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bookworm_heather's review against another edition
3.0
Wasn't as engaging as I thought it would be. Never picked this series up as a kid, but felt the need to try it. Audiobook didn't really help, as the narrator gave some characters voices that were really grating after a while. The worldbuilding was interesting, but a little vague for a first book. Honestly not sure if I'll continue the series past this one.
Hot Take: The movie adaptation might have worked better.
Hot Take: The movie adaptation might have worked better.
booksong's review against another edition
5.0
There are a lot of animal fantasies on the shelves; authors constantly competing to create worlds with anthropomorphic creatures that talk and think. This series did it right, and it will always be one of my favorites.
Soren is a Barn Owl, hatched in the Forest of Tyto, in a world where human beings are only a mysterious memory from the past. But Soren's comfortable nest life is short-lived; somehow, he falls from the nest he shares with his fierce older brother Kludd and sweet sister Eglantine, and is immediately picked up. But not by a rescuer.
Thus, Soren enters St. Aggie's, the twisting maze of canyons that calls itself a "school" for young owlets. There, thousands of owls are divided into groups, forced to perform bizarre rituals and tasks, and indoctrinated into a world where no owl thinks for itself, or worse, is allowed to fly.
With only the companionship of a sharp-minded Elf Owl named Gylfie, Soren must struggle to keep himself from being overcome by the horrors that he discovers within St. Aggie's. And the only way to escape from a deep canyon is to learn to fly.
In this first novel of a great series, Lasky builds a world populated with all kinds of characters and all kinds of owl species. I love owls, so I was fascinating learning about the different characteristics of each. Not only that, but the plot twisted and turned, full of horrific revelations and triumphant moments. And the end is really only the beginning.
Soren is a Barn Owl, hatched in the Forest of Tyto, in a world where human beings are only a mysterious memory from the past. But Soren's comfortable nest life is short-lived; somehow, he falls from the nest he shares with his fierce older brother Kludd and sweet sister Eglantine, and is immediately picked up. But not by a rescuer.
Thus, Soren enters St. Aggie's, the twisting maze of canyons that calls itself a "school" for young owlets. There, thousands of owls are divided into groups, forced to perform bizarre rituals and tasks, and indoctrinated into a world where no owl thinks for itself, or worse, is allowed to fly.
With only the companionship of a sharp-minded Elf Owl named Gylfie, Soren must struggle to keep himself from being overcome by the horrors that he discovers within St. Aggie's. And the only way to escape from a deep canyon is to learn to fly.
In this first novel of a great series, Lasky builds a world populated with all kinds of characters and all kinds of owl species. I love owls, so I was fascinating learning about the different characteristics of each. Not only that, but the plot twisted and turned, full of horrific revelations and triumphant moments. And the end is really only the beginning.
jklbookdragon's review against another edition
2.0
This isn't a bad book or anything, it's just not my thing, so I didn't enjoy it too much. I am quite fond of owls, so I picked this for a challenge to read a book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character. I might have enjoyed it more as a child, but the anthropomorphized animal genre is just something I find jarring.
atmorrell's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was an adorable book. I'm not typically big on the whole animal stories genre, but I feel like Lasky really pulled it off. It was sad, but cute.
mrslaww612's review against another edition
4.0
Super fun! Interesting characters, a unique plot, I am looking forward to reading more in this series!
phoenixpond's review against another edition
5.0
Great book - fast read. This series has Maddie hooked - I gave up trying to keep up with her! She was going through a rough patch where she would start a book and then give up after a few chapters because it wasn't holding her interest. She is now on book 5 of this series, and she talks about the "owl world" nonstop. Big thumbs up!!
Oh...And I'll never look at the waning moon again without thinking of it as "dwenking."
Oh...And I'll never look at the waning moon again without thinking of it as "dwenking."
patrick_armstrong's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
I must admit I picked this up with no hesitation while browsing a library near me, and the second book in the series. The series being about owls was more than a selling point for me. While reading it though I remember some parts of it vividly but I doubt I've read this before. Think I've seen a movie about this first book many moons ago. Excited to have a whole series with owls to binge whenever I can get hold of the books