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A review by kovost
The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken
4.0
I did originally rate this three stars, but the longer I sat on it, the more I realized how much I enjoyed it and it’s probably a solid 3.5 stars so I felt like it was fair to round it up to four stars.
Here’s the funny story about why I read this book: I apparently (despite not remembering this at all) requested the second book on NetGalley. This still confuses me because I’m always incredibly vigilant in making sure that I don’t request sequels so I don’t end up with a book that makes no sense to me and then a heavy obligation to read the first book, which could easily end up being a book that I don’t like, never mind care enough to read the sequel. So I’m always very careful and read the details, but? I apparently did not with The Last Life of Prince Alastor?
So it came full circle and I felt obligated to read the first book because it’s not like I could read the second without it and I wasn’t about to leave it to expire on my NetGalley when I have such a stubborn pride.
And I don’t regret it, at all.
Twelve-year-old Prosper (short for Prosperity, I’m not kidding) Redding comes from a long line of rich folk, much to his dismay considering the type of people the Reddings are and Prosper has had many of cruel comments thrown his way for it. Turns out, as there always is, there’s a history to how the Redding family came to be what it is today and unfortunately, Prosper suffers the consequences more than anyone else because he’s bound to a demon, Alastor. And Alastor has a grudge against the Redding family after having a betraying experience with the man that created the Redding family face over two hundred years ago.
Then Prosper is rescued by his estranged uncle, Barnabas, and his daughter, Nell, and hidden away in Salem—as in Massachusetts—where he goes to school to keep up the front as they try to figure out how to get Alastor out of Prosper before his thirteenth birthday; before Alastor has the power to actually take down the Redding family finally.
The only way to get him out is to either do a questionable spell that involves a lot of questionable things that isn’t easy to get your hands on or make a contract with Alastor—which Prosper refuses to do because he refuses to be like his family. So you can see how his options are limited and it makes for a wild ride.
I loved Prosper as a narrator because he has the amusing wit of a kid that’s just absolutely done with everything and has clearly dealt with a lot in his short amount of time on this planet. His reluctance to be greedy and superficial like his family keeps him down-to-earth and easy to sympathize with. He’s the kid that’s expected to be many things but is simultaneously none of them and outside of what’s deemed ‘normal’ by his peers as well, which draws a lot of attention and as a twelve-year-old, that’s hard to deal with—especially when his twin sister seems to be the exact opposite. It makes for a lot of insecurities and coping mechanisms, which show in Prosper.
I also loved Alastor, who does double a little bit as a narrator technically (and I mean, he lives inside of Prosper so technically), because he’s inadvertently hilarious in his dramatics with his old English and dry comments about humankind as he tries to navigate the modern world in his revenge fantasy goals.
And the atmosphere of this book is an autumn dream.
It made me feel nostalgic for a place and time I had never actually been in myself. I wanted to pack my stuff and travel to Salem like that was an actually acceptable thing to do because I wanted to feel autumn and Halloween the same way. I wanted the golden light and the crisp air and the falling leaves and the pumpkins and the smell of maple and the Halloween decorations and the history. This book honestly made me miss somewhere I had never been in my life. (Though it’s probably a good thing because I’m 100% sure that if you took me to Salem, especially during the fall/Halloween time, you would never get me home. I would actually pack all my belongings and live in a giant pumpkin like Halloweentown’s and drink an overabundance of hot chocolate and make a bed of dead leaves, so.)
The plot is fun and entertaining, as well, as Prosper adjusts to a completely different life that introduces him to a world he never knew existed while trying to figure out how to save both himself and his family. It does have a little bit of a tendency to drag out in a way that felt like Bracken was just trying to fill some holes, but not so bad that it gets dull or tedious because things move quickly and the writing style is very enjoyable.
I would absolutely recommend this if you want a quick and amusing read during the autumn/Halloween period. It feeds into all my witchy, supernatural, golden leaves ideals for the season and then some.
Here’s the funny story about why I read this book: I apparently (despite not remembering this at all) requested the second book on NetGalley. This still confuses me because I’m always incredibly vigilant in making sure that I don’t request sequels so I don’t end up with a book that makes no sense to me and then a heavy obligation to read the first book, which could easily end up being a book that I don’t like, never mind care enough to read the sequel. So I’m always very careful and read the details, but? I apparently did not with The Last Life of Prince Alastor?
So it came full circle and I felt obligated to read the first book because it’s not like I could read the second without it and I wasn’t about to leave it to expire on my NetGalley when I have such a stubborn pride.
And I don’t regret it, at all.
Twelve-year-old Prosper (short for Prosperity, I’m not kidding) Redding comes from a long line of rich folk, much to his dismay considering the type of people the Reddings are and Prosper has had many of cruel comments thrown his way for it. Turns out, as there always is, there’s a history to how the Redding family came to be what it is today and unfortunately, Prosper suffers the consequences more than anyone else because he’s bound to a demon, Alastor. And Alastor has a grudge against the Redding family after having a betraying experience with the man that created the Redding family face over two hundred years ago.
Then Prosper is rescued by his estranged uncle, Barnabas, and his daughter, Nell, and hidden away in Salem—as in Massachusetts—where he goes to school to keep up the front as they try to figure out how to get Alastor out of Prosper before his thirteenth birthday; before Alastor has the power to actually take down the Redding family finally.
The only way to get him out is to either do a questionable spell that involves a lot of questionable things that isn’t easy to get your hands on or make a contract with Alastor—which Prosper refuses to do because he refuses to be like his family. So you can see how his options are limited and it makes for a wild ride.
I loved Prosper as a narrator because he has the amusing wit of a kid that’s just absolutely done with everything and has clearly dealt with a lot in his short amount of time on this planet. His reluctance to be greedy and superficial like his family keeps him down-to-earth and easy to sympathize with. He’s the kid that’s expected to be many things but is simultaneously none of them and outside of what’s deemed ‘normal’ by his peers as well, which draws a lot of attention and as a twelve-year-old, that’s hard to deal with—especially when his twin sister seems to be the exact opposite. It makes for a lot of insecurities and coping mechanisms, which show in Prosper.
I also loved Alastor, who does double a little bit as a narrator technically (and I mean, he lives inside of Prosper so technically), because he’s inadvertently hilarious in his dramatics with his old English and dry comments about humankind as he tries to navigate the modern world in his revenge fantasy goals.
And the atmosphere of this book is an autumn dream.
It made me feel nostalgic for a place and time I had never actually been in myself. I wanted to pack my stuff and travel to Salem like that was an actually acceptable thing to do because I wanted to feel autumn and Halloween the same way. I wanted the golden light and the crisp air and the falling leaves and the pumpkins and the smell of maple and the Halloween decorations and the history. This book honestly made me miss somewhere I had never been in my life. (Though it’s probably a good thing because I’m 100% sure that if you took me to Salem, especially during the fall/Halloween time, you would never get me home. I would actually pack all my belongings and live in a giant pumpkin like Halloweentown’s and drink an overabundance of hot chocolate and make a bed of dead leaves, so.)
The plot is fun and entertaining, as well, as Prosper adjusts to a completely different life that introduces him to a world he never knew existed while trying to figure out how to save both himself and his family. It does have a little bit of a tendency to drag out in a way that felt like Bracken was just trying to fill some holes, but not so bad that it gets dull or tedious because things move quickly and the writing style is very enjoyable.
I would absolutely recommend this if you want a quick and amusing read during the autumn/Halloween period. It feeds into all my witchy, supernatural, golden leaves ideals for the season and then some.