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ruthypoo2 's review for:
The Stars Did Wander Darkling
by Colin Meloy
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a very mature and complex story that includes a dark them throughout. It’s really well written and while I loved much of the nostalgia and classics interspersed with the storyline, I think a lot of it could go over the heads of middle grade, young adult, and adults too. But hey, why not incorporate lines and themes from some renowned authors of a previous era. We have this thing called the internet and people can go look up words and phrases that they don’t understand, as well as writers referenced by the author.
I enjoyed the camaraderie of the 8th grade friends featured in the story, and their interactions amongst themselves and their families felt authentic in that relationships are often fraught and messy at times. There’s a large cast of characters, but it was easy enough for me to follow who’s who. Loved the Oregon coast setting, which if you’ve visited, you know can be a both an intensely beautiful and spooky locale at the same time.
The first half of the story moved at a leisurely pace, but the action really picked up about halfway in, and then again in the last 20% of the story. There’s a social message within the story, and it’s punched home in the last few chapters, but it never reaches the level of overtaking the primary foundation of the story: coming of age and joining your friends to protect the family and community you love against some hard to comprehend supernatural forces.
I enjoyed the camaraderie of the 8th grade friends featured in the story, and their interactions amongst themselves and their families felt authentic in that relationships are often fraught and messy at times. There’s a large cast of characters, but it was easy enough for me to follow who’s who. Loved the Oregon coast setting, which if you’ve visited, you know can be a both an intensely beautiful and spooky locale at the same time.
The first half of the story moved at a leisurely pace, but the action really picked up about halfway in, and then again in the last 20% of the story. There’s a social message within the story, and it’s punched home in the last few chapters, but it never reaches the level of overtaking the primary foundation of the story: coming of age and joining your friends to protect the family and community you love against some hard to comprehend supernatural forces.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder