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bethhthelibrarian 's review for:
The Crowns of Croswald
by D.E. Night
Thank you to the publisher, Stories Untold, for bringing this delightful book to my attention. I think it has a place right alongside Harry Potter and Nevermoor (by Jessica Townsend). This book will also especially appeal to fans of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, since the magical creatures in this book are so well imagined and described.
The Crowns of Croswald tells the story of Ivy and her adventures in this fantasy world's magical school, the Halls of Ivy. I really enjoyed how every student had some kind of different magic, and how their incredibly patient teachers taught them to control this magic. As Ivy learns of her magic, and through her classes, she discovers a scrivenist, with magic similar to her own, who is being forgotten to history. Ivy discovers that there is more to this than she realizes and she is the only one who can use her magic to uncover the truth.
The setting of this book was incredibly magical. I found myself wanting to spend time in the Halls of Ivy, wandering around the beautiful classrooms and especially the library. Oh, that library. What I would give to hang out in that library! I loved reading about Ivy's classes and friends, especially Rebecca and little Humboldt.
The only thing I didn't love about this book was the prologue, but I'm glad I got past it, because once I did the book got much better. I loved how fast paced this book was, and would be absolutely perfect for those reluctant readers. Though the book was told from 16-year-old Ivy's perspective, the book is written at a middle grade level, and has the innocence of a middle grade novel. This works for those higher middle grade readers, as well as teens who want to read about a teen, but may not want the more mature content or reading levels of other YA novels. There is definitely a place for this book among library shelves, both in the middle grade and YA sections.
The Crowns of Croswald tells the story of Ivy and her adventures in this fantasy world's magical school, the Halls of Ivy. I really enjoyed how every student had some kind of different magic, and how their incredibly patient teachers taught them to control this magic. As Ivy learns of her magic, and through her classes, she discovers a scrivenist, with magic similar to her own, who is being forgotten to history. Ivy discovers that there is more to this than she realizes and she is the only one who can use her magic to uncover the truth.
The setting of this book was incredibly magical. I found myself wanting to spend time in the Halls of Ivy, wandering around the beautiful classrooms and especially the library. Oh, that library. What I would give to hang out in that library! I loved reading about Ivy's classes and friends, especially Rebecca and little Humboldt.
The only thing I didn't love about this book was the prologue, but I'm glad I got past it, because once I did the book got much better. I loved how fast paced this book was, and would be absolutely perfect for those reluctant readers. Though the book was told from 16-year-old Ivy's perspective, the book is written at a middle grade level, and has the innocence of a middle grade novel. This works for those higher middle grade readers, as well as teens who want to read about a teen, but may not want the more mature content or reading levels of other YA novels. There is definitely a place for this book among library shelves, both in the middle grade and YA sections.