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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Good idea, painfully written prose. I had to drag myself through this book, which I really wanted to enjoy. I did enjoy that one of the minor characters was deaf; it was not to see that inclusion, especially because the fact that he was deaf wasn't crucial to the story.
First, my copy's cover is WAY cooler than the cover GR and Shelfari have as their default.
Second, I'm not the target audience for this book. I read it because I love Barrowman and I have a 10yo daughter. I sometimes read stuff with her in mind or that she recommends to me. I think she will LOVE this one. It reminds me a lot of the first Kane Chronicles book. I didn't love that one either, but my daughter tore threw them at the end of the last school year. So I hope she likes this one every bit as much as I think she will.
Second, I'm not the target audience for this book. I read it because I love Barrowman and I have a 10yo daughter. I sometimes read stuff with her in mind or that she recommends to me. I think she will LOVE this one. It reminds me a lot of the first Kane Chronicles book. I didn't love that one either, but my daughter tore threw them at the end of the last school year. So I hope she likes this one every bit as much as I think she will.
The book started a bit slow, but I think in a way that is needed to introduce the charas. But in the end it is catching and gripping, you don't want to set it down until you finished the last page.
Yeah. I'm one of those people that read the book because of 'Captain Jack' himself. The book was okay. It wasn't bad by any means and some parts had me on the edge of my seat, but I feel like it was what I was expecting and didn't have a lot of surprise twists and turns. Like I said, that's not to say it was a bad story, because it isn't. I've just seen it all before. I would still recommend this book to people that might find it interesting. Everyone is different and I see a lot of people loved it =). 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The more I thought about this book, the less I liked it. I zipped along reading it, it was a fairly enjoyable fantasy whatever (but with random flashbacks to Two Monks Inventing Things) but then when I thought about it/tried to record a podcast about it, I realized that none of it really makes sense or holds together, like, at all?? Possibly some of these issues are resolved later in the trilogy, but I definitely don't care enough to read them.
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-45-hollow-earth/
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-45-hollow-earth/
I have never seen Doctor Who so that doesn't influence my opinion at all for better or worse. I thought the whole concept of the Hollow Earth Society and animare who can animate drawings was pretty original and interesting. I liked the plot and thought it was a good fantasy book with enough mystery and action to keep it going. The only thing I really couldn't stand was how the authors wrote the characters. Jumping around to everyone's perspective made it disjointed and the kids were naive and annoying. The subject is a tad dark and probably best for middle school but Matt and Em are straight out of Leave It to Beaver. I don't know that they would be super relatable to middle school kids. They also whine way to much. So in summary- interesting plot but mediocre characters. However, I liked it enough to buy the second book.
I didn't really know what to expect from Hollow Earth because I wasn't inform what the book was about, but I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it! The two protagonists are so charming, I loved them both. In addition, the plot was so enchanting, so different than other children books I have had before. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy. I'm so glad to win it in a goodreads giveaway, I'm excited to,pick up the next book in the series.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think if I’d read this when I was 8 and not 28, I would have fallen in love with it. It’s fun and exciting and magical.
But it is very middle grade. And not the kind of amazing middle grade that can be loved by all ages. It’s…childish. Lazily written feels more accurate, but I don’t want to sound like I think all middle grade is written like that.
The world building was fairly nonexistent. Things would be partially explained, then something would happen that completely undid the partial explanation. The twins powers and the extent of them was still a major unknown by the end. I still don’t quite understand how ANY of their powers work, if there’s rules, what they’re bound by, etc. It just kind of felt like the authors were making it up as they went, changing these kids abilities to get them out of whatever situation they were in.
The plot was engaging but there were plenty of holes to pick at along the way.
I liked the inclusion of a Deaf character it felt poorly handled and barely considered. These new kids were introduced to him and within weeks they were communicating fluently in sign language? It was just, once again, lazy.
I won’t be continuing reading this series, but I think young readers would really enjoy it.
I've read so many books narrated from a limited third person point of view that the omniscient narrator took some getting used to.
The premise is great, and I loved that so many works of art are mentioned in the novel; hopefully, they will entice young readers to explore art.
The premise is great, and I loved that so many works of art are mentioned in the novel; hopefully, they will entice young readers to explore art.