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A review by sisteray
Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
4.0
This is a lovely kids book that embraces its unreal qualities. While there certainly is joy and some frivolity to the tone, the book is immersed in a forlorn miasma. The world is callous, life is cheap, and the majority of characters are vindictive and driven by self interest (either financially or by bizarre principal). Even the main characters are a bit snippy and cold. Not surprisingly, when any character does anything in kindness the others are taken aback by the contrast to standard behavior.
The book at times feels at odds with itself as there is a Benny Hill chase that escalates, as the kids absorb OTT side-characters in their wake. At the climax, the whole thing feels like a classic 60s comedy, whose burgeoning characters arrive to pack the finale. The explosive convergence of everyone's whacked-out motivations shows strange in sharp contrast to the setting that has devolved into a bleak Dickensian squalor. But, it does actually come as some relief to lighten the overall tone.
All and all, in embracing its quirks, the writing proves lovely and has all the chops to match any classic children's book.
The book at times feels at odds with itself as there is a Benny Hill chase that escalates, as the kids absorb OTT side-characters in their wake. At the climax, the whole thing feels like a classic 60s comedy, whose burgeoning characters arrive to pack the finale. The explosive convergence of everyone's whacked-out motivations shows strange in sharp contrast to the setting that has devolved into a bleak Dickensian squalor. But, it does actually come as some relief to lighten the overall tone.
All and all, in embracing its quirks, the writing proves lovely and has all the chops to match any classic children's book.