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A review by loopyjazz
They Threw Us Away by Daniel Kraus
3.0
I believe that a children's book should have magic in it. Not in the sense of wizards and witches, but a magic of transporting the reader to a world curiosity and wonder. There should be an innocence in the characters emotions. They should feel the same happiness and sadness, the same courage and despair, but without the lifetime of memories and emotional baggage that adults have developed. I think this book has magic, but it feels like it struggles and flickers.
There is a darkness to the book that feels too heavy for a children's book. If you read children's horror like goosebumps, there isn't much darkness, mostly just fun scares. This is more appropriate as a teen book, which is fine, it did throw my expectation out of whack considering the subject matter of teddy bears come to life.
I did like the story and the characters. The illustrations were enjoyable and I thought the descriptions by the author were magnificent. I loved the mental images of sour patch kid colored teddy bears running along amongst trash and busy highways. I could real feel the grime and mud caked on their soft fuzzy fur. It was mentally beautiful and so tactile.
I did wish it ended differently. I understand that this is part of the series and there is much more to their adventures. The ending just came so abruptly that it didn't feel like it should stand alone as it's own book. It was like someone tore out the rest of the book to make it multiple parts. I found that to be disappointing.
There is a darkness to the book that feels too heavy for a children's book. If you read children's horror like goosebumps, there isn't much darkness, mostly just fun scares. This is more appropriate as a teen book, which is fine, it did throw my expectation out of whack considering the subject matter of teddy bears come to life.
I did like the story and the characters. The illustrations were enjoyable and I thought the descriptions by the author were magnificent. I loved the mental images of sour patch kid colored teddy bears running along amongst trash and busy highways. I could real feel the grime and mud caked on their soft fuzzy fur. It was mentally beautiful and so tactile.
I did wish it ended differently. I understand that this is part of the series and there is much more to their adventures. The ending just came so abruptly that it didn't feel like it should stand alone as it's own book. It was like someone tore out the rest of the book to make it multiple parts. I found that to be disappointing.