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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I loved this book so much! It did remind me of Harry Potter. I have one problem though: Emma is the most stupid girl I have ever read! She would rather save some guy who she hardly even knows than save a hundred kids... and her brother and sister!
Other than that I thought the book was very good.
Favorite Character: Kate
Other than that I thought the book was very good.
Favorite Character: Kate
Kate, Michael and Emma are orphaned, after a mysterious night when their parents send them away and disappear. Kate is the only one with any sort of memory of their life with their mother and father. As the children grow, they are bounced around through various orphanages, until landing at the strange house of Dr. Stanislaus Pym. While exploring one night, the three stumble upon an old book hidden deep within the basement. They quickly learn this book is very powerful. As the children set off on an adventure to discover more of the book, they will meet evil witches, angry dwarves, and the most terrifying creatures - Screechers!
The Emerald Atlas was exactly what I expected it to be: a fun adventure, if not a little tedious at times. John Stephens' vision of the magical book is well-executed, though I personally wanted to do more traveling through it. Kate is by far the most interesting character, as she seems to be the one holding all of the powers. But Emma is also oh-so-adorable, and extremely courageous. Some characters are silly and overdone, but this is a good thing, especially in the mean old Miss Sallow. A few scenes are chuckle-out-loud funny, thanks in part to Stephens' exceptional dialog between the children. As an exciting tale with twists and danger at every turn, I think this new series will appeal more to fans of Fablehaven over those of Harry Potter.
The Emerald Atlas was exactly what I expected it to be: a fun adventure, if not a little tedious at times. John Stephens' vision of the magical book is well-executed, though I personally wanted to do more traveling through it. Kate is by far the most interesting character, as she seems to be the one holding all of the powers. But Emma is also oh-so-adorable, and extremely courageous. Some characters are silly and overdone, but this is a good thing, especially in the mean old Miss Sallow. A few scenes are chuckle-out-loud funny, thanks in part to Stephens' exceptional dialog between the children. As an exciting tale with twists and danger at every turn, I think this new series will appeal more to fans of Fablehaven over those of Harry Potter.
This is a fun young adult book that was full of adventure and excitement. It was a quick read but a lot of fun.
I really didn't enjoy this book. For me, the idea was unoriginal and stale - orphans destined for a ancient prophesy. It's being done, and done well. This premise seemed very similar to Harry Potter except there wasn't anything special, the prose seemed stiff and formalic and there was no humour.The three orphans have being living in care since their parents disappeared years ago. Suddenly they are whisked away to Cambridge Falls ,a mysterious and magical place with an unexplained past .
I felt no connection to the characters - Emma was a tomboy, Michael a brainiac and Emma who spent all her time worrying about her siblings. None of them had personailities or quirks that any normal person would have.They weren't very likable and the dialouge between them felt very stilted and unnatural.
It didn't feel, whilst reading the book, that the author had any passion for writing, instead I felt like I was reading a mashed up version of Harry Potter/The Chronicles of Narnia, with no rememberable characters or distiunguishing plot features.
I hate giving negative reviews, and I wish that I could have enjoyed The Emerald Atlas better. Maybe it's because I am older then the target audience but I won't be picking up the remaining two books in the trilogy. My absolute favourite genre is middle grade fantasy, but unfortunately for me, this was a let down.
I felt no connection to the characters - Emma was a tomboy, Michael a brainiac and Emma who spent all her time worrying about her siblings. None of them had personailities or quirks that any normal person would have.They weren't very likable and the dialouge between them felt very stilted and unnatural.
It didn't feel, whilst reading the book, that the author had any passion for writing, instead I felt like I was reading a mashed up version of Harry Potter/The Chronicles of Narnia, with no rememberable characters or distiunguishing plot features.
I hate giving negative reviews, and I wish that I could have enjoyed The Emerald Atlas better. Maybe it's because I am older then the target audience but I won't be picking up the remaining two books in the trilogy. My absolute favourite genre is middle grade fantasy, but unfortunately for me, this was a let down.
It was a little slow at some points,but overall it was a good book.
I found the book quite enjoyable, but it's very clearly a children's book. Everything from the way the characters are presented to how the story progresses fits younger children better than any other group, and really, I can't fault the book for that. Regardless of the things that irritated me (but probably wouldn't irritate a younger reader), it was a good story. Emma was an ungrateful little bitch at times, though.
3.5 stars.
It loses points for the second chapter with the swan woman. I did not see a point to that. And then for the fact I found it dragged on a lot. There were too many final battles and in the end I found I just wanted it to end. The story was great, but I do not have any interest in continuing the series.
Furthermore, the time travel got to be a bit much. I did not like how he had to take the picture because in the future they had the picture type of moments.
On the plus sides, the characters were strong. I really enjoyed the dwarves. And I did enjoy it for most of the time I was reading. As for YA fantasy novels, it is very good and would recommend this to anyone between the ages of 15-20 who want something interesting to get lost in.
It loses points for the second chapter with the swan woman. I did not see a point to that. And then for the fact I found it dragged on a lot. There were too many final battles and in the end I found I just wanted it to end. The story was great, but I do not have any interest in continuing the series.
Furthermore, the time travel got to be a bit much. I did not like how he had to take the picture because in the future they had the picture type of moments.
On the plus sides, the characters were strong. I really enjoyed the dwarves. And I did enjoy it for most of the time I was reading. As for YA fantasy novels, it is very good and would recommend this to anyone between the ages of 15-20 who want something interesting to get lost in.
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Sometimes popularity leads me to terrible books (like Twilight and The Da Vinci Code), but other times it leads me to books that are actually very good. I didn't think I was going to like The Emerald Atlas very much, but it's popular with the kiddos, so I felt I should read it. I started out skeptical, but by the end I couldn't put it down! I was riveted.
Sure, there's a lot of TELLING instead of SHOWING. And the number of times Kate has to retell her whole story is a little ridiculous. But the drama is intense and the stakes are high. Once the plot gets moving, it barely slows down as it twists and turns and shimmies. Was I bothered by the familiarity of the tropes and themes? A little, but not much. Was I bothered that this book is supposed to take place in the U.S. but comes out sounding super British? A little more than a little, but I got over it.
Bottom line: It's a fun read and lots of kids super love it. Good enough for me.
Sure, there's a lot of TELLING instead of SHOWING. And the number of times Kate has to retell her whole story is a little ridiculous. But the drama is intense and the stakes are high. Once the plot gets moving, it barely slows down as it twists and turns and shimmies. Was I bothered by the familiarity of the tropes and themes? A little, but not much. Was I bothered that this book is supposed to take place in the U.S. but comes out sounding super British? A little more than a little, but I got over it.
Bottom line: It's a fun read and lots of kids super love it. Good enough for me.
*spoilers*
3.5
I think this was super solid as a middle grade/younger YA book. A lot of Narnia and Series of Unfortunate Events vibes with the main characters but I liked how they got along as siblings. I really vibed the Countess as the main villain and would have preferred to have her fleshed out rather than having the dwarf and time travel elements (but that being said the dwarves were pretty neat). Things did happen a bit conveniently (like Michael knowing all about dwarves, them meeting the right people at the right times), which I don't mind as much when its a younger-demographic book, but as an older reader it did seem a bit too neat. There were also a lot of parts in this book that were just people explaining things to other people (or even the same person but from the past) which got a bit tedious.
I guess the main reason I didn't rate this higher is because the magic of Dr Pym was just used so much to clear things up - like he solved the battle, he basically finessed everything with the book, and even at the end he made everything work out perfectly. The Countess coming back just to give some exposition then be cast off again was also kind of annoying - I'm glad she isn't being dragged out into another book but I just feel there wasn't much need for her to show up (maybe the big bad guy could have sent Kate a vision or something?). Gabriel too seemed to be near-death with every encounter but he would always find a way back - tbh I think keeping him dead would have helped Emma's arc but hey it's Christmas what am I to do
Would definitely recommend for younger readers because it was an enjoyable and pretty unique read, any issues I had with it were more about me than the actual book
3.5
I think this was super solid as a middle grade/younger YA book. A lot of Narnia and Series of Unfortunate Events vibes with the main characters but I liked how they got along as siblings. I really vibed the Countess as the main villain and would have preferred to have her fleshed out rather than having the dwarf and time travel elements (but that being said the dwarves were pretty neat). Things did happen a bit conveniently (like Michael knowing all about dwarves, them meeting the right people at the right times), which I don't mind as much when its a younger-demographic book, but as an older reader it did seem a bit too neat. There were also a lot of parts in this book that were just people explaining things to other people (or even the same person but from the past) which got a bit tedious.
I guess the main reason I didn't rate this higher is because the magic of Dr Pym was just used so much to clear things up - like he solved the battle, he basically finessed everything with the book, and even at the end he made everything work out perfectly. The Countess coming back just to give some exposition then be cast off again was also kind of annoying - I'm glad she isn't being dragged out into another book but I just feel there wasn't much need for her to show up (maybe the big bad guy could have sent Kate a vision or something?). Gabriel too seemed to be near-death with every encounter but he would always find a way back - tbh I think keeping him dead would have helped Emma's arc but hey it's Christmas what am I to do
Would definitely recommend for younger readers because it was an enjoyable and pretty unique read, any issues I had with it were more about me than the actual book