Scan barcode
A review by mariahistryingtoread
The Umbrella Maker's Son by Katrina Leno
4.0
If you're a fan of whimsy you'll enjoy the Umbrella Maker’s Son (probably).
There's a certain airy and fanciful way that this is written that appeals to me. It's like adjacent to a fairytale kind of writing or maybe more modern fairytale kind of writing. Like Roald Dahl or Lewis Carroll or a female author that I can't think of right now.
The world feels so fun and open because it's so well developed. Katrina Leno was clearly passionate about the universe she created; it's dripping off of every page. Despite not visiting a lot of Roan I still felt like I understood how the place operated as a functioning society, which is no small feat. I love reading a book that was a labor of such obvious love.
Oscar Buckle was a lovely young man easy to root for.
His best friend Saige was fantastic representation. She was in a wheelchair and accommodating her was an active part of the story which was so cool. I've never read a middle grade fantasy like this that used disability in this manner so major kudos to Leno. It wasn't her whole personality, but it was a distinct part of her identity. It made her feel like a fully actualized person, not only a character.
That said as evidenced by Oscar getting one sentence and Saige a paragraph, Oscar was not as dynamic a character as Saige. Saige got the more major character beats, Saige was the one who actually used her brain to figure things out (as opposed to Oscar who often just got lucky enough to stumble onto something), Saige was the industrious go-getter and Saige had the father who was actively involved in the evil weather shenanigans. It honestly felt like somewhere late in the game the book had to be reworked to sell Oscar as the lead for whatever reason. I liked him fine, and I liked Saige about the same amount; it's just the principle of the thing. It was odd how much background depth she had comparatively.
The mystery is fairly simplistic when all is said and done. It essentially amounts to ‘go to this one location’. There aren’t any puzzles or riddles. It’s not a mystery adventure. It’s mystery in the most passive definition of the word.
A genuinely entertaining romp I recommend with no malice on my heart.
There's a certain airy and fanciful way that this is written that appeals to me. It's like adjacent to a fairytale kind of writing or maybe more modern fairytale kind of writing. Like Roald Dahl or Lewis Carroll or a female author that I can't think of right now.
The world feels so fun and open because it's so well developed. Katrina Leno was clearly passionate about the universe she created; it's dripping off of every page. Despite not visiting a lot of Roan I still felt like I understood how the place operated as a functioning society, which is no small feat. I love reading a book that was a labor of such obvious love.
Oscar Buckle was a lovely young man easy to root for.
His best friend Saige was fantastic representation. She was in a wheelchair and accommodating her was an active part of the story which was so cool. I've never read a middle grade fantasy like this that used disability in this manner so major kudos to Leno. It wasn't her whole personality, but it was a distinct part of her identity. It made her feel like a fully actualized person, not only a character.
That said as evidenced by Oscar getting one sentence and Saige a paragraph, Oscar was not as dynamic a character as Saige. Saige got the more major character beats, Saige was the one who actually used her brain to figure things out (as opposed to Oscar who often just got lucky enough to stumble onto something), Saige was the industrious go-getter and Saige had the father who was actively involved in the evil weather shenanigans. It honestly felt like somewhere late in the game the book had to be reworked to sell Oscar as the lead for whatever reason. I liked him fine, and I liked Saige about the same amount; it's just the principle of the thing. It was odd how much background depth she had comparatively.
The mystery is fairly simplistic when all is said and done. It essentially amounts to ‘go to this one location’. There aren’t any puzzles or riddles. It’s not a mystery adventure. It’s mystery in the most passive definition of the word.
A genuinely entertaining romp I recommend with no malice on my heart.