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cassroberts89's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Tristan Strong was… good. Not incredible, not amazing, but good. I felt instantly drawn into Tristan’s story. His personal trauma was relatable and so very sad. I loved the transition into the world called Alke and being introduced to the HUGE cast of characters there.
I think where I really started to get lost was when the action picked up and… never stopped. It was just constant GO, GO, GO for a large chunk of the middle of the book. I’m all for an adventurous, action-packed story, but it felt difficult to keep up and not get lost. This was especially hard while listening to the audio version. The voices were excellent, the narrator was fantastic, but it was just a lot at a very fast pace. Perhaps this is one book that might be best served as a read-aloud or read-to-self.
One thing I didn’t notice right away when the book ended, but occurred to me later in the day: We’re kind of left hanging with the brief earlier conflict between Tristan and his folks. Maybe I missed something (like I said, maybe the audio recording wasn’t the best choice for this particular book), but that whole thing between Tristan and his dad and the boxing just didn’t come up again? Seemed like a missed opportunity for closure.
I did, however, love the little twist toward the end. No spoilers, but it made for an interesting and fun ending to the book and a great segue into a sequel. I’m not sure when we’ll get around to reading the next book, but the kids really want to pick it up at some point. So perhaps take my review with a grain of salt. Like I said: Tristan Strong was a good book. Plain and simple.
I think where I really started to get lost was when the action picked up and… never stopped. It was just constant GO, GO, GO for a large chunk of the middle of the book. I’m all for an adventurous, action-packed story, but it felt difficult to keep up and not get lost. This was especially hard while listening to the audio version. The voices were excellent, the narrator was fantastic, but it was just a lot at a very fast pace. Perhaps this is one book that might be best served as a read-aloud or read-to-self.
One thing I didn’t notice right away when the book ended, but occurred to me later in the day: We’re kind of left hanging with the brief earlier conflict between Tristan and his folks. Maybe I missed something (like I said, maybe the audio recording wasn’t the best choice for this particular book), but that whole thing between Tristan and his dad and the boxing just didn’t come up again? Seemed like a missed opportunity for closure.
I did, however, love the little twist toward the end. No spoilers, but it made for an interesting and fun ending to the book and a great segue into a sequel. I’m not sure when we’ll get around to reading the next book, but the kids really want to pick it up at some point. So perhaps take my review with a grain of salt. Like I said: Tristan Strong was a good book. Plain and simple.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Animal death
Minor: Car accident
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