Reviews

I've been reading this to practice reading German, and even after reading Momo, by the same writer, was positively surprised. This too is a lovely book, and just like Momo: not only for children.

TL;DR Bastian is drawn into a fantasy world via a book. The world is partly of his own making, but does have its own ground rules as well. He goes through not really accepting himself, through wanting to be someone else to accepting himself warts and all.

leitora_foraz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

hexatrance's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is a treasure. Full of storytelling nonsense and lessons on hubris. At no point could I predict where the story was going to go because, like a story being told on the spot, it changed its rules as it went. I think I enjoyed the first half a bit more than the second where Bastian was influencing the story from outside it instead of within it, and it did feel a bit drawn out. There's a chapter for every letter of the alphabet and its a testament to the translator that even in translation every chapter started with a word that began with that letter. For a story full of whimsey, it's a fair chonk of a book in order to get all 26 chapters for 26 letters in.

alexinho10's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

dnandrews797's review against another edition

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4.0

I waffled back and forth whether to give this 3 or 4 stars, but ultimately went with four because of the sheer whimsy and hopefulness this book inspires.
Fantástica is an amazing country filled with all sorts of fairy tales and creates that take an excellent imagination to conjure up. To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed the first half of the book focused on Atreyu more than I did the second half. The meta aspects hindered my enjoyment of the book a bit, but the themes of love and curiosity overcoming all were well planted enough that I enjoyed it immensely.

dreaming_ace's review against another edition

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4.0

A fun read which reminds us all about the power of stories and the need to ind ourselves. And who has not dreamed about becoming apart of the books they read. I have travled into many books and always find wonders and joy. Go imagination.

lauray's review against another edition

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1.0

I hated this book so intensely that it brought my love of reading to a grinding halt for several months. Only now do I feel compelled to once again smell the delightful pages of a never before read book.

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