how beautifully written this book is. Definitely one of my favourite books. Can't wait to read the next ones