A review by araeofbooks
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

 “My dear young fellow,” the Old-Green-Grasshopper said gently, “there are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven't even started wondering about yet.”

I have found memories of this book. My 2nd grade teacher read a few chapters to my class daily after lunch and recess to transition back into the classroom. I have to admit that other than remembering there was a giant peach and an adventure involved, I had no specific memory, just a general fond nostalgia. 

The book started off a lot darker than I remembered. The beginning, specifically, has blatant child abuse, which is kind of played off casually, and then the death of those abusers as they’re crushed to death by the giant peach. After that, however, the joy and adventure and friendship of this book took over and it was a delight to read. I can imagine myself as a 2nd grader really loving the fantastical elements of this book and, honestly, I really enjoyed them as an adult too. 
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