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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I will admit that after trying to read Mister B. Gone I had serious doubts about anything by Clive Barker. But this book changed my opinion, and has opened my mind once more.
This book was easy to read and amazing to look at. The images within the pages complemented the story amazingly, and the characters were strange but incredibly real. I hope to find and read the other books in this series.
This book was easy to read and amazing to look at. The images within the pages complemented the story amazingly, and the characters were strange but incredibly real. I hope to find and read the other books in this series.
Absolutely loved this book! I've read it so many times since I got a really beautiful hardback edition as a teenager - such a good dark teenage fantasy novel!
Love, love, love this series. Would be great for Alice in Wonderland fans.
This review is going to be a little short. I finished this book like a week ago, right when all my tests an papers were starting to pick up so forgive me. My memory's faded a bit. :(
I wasn't sure I'd like this book very much when I first started it. I'm not much a description person and this book has like a billion descriptions but Candy's in a completely new world with really strange and unusual creatures! So, of course, the book needed them. But like I said, I'm not a description person. Even though I moved reallyyyy sloooow through those parts, I still have a great mental image of what this world looks like! It was mostly the beginning that was like this so once you get past Chickentown ( the name just sounds boring right?! I was rooting for Candy to get out of there as soon as possible! ) and the first bit of being in Abarat, it picks right back up!
Unless you love descriptions ( like my best friend ) then you'll love that part.
Did you know this was originally practically a picture book!? I wish I had that one, too. If you don't have the one with pictures, never fear! Clive Barker has pictures up on his website. I found myself scrolling through the pictures for ages just wanting to stare at them.
Anyway, other than that, I really liked this book! I loved the side characters. They were all so interesting and funny looking! I think Jimothi and Malingo were my favorite. Actually, I liked them all! I even liked the backstory to the villain. Like it was suppose to give you some sort of understanding and maybe some sympathy but at the same time, you're still like oh my gosh this dude is psychooooo.
Candy really grew on me. At first, I was super confused how old she was and a bit clueless on what she looked like. Not to mention, she didn't really come off as anything that would stick out to me at the beginning. Once she was in Abarat and away from terrible little Chickentown, I knew I'd like her. There was one part when she was running away from some little creatures and she was tempted to turn around and tell them to shut up. I think that was one of my favorite Candy part of the book.
There's some moments where the book is a little dark. The author actually writes horror movies! But I didn't think they were anything that would scare someone away from a book. The villains were creepy, Candy's home life was horrid, and the way some creatures were treated was cruel. Then again, I'm always up for a good scary movie!
Everyone seems to be comparing this book to Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Seuss, and the Wizard of Oz. I guess I can see that. It's definitely a quirky, interesting new world like most of those books. I'd recommend this book to people who loved new worlds, a bit of a darker side, or little quirky things.
I'm probably not going to get the second book until I'm home for the summer, ( sad face ) but I'm super excited to get it! I can't wait to see how everything's tied together with each other.
Thanks for reading. :)
I wasn't sure I'd like this book very much when I first started it. I'm not much a description person and this book has like a billion descriptions but Candy's in a completely new world with really strange and unusual creatures! So, of course, the book needed them. But like I said, I'm not a description person. Even though I moved reallyyyy sloooow through those parts, I still have a great mental image of what this world looks like! It was mostly the beginning that was like this so once you get past Chickentown ( the name just sounds boring right?! I was rooting for Candy to get out of there as soon as possible! ) and the first bit of being in Abarat, it picks right back up!
Unless you love descriptions ( like my best friend ) then you'll love that part.
Did you know this was originally practically a picture book!? I wish I had that one, too. If you don't have the one with pictures, never fear! Clive Barker has pictures up on his website. I found myself scrolling through the pictures for ages just wanting to stare at them.
Anyway, other than that, I really liked this book! I loved the side characters. They were all so interesting and funny looking! I think Jimothi and Malingo were my favorite. Actually, I liked them all! I even liked the backstory to the villain. Like it was suppose to give you some sort of understanding and maybe some sympathy but at the same time, you're still like oh my gosh this dude is psychooooo.
Candy really grew on me. At first, I was super confused how old she was and a bit clueless on what she looked like. Not to mention, she didn't really come off as anything that would stick out to me at the beginning. Once she was in Abarat and away from terrible little Chickentown, I knew I'd like her. There was one part when she was running away from some little creatures and she was tempted to turn around and tell them to shut up. I think that was one of my favorite Candy part of the book.
There's some moments where the book is a little dark. The author actually writes horror movies! But I didn't think they were anything that would scare someone away from a book. The villains were creepy, Candy's home life was horrid, and the way some creatures were treated was cruel. Then again, I'm always up for a good scary movie!
Everyone seems to be comparing this book to Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Seuss, and the Wizard of Oz. I guess I can see that. It's definitely a quirky, interesting new world like most of those books. I'd recommend this book to people who loved new worlds, a bit of a darker side, or little quirky things.
I'm probably not going to get the second book until I'm home for the summer, ( sad face ) but I'm super excited to get it! I can't wait to see how everything's tied together with each other.
Thanks for reading. :)
I picked this book for the "book with an ugly cover" (sorry Mr. Barker!) prompt for this year's reading challenge. This definitely proves the old saying of "never judge a book by its cover"! Inside this unusual cover is one of the best, most unique fantasy novels I have read!
Candy Quackenbush lives in Chickentown, Minnesota. As Candy is wishing she could escape her town, she meets John Mischief and his 7 brothers that are all named John...and live on John Mischief's antlers. From that moment Candy's life will never be the same, or dull, as she is taken by a huge wave into The Abarat. The Abarat is an archipelago of 25 islands, one for every hour of the day and a mysterious 25th island. Here, Candy will go on an unimaginable adventure.
Clive Barker is a true master at bringing The Abarat to life. You feel as though you've been immersed into this unique fantasy world where every island and its inhabitants are different.
At one point, I felt like The Abarat was a mix of The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Harry Potter. But honestly, it really isn't...it is a fantasy/magical creation that cannot be compared to anything else. Don't let the cover dissuade you from reading The Abarat otherwise you will miss one of the best fantasy books ever written!
Candy Quackenbush lives in Chickentown, Minnesota. As Candy is wishing she could escape her town, she meets John Mischief and his 7 brothers that are all named John...and live on John Mischief's antlers. From that moment Candy's life will never be the same, or dull, as she is taken by a huge wave into The Abarat. The Abarat is an archipelago of 25 islands, one for every hour of the day and a mysterious 25th island. Here, Candy will go on an unimaginable adventure.
Clive Barker is a true master at bringing The Abarat to life. You feel as though you've been immersed into this unique fantasy world where every island and its inhabitants are different.
At one point, I felt like The Abarat was a mix of The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Harry Potter. But honestly, it really isn't...it is a fantasy/magical creation that cannot be compared to anything else. Don't let the cover dissuade you from reading The Abarat otherwise you will miss one of the best fantasy books ever written!
Reread of a middle school favorite, still holds up! A really fun story that plays with time and space and the collapse between the two.
Clive Barker’s imagination is powerful and it’s fascinating to live in his world for a while. One of my genre hang-ups is fantastical worlds that have American/Western constructions of policing, bondage, and enslavement, and Abarat suffers from this, but is otherwise expansive and illuminating about our world, the Hereafter. I can tell that it’s also socially dated in this way.
Additionally, I feel a little jolted by all these men’s deep and somewhat inappropriate affinity and affection for young Candy, but I appreciate her relationships. I wish she had more with women, all the women characters seem a bit otherworldly and/or withholding for now.
On to book two!
Clive Barker’s imagination is powerful and it’s fascinating to live in his world for a while. One of my genre hang-ups is fantastical worlds that have American/Western constructions of policing, bondage, and enslavement, and Abarat suffers from this, but is otherwise expansive and illuminating about our world, the Hereafter. I can tell that it’s also socially dated in this way.
Additionally, I feel a little jolted by all these men’s deep and somewhat inappropriate affinity and affection for young Candy, but I appreciate her relationships. I wish she had more with women, all the women characters seem a bit otherworldly and/or withholding for now.
On to book two!