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lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tl;dr: Good for fans of fast-paced adventure about kids on the run, and Jonathan Stroud's world building. I tentatively await the next installment in the series.
About:
Scarlett is a young outlaw who's good at robbing banks and getting into trouble with the wrong kind of people. Albert is a mysterious boy who seems both absolutely naive and incredibly dangerous at the same time. When Albert asks Scarlett to keep him safe on an escort mission, she agrees. Which is apparently a bad choice, since he's on the run from some decidedly dangerous people.
What I Liked:
I'm always hesitant when it comes to "feisty" female characters because there's so much potential for them to make severely bad choices. However, I'm happy to say that Scarlett is a very well-balanced, well-written character with a lot of very thoughtful layers and complexity. We don't get much of her history in this book, but she was easily the core of the story for me. As with Stroud's other writing, there is some incredibly thorough world building that unfolds at a very natural pace. This one takes place in a sort of post-apocalyptic world where the cities we live in now have fallen and been rebuilt. There's a very lonely quality to the landscape in the wilderness portions that spark the imagination. Several scenes involving the Taintedzombies were very scary, which is a bonus for me.
What Wasn't for Me:
Albert was difficult to warm up to at first. I think I struggled to really understand his character, and I found his naiveté made me feel Scarlett's frustration on several occasions. I can understand why he'd want to keep his own history a secret, but his refusal to at least give Scarlett a reasonable warning that authorities were after him felt pretty reckless, and did not endear me to him. Surprisingly little bank robbery for a story about a bank robber. With only one real bank robbery for the readers to witness, and that one sloppy at best, it's hard for me to really picture Scarlett as the infamous outlaw that the text claims she is. I still love her, but the description of the book made me expect more heist shenanigans. The description of the second book does seem to imply there will be more, though. The shift in tone for the ending was a surprise, and reminded me quite a bit of the final book in A Series of Unfortunate Events in terms of subverting expectations.
About:
Scarlett is a young outlaw who's good at robbing banks and getting into trouble with the wrong kind of people. Albert is a mysterious boy who seems both absolutely naive and incredibly dangerous at the same time. When Albert asks Scarlett to keep him safe on an escort mission, she agrees. Which is apparently a bad choice, since he's on the run from some decidedly dangerous people.
What I Liked:
I'm always hesitant when it comes to "feisty" female characters because there's so much potential for them to make severely bad choices. However, I'm happy to say that Scarlett is a very well-balanced, well-written character with a lot of very thoughtful layers and complexity. We don't get much of her history in this book, but she was easily the core of the story for me. As with Stroud's other writing, there is some incredibly thorough world building that unfolds at a very natural pace. This one takes place in a sort of post-apocalyptic world where the cities we live in now have fallen and been rebuilt. There's a very lonely quality to the landscape in the wilderness portions that spark the imagination. Several scenes involving the Tainted
What Wasn't for Me:
Albert was difficult to warm up to at first. I think I struggled to really understand his character, and I found his naiveté made me feel Scarlett's frustration on several occasions. I can understand why he'd want to keep his own history a secret, but his refusal to at least give Scarlett a reasonable warning that authorities were after him felt pretty reckless, and did not endear me to him. Surprisingly little bank robbery for a story about a bank robber. With only one real bank robbery for the readers to witness, and that one sloppy at best, it's hard for me to really picture Scarlett as the infamous outlaw that the text claims she is. I still love her, but the description of the book made me expect more heist shenanigans. The description of the second book does seem to imply there will be more, though. The shift in tone for the ending was a surprise, and reminded me quite a bit of the final book in A Series of Unfortunate Events in terms of subverting expectations.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Cannibalism, and Religious bigotry