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A review by ginabbina
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
5.0
I am continuing my Chrestomanci audiobook phase with the first book, chronologically. This one is Chrestomanci's origin story. I read this as a kid and I guess I never reread it because I couldn't remember most of the plot. I'm pretty sure I finished it (I think?) I remember some of the final battle. But one of the main abilities he has, to visit parallel worlds in his dreams, and bring back items, struck me so much as a kid. I drift into daydreaming about this ability pretty frequently as an adult. It's a fairly basic "what if a magic kid could do this" but I found it (find it) absolutely fantastical in the best way.
The book is well written and the worlds are so lively and vivid. I also remembered his big magic-allergy reveal, and it was sprinkled into the early part of the book in a good way. I like the one of the personal growth things at the end (very very mild spoilers but I'll hide it anyway)Christopher is really angry at his situation, and somebody yells at him saying he's unpleasant, and he's like "who, me? the kid who spends all day brooding?", then he tries to be nice to others, and is shocked to discover people are more pleasant to him, and decides being nice to people is a good thing.
If parents are reading along with kids, it would be good prompting for a discussion about who's a villain, and why. Like in the other Chrestomanci books, the adults are sometimes detrimental to kids and the kids don't always notice.
Same note as before: this is part of a series but the reading order doesn't matter.
I recommend to middle grade kids who are becoming interested in fantasy, and maybe would be a subtle nudge for kids who becoming angry teenagers and need something nice.
The book is well written and the worlds are so lively and vivid. I also remembered his big magic-allergy reveal, and it was sprinkled into the early part of the book in a good way. I like the one of the personal growth things at the end (very very mild spoilers but I'll hide it anyway)
Spoiler
If parents are reading along with kids, it would be good prompting for a discussion about who's a villain, and why. Like in the other Chrestomanci books, the adults are sometimes detrimental to kids and the kids don't always notice.
Same note as before: this is part of a series but the reading order doesn't matter.
I recommend to middle grade kids who are becoming interested in fantasy, and maybe would be a subtle nudge for kids who becoming angry teenagers and need something nice.