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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was recommended to me by a friend and what and interesting read! I have to admit I couldn’t always picture the characters clearly but would love to take a look at the illustrated version. Will definitely be continuing this series.
It's frustrating to give this book 2 stars, because it is brimming with so much creative imagery and potential. However, I think Clive Barker spent so much time thinking of bizarre things to insert into the world that he forgot to insert a story along with it, because the story is...flimsy at its best, and practically nonexistent at its worst.
The lead character, Candy Quackenbush, finds the strange world of Abarat and does a little island hopping. She goes to one strange island, meets a bizarre character, that character proceeds to dump a ton of exposition on us about the world building, she goes to a new island, and repeat.
She's not the only perspective you follow throughout the book, but I found the other perspectives, and the storylines to go along with them, to be even less interesting. I think I'll venture into some of this dood's other books before continuing onto book 2 of Abarat.
The lead character, Candy Quackenbush, finds the strange world of Abarat and does a little island hopping. She goes to one strange island, meets a bizarre character, that character proceeds to dump a ton of exposition on us about the world building, she goes to a new island, and repeat.
She's not the only perspective you follow throughout the book, but I found the other perspectives, and the storylines to go along with them, to be even less interesting. I think I'll venture into some of this dood's other books before continuing onto book 2 of Abarat.
Totally unique. A great, though sometimes directionless, fantasy ride filled with interesting and terrifying characters. Well developed and thoroughly entertaining, highlighted by Barker's fantastic illustrations, which I would purchase the book for even if the story was not good.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence
Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol
I don't think I'm the target audience but it is a pretty fantastical story
I wish I had picked this book up when I was in high school, because it is very easily one of my favorites now but I would have been obsessed then. Clive Barker is one of my favorite authors anyway, but if you'd told me he wrote an Alice in Wonderland/Narnia series I would have called you a liar. This was fantastic, it was scary, and it was a total departure from most of what I've been reading. Checked it out on Hoopla, no regrets on this one. John Mischief and Malingo are best boys.
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1053965.html[return][return]A YA novel about a teenager from a boring American town who is sucked into a fantasy parallel world which she must save. I enjoyed a couple of Barker's fantasy novels for adults many years ago; wasn't really so grabbed by this one, kindly lent to me by mr_renaissance. The illustrations, which I guess are Barker's own from the lack of any separate credit, are a bit jarring as well.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I had the audiobook for this strange story. There were a few times that I had to go back and re-listen to entire chapters just to make sure I knew what was happening. If I continue in this series I will have an ecopy or the physical book.