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rosemwood's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book in the series. Right off the bat you are jumping feet first into a very kooky and strange story. It's a mixture of Adam's family with mystical beast and mafia family in it. It was such a quick read! I was very surprised to actually get into it and realized that I was done reading it and grabbing the next book in the series.
christiana's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of weird and really gross, but in a good way. It's Snicket + Harry Potter + some unnamed force.
jmyodafriend's review against another edition
3.25
A bit disappointing. Story of, but characters not very fleshed out. Too much potty humor in place of better writing. One really gory bit that I felt was inappropriate for the target audience.
melissareads70's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
katmccoy's review against another edition
4.0
This is a series I found years ago and is more geared towards the YA crowd, but it's still a nice light read for an adult and can be quite enjoyable.
rogerh's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
erinmp's review
1.0
This is easily the worst book I've read in recent memory. The premise seemed okay, and even interesting: Harry Potter meets Mary Poppins meets Lemony Snicket meets the Addams Family. But it was way too much and the author tried too hard. First, the language is too difficult for most nine-year-olds, who are the ideal audience. The YA crowd will not be interested by this, which is who it's marketed towards. Second, it was a crazy premise, but not funny at all. You can't have intentional crazy without the funny. Third, as mentioned above, the plot is just too insane: shrinking children getting stuck in a CD-ROM drive and emailed around? Please. It was a massive struggle to finish it.
Unbelievably, the next novel in the series actually looks decent.
Unbelievably, the next novel in the series actually looks decent.
librariandest's review against another edition
2.0
A librarian at the Wallingford branch recommended this to me, so I had high hopes, but it wasn't great. There's a strange mix of computers and magic, which seems like a good idea in theory, but on the page it just doesn't make sense.
duriangray's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rosemarieshort's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little late on the bandwagon with this one, I think the aimed for age group is nine to fourteen and I was probably about fourteen when I first read them. However that was at absolutely no detriment to the story. I read that Debi Gliori wrote this simply to prove that she could. Well she can. I'd say that this could work as a story for your six year old or a guilty pleasure for you yourself. I have the whole series and while the story takes a darker turn as the books go on this is a light, enjoyable and magical beginning to a great series.