A review by ahakuutti
City of Stars by Mary Hoffman

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Re-reading my childhood books. Really nice reading experience but falls bit short from the emotional end and has bunch of show don't tell. The main character doesn't really do much and the book would have gained a lot for having a stronger mc with more agency. The overall story and plot was fun and heartfelt in some places but this bookseries' magic system def needed some more work than just abstract "strong mysterious powers" and travel between worlds.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism

Falco's disability has the usual "My life as a disabled kid is hell and my future is bleak thus i shall kill myself". Although he does this to teleport to another world to get his legs healed but it does still kinda overlap with the trope that a life as a disabled person is awful. Not the most explicit or egregious version of it but I won't doubt if some would find it slightly offputting.