Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Imaginative and surreal, this book somehow failed to capture my interest.
I am impressed by the imagination and originality of the characters and writing, but I definitely grew bored with the constant "close call" situations that the heroine found herself in. Since this is the first book in the series, it is densely filled with character descriptions and background. I felt like this completely overshadowed the plot, and I don't have an aching desire to move right on to the next book.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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:
N/A
There's really nothing else like this book. I'm so grateful to the Abarat series for fostering within me my wild creativity and love of adventure. I think about Candy Quackenbush and her adventures in the clever, vibrant, magical world of the Abarat all the time. One of my favorite books ever.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror
Couldn't get into this story. Just not for me. That said, it's well-written and in no way "bad", so it still gets four stars from me.
Sejak dulu sudah kepingin baca Abarat, sayang bukunya sudah mulai langka. Saat coba-coba baca ebooknya sedikit, eh sepertinya seru banget. Coba-coba baca review teman-teman, ada dapat info kalau bukunya ternyata ada ilustrasinya, berwarna-warni pula. Haduh jadi makin kepingin.
Dan, walaupun harus menderita ongkir yang sangat mahal, syukurlah akhirnya saya punya Abarat juga. Ternyata bukunya cantik sekali. Langsung deh dibaca.
So, dari blurb-nya, sudah terbayang kan ya ceritanya seperti apa. Seperti kebanyakan kisah fantasi lainnya, pahlawan kita di buku ini juga masuk ke sebuah dunia lain. Cuma cara masuknya saja yang beda-beda. Kalau Candy, masuknya lewat laut yang dikenal dengan nama Laut Izabella. Di dunia manusia normal, Candy hanyalah anak sekolahan biasa. Tapi di dunia Abarat, lain ceritanya.
Di buku pertama dari seri Abarat ini, bersama Candy, kita akan diajak mengenal dunia Abarat yang aneh, dengan pulau-pulau yang memiliki jamnya sendiri, dengan penghuni-penghuninya yang tak kalah anehnya, dengan masalah yang sedang terjadi di sana, dan sebagainya.
Meskipun baru tiba di Abarat, Candy berani sekali berkeliling sendiri. Sama sekali tidak takut melihat penampilan penduduk Abarat yang aneh dan cenderung seram kalau menurut saya. Candy tidak mengkhawatirkan masalah-masalah seperti dia nanti makan apa atau tidur di mana. Kalau saya, mungkin baru melihat John Mischief saja sudah pingsan duluan. Jadi pesan moral pertama yang saya tangkap, jangan menilai penduduk Abarat dari penampilannya, XD
Ngomong-ngomong, menurut saya, karakter kepahlawanan Candy mulai terlihat di buku pertama ini. Saya bahkan mulai curiga tentang siapa sebenarnya Candy. Jangan-jangan dia adalah ... . Oke, nanti saja. Sekarang buku kedua Abarat mulai memanggil-manggil untuk dibaca. Mumpung masih hari minggu, semoga bisa kelar membacanya hari ini.
At last, menurut saya, Abarat adalah tipe buku yang bisa meningkatkan minat baca, hanya dengan melihat judul dan covernya doang. Ceritanya juga asik, dengan syarat kalian yang membaca suka kisah fantasi yang penuh dengan makhluk-makhluk aneh di luar logika. Ilustasinya juga keren, walaupun rada seram. So, 4 dari 5 bintang untuk Abarat. I really liked it ('▽'ʃƪ) ♥
Dan, walaupun harus menderita ongkir yang sangat mahal, syukurlah akhirnya saya punya Abarat juga. Ternyata bukunya cantik sekali. Langsung deh dibaca.
So, dari blurb-nya, sudah terbayang kan ya ceritanya seperti apa. Seperti kebanyakan kisah fantasi lainnya, pahlawan kita di buku ini juga masuk ke sebuah dunia lain. Cuma cara masuknya saja yang beda-beda. Kalau Candy, masuknya lewat laut yang dikenal dengan nama Laut Izabella. Di dunia manusia normal, Candy hanyalah anak sekolahan biasa. Tapi di dunia Abarat, lain ceritanya.
Di buku pertama dari seri Abarat ini, bersama Candy, kita akan diajak mengenal dunia Abarat yang aneh, dengan pulau-pulau yang memiliki jamnya sendiri, dengan penghuni-penghuninya yang tak kalah anehnya, dengan masalah yang sedang terjadi di sana, dan sebagainya.
Meskipun baru tiba di Abarat, Candy berani sekali berkeliling sendiri. Sama sekali tidak takut melihat penampilan penduduk Abarat yang aneh dan cenderung seram kalau menurut saya. Candy tidak mengkhawatirkan masalah-masalah seperti dia nanti makan apa atau tidur di mana. Kalau saya, mungkin baru melihat John Mischief saja sudah pingsan duluan. Jadi pesan moral pertama yang saya tangkap, jangan menilai penduduk Abarat dari penampilannya, XD
Ngomong-ngomong, menurut saya, karakter kepahlawanan Candy mulai terlihat di buku pertama ini. Saya bahkan mulai curiga tentang siapa sebenarnya Candy. Jangan-jangan dia adalah ... . Oke, nanti saja. Sekarang buku kedua Abarat mulai memanggil-manggil untuk dibaca. Mumpung masih hari minggu, semoga bisa kelar membacanya hari ini.
At last, menurut saya, Abarat adalah tipe buku yang bisa meningkatkan minat baca, hanya dengan melihat judul dan covernya doang. Ceritanya juga asik, dengan syarat kalian yang membaca suka kisah fantasi yang penuh dengan makhluk-makhluk aneh di luar logika. Ilustasinya juga keren, walaupun rada seram. So, 4 dari 5 bintang untuk Abarat. I really liked it ('▽'ʃƪ) ♥
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
No
Candy lives in Chickentown, Minnesota with her harried mother and drunken father. Like any good heroine, she doesn't feel like she fits in with her small, boring town. She doesn't have friends, her teachers dislike her, and her father's abusive. It's not until Candy learns about Henry Murkitt's suicide that things really begin getting interesting.
Candy decides to write about Henry Murkitt in her school report on Chickentown. She writes about the bloodstains on the hotel walls, the sextant in the drawer, and his death. Unfortunately, the teacher isn't amused by what she considers gossip and hearsay. The teacher berates Candy in front of the entire class and sends her to the principle's office. Candy doesn't go to the principal's office. Instead, she walks right out of school, right through the streets of Chickentown, and right out of the town.
She walks and walks until she comes to a curious place on the plains. There, she finds seashells and ship's wreckage and even a lighthouse. These things definitely do not belong in the middle of Minnesota. Her surprise at her discover is quickly eclispsed by the arrival of John Mischief, his eight brothers (all of whom are faces on the antlers on Mischief's head), and the creature that is hunting them. Candy gets caught up in the business between these strange creatures. To save John, she lights the lighthouse and brings the Izabella down on Minnesota. The Izabella sweeps her out to sea and into the otherworld of Abarat.
Somehow, Abarat manages to be weirder than both Alice in Wonderland and the Oz books. I don't know how Clive Barker came up with some of the creatures in this book, but they seem to be inspired by those incomprehensible pictures that preschoolers draw. There's people with roving features, heads on antlers, and strange mechanical additions. Some of it really creeped me out, and, normally, I don't even mind weird. This was a little too much for me. I probably wouldn't have even bothered finishing it if I had known that it wasn't a stand alone book. I mean, I knew it was one in a series, but I thought some of the plotlines might be wrapped up by the end. No such luck. Of course, I am in no way tempted to pick up the next in the series. The plot and the characters were just too overshadowed by all the oddness.
The plot, such as it was, was decent. It's nothing I haven't read before, but the strangeness, at least, made it somewhat original. (Of course, for me, this wasn't really a selling point.) I, however, was disappointed by the deus ex machina ending. I would have liked Candy to get herself out of trouble a bit more. She had to rely a bit too much on the acts of others. Also, I would have liked for the villains to have more face time towards the end. Carrion completely dropped off the scene about halfway through the book. I really wish Candy could have gotten a look at him. As it was, the bit between the other villain, Rojo, and Candy made Rojo seem almost completely harmless. He wasn't nearly the brilliant, psychopath I expected him to be. I think the plot might have been a bit more enthralling if either Rojo or Carrion had been better presented and better written. A good antagonist might have made the weirdness worth it.
If you don't mind your fantasy strange, you might enjoy Abarat. As for me, I'd prefer to forget a lot of what I read in this book and reread Harry Potter or something equally lucid. (Those head antler things gave me the willies.)
Candy decides to write about Henry Murkitt in her school report on Chickentown. She writes about the bloodstains on the hotel walls, the sextant in the drawer, and his death. Unfortunately, the teacher isn't amused by what she considers gossip and hearsay. The teacher berates Candy in front of the entire class and sends her to the principle's office. Candy doesn't go to the principal's office. Instead, she walks right out of school, right through the streets of Chickentown, and right out of the town.
She walks and walks until she comes to a curious place on the plains. There, she finds seashells and ship's wreckage and even a lighthouse. These things definitely do not belong in the middle of Minnesota. Her surprise at her discover is quickly eclispsed by the arrival of John Mischief, his eight brothers (all of whom are faces on the antlers on Mischief's head), and the creature that is hunting them. Candy gets caught up in the business between these strange creatures. To save John, she lights the lighthouse and brings the Izabella down on Minnesota. The Izabella sweeps her out to sea and into the otherworld of Abarat.
Somehow, Abarat manages to be weirder than both Alice in Wonderland and the Oz books. I don't know how Clive Barker came up with some of the creatures in this book, but they seem to be inspired by those incomprehensible pictures that preschoolers draw. There's people with roving features, heads on antlers, and strange mechanical additions. Some of it really creeped me out, and, normally, I don't even mind weird. This was a little too much for me. I probably wouldn't have even bothered finishing it if I had known that it wasn't a stand alone book. I mean, I knew it was one in a series, but I thought some of the plotlines might be wrapped up by the end. No such luck. Of course, I am in no way tempted to pick up the next in the series. The plot and the characters were just too overshadowed by all the oddness.
The plot, such as it was, was decent. It's nothing I haven't read before, but the strangeness, at least, made it somewhat original. (Of course, for me, this wasn't really a selling point.) I, however, was disappointed by the deus ex machina ending. I would have liked Candy to get herself out of trouble a bit more. She had to rely a bit too much on the acts of others. Also, I would have liked for the villains to have more face time towards the end. Carrion completely dropped off the scene about halfway through the book. I really wish Candy could have gotten a look at him. As it was, the bit between the other villain, Rojo, and Candy made Rojo seem almost completely harmless. He wasn't nearly the brilliant, psychopath I expected him to be. I think the plot might have been a bit more enthralling if either Rojo or Carrion had been better presented and better written. A good antagonist might have made the weirdness worth it.
If you don't mind your fantasy strange, you might enjoy Abarat. As for me, I'd prefer to forget a lot of what I read in this book and reread Harry Potter or something equally lucid. (Those head antler things gave me the willies.)
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A whole new world! A tale to set your imagination on fire!