Scan barcode
A review by scoutthepages
The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay
2.0
First, this book is my introduction to McKay's writing. Second, I read a lot of middle grade and LOVE the genre (I was a children's librarian). Third, I love magic and anything to do with it.
So, I have to start by saying that this book is not what I expected based on the cover/synopsis, so I was expecting something different when I picked this book up. Also, this is just my experience with this book and how I personally felt about it. I hope everyone who picks this book up has a chance to fall in love with it, as I hope for every book for every reader. Happy Reading!
trigger warnings: mentions of Harry Potter several times, loss of loved ones (in the past), mild fantasy violence, absent parents, heights, general fear and thrilling moments, large cats/animals, bullying, friendship troubles.
Let's start with the positives:
- The concept of magic around books and this old house is very intriguing and cool. The magic is why I finished this.
- The character Abi has a lot of growth by the end of the story.
- Some Representation: A main character is of Jamaican decent
Now the negatives:
- Needs more representation.
- The writing is very odd and not easy to digest. Written in third person omniscient but past tense. Almost like it's trying to sound like a fairytale, but I found it poorly done. Did not flow well at all. Some sentences are long winded and others fractured. I was constantly drawn out of the story by the poor writing and couldn't get into a reading flow.
- I think the MC is supposed to be Abi, but this story doesn't really focus on one character well enough to say that was executed well. I feel like Louis was more the MC. Also the switching to different characters mid-chapter was odd and jolting. None of the characters had good dialogue with one another and their depth was nothing spectacular.
- The pacing of this book is a huge miss for me. I didn't understand where this book was going and what it's purpose was plot-wise until 75% through. A lot of nothing happens until 3/4 of the way through. The most action packed scene is only a few pages long in the last 1/4 of the book and that is super disappointing. I wish McKay had put more magic into this book early on and really utilized the 240 pages to expand on it.
- Descriptions, sentences, and world building are super vague for no reason. I was confused by some parts as an adult, so I cannot imagine a child getting anything from this book. I would have read this book at 10/11yrs and forgotten it all immediately. It's like the writing is trying too hard to be whimsical and quirky that it just ends up being vague and convoluted.
- This book is more of a magical thriller for Middle Grade readers. It is a lot of kids being scared in an old dark house with a tiny dash of magic that never gets explained.
- This book is not well focused on the plot or a message. There are strong family themes, but the magic is shoved to the side (never explained), the plot around family never truly concludes (we don't see it), and the overall action plot is missing until the very last moment (isn't satisfying or given the time/explanation it deserves).
So, yeah. Overall, I don't have a burning hate for this book, but I am fairly disappointed. I expected more magic/world building and better writing from a book chosen by OwlCrate Jr. I would not recommend this to kids at my library, but I wouldn't judge someone for liking it. Just feel "meh" about it all at the end.
So, I have to start by saying that this book is not what I expected based on the cover/synopsis, so I was expecting something different when I picked this book up. Also, this is just my experience with this book and how I personally felt about it. I hope everyone who picks this book up has a chance to fall in love with it, as I hope for every book for every reader. Happy Reading!
trigger warnings: mentions of Harry Potter several times, loss of loved ones (in the past), mild fantasy violence, absent parents, heights, general fear and thrilling moments, large cats/animals, bullying, friendship troubles.
Let's start with the positives:
- The concept of magic around books and this old house is very intriguing and cool. The magic is why I finished this.
- The character Abi has a lot of growth by the end of the story.
- Some Representation: A main character is of Jamaican decent
Now the negatives:
- Needs more representation.
- The writing is very odd and not easy to digest. Written in third person omniscient but past tense. Almost like it's trying to sound like a fairytale, but I found it poorly done. Did not flow well at all. Some sentences are long winded and others fractured. I was constantly drawn out of the story by the poor writing and couldn't get into a reading flow.
- I think the MC is supposed to be Abi, but this story doesn't really focus on one character well enough to say that was executed well. I feel like Louis was more the MC. Also the switching to different characters mid-chapter was odd and jolting. None of the characters had good dialogue with one another and their depth was nothing spectacular.
- The pacing of this book is a huge miss for me. I didn't understand where this book was going and what it's purpose was plot-wise until 75% through. A lot of nothing happens until 3/4 of the way through.
Spoiler
The only interesting thing that happens is when they return Iffen and get sucked into the painting. That could have been stretched out and more towards the beginning to give this book plot.- Descriptions, sentences, and world building are super vague for no reason. I was confused by some parts as an adult, so I cannot imagine a child getting anything from this book. I would have read this book at 10/11yrs and forgotten it all immediately. It's like the writing is trying too hard to be whimsical and quirky that it just ends up being vague and convoluted.
- This book is more of a magical thriller for Middle Grade readers. It is a lot of kids being scared in an old dark house with a tiny dash of magic that never gets explained.
- This book is not well focused on the plot or a message. There are strong family themes, but the magic is shoved to the side (never explained), the plot around family never truly concludes (we don't see it), and the overall action plot is missing until the very last moment (isn't satisfying or given the time/explanation it deserves).
So, yeah. Overall, I don't have a burning hate for this book, but I am fairly disappointed. I expected more magic/world building and better writing from a book chosen by OwlCrate Jr. I would not recommend this to kids at my library, but I wouldn't judge someone for liking it. Just feel "meh" about it all at the end.