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A review by ashleylm
Found by Sarah Prineas
3.0
The subsequent books, while pleasant enough, have not lived up to my enjoyment of the first one. And I think I've figured out why. Book #1 featured a plucky protagonist who, against all odds, succeeded. And when I reach for a kid's fantasy book, that's sort of what I'm in the mood for. If I want Crime and Punishment or something by Nadine Gordimer, I'm old enough to opt for those ... but I didn't, I'm hoping for cosy/charming/pleasant/easy/gripping/delightful etc.
Books 2 and 3 have the protagonist failing and losing and fighting and struggling and drifting and hiding ... he very rarely succeeds at anything, and it's ultimately depressing, even if he ultimately succeeds at the most important thing. Perhaps that makes this book weighty or important, and I'm just not in the mood to appreciate it, but I don't think so (I can think of other children's books that took a darker, sadder turn, and while I was surprised, I felt it worked). These books feel too slight to support importance--they want to be delightful fun page-turners, and they're not hewing to their paths!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
Books 2 and 3 have the protagonist failing and losing and fighting and struggling and drifting and hiding ... he very rarely succeeds at anything, and it's ultimately depressing, even if he ultimately succeeds at the most important thing. Perhaps that makes this book weighty or important, and I'm just not in the mood to appreciate it, but I don't think so (I can think of other children's books that took a darker, sadder turn, and while I was surprised, I felt it worked). These books feel too slight to support importance--they want to be delightful fun page-turners, and they're not hewing to their paths!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).