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carduelia_carduelis 's review for:
Ghosts of Greenglass House
by Kate Milford
I made my first trip to Greenglass House 5 years ago, over the winter break in my new apartment. That apartment was a converted attic, surrounded by leafy California oaks and I remember dragging a mattress to the tiny 2x8 square windows facing the trees and reading that book in the dappled light.
Greenglass House was magical and cosy, but it was also very entertaining centering around a whodunnit theft in a house of smugglers with everyone trapped by a snowstorm. And it had so much soul! The main character was a sensitive and anxious 12-year old called Milo. A boy of Chinese descent adopted into a white family, Milo simultaneously juggles growing questions about his heritage, guilt for wanting to discuss it with his adopted family, and solving the crime!
He does this with the help of a friend, Meddy, who introduces his to a D&D style role-playing game where he picks a character that has the conviction to overcome his anxieties and save the day. I thought it was a really smart way for Milo to explore his feelings with a bit of distance.
You may be wondering why I've spent so much time recapping Book 1, well.. it's because this book has the same plot. Switch out the smugglers for a band of pagan carol-singers, Milo's questions of heritage to that of inclusivity and tact, and.. that's about it, everything else is the same.
I actually don't mind that, in theory, since I already enjoyed the first book so much. Milford is a confident writer and I felt assured that I'd enjoy the book no matter its content. The problem is that this book feels really drawn out compared to its predecessor and at almost 100 pages longer there is some truth to it.
I liked the opening chapter, which sets up Milo's state of mind for the holiday and shows how him and his family have continued to explore his sense of self together since last Christmas. But the next few chapters where the various carol-singer characters are introduced really dragged. The first action doesn't start till after page 160. I think if the first part of the book was cut in half the whole thing would feel a lot tighter.
In general though the stakes seem a lot lower this time around. No one is ever really in any danger, Milo's family is safe, so I didn't get the sense of urgency in the last book.
In her afterword Milford discusses that the inception of the story was the idea that our two master thieves, Clem & Georgie, have a job that goes wrong and this book is the fallout of that. Honestly.. it barely features. What is more prominent is Milford's love of folklore and storytelling and as with the last book, those portions were some of the most enjoyable. I'm really hoping future books will be set partially in the Liberty.
So this book still has a whole lot about it that is enjoyable, fantastical storytelling, pagan folklore, a Christmas-y setting, maps, mystery, and a couple of ghosts, a really creepy horse. And I've already ordered the books set in the rest of the universe, because Milford's writing is so comforting and I'm curious to what she can do when not confined to Greenglass.
3.5 stars rounded down.
Greenglass House was magical and cosy, but it was also very entertaining centering around a whodunnit theft in a house of smugglers with everyone trapped by a snowstorm. And it had so much soul! The main character was a sensitive and anxious 12-year old called Milo. A boy of Chinese descent adopted into a white family, Milo simultaneously juggles growing questions about his heritage, guilt for wanting to discuss it with his adopted family, and solving the crime!
He does this with the help of a friend, Meddy, who introduces his to a D&D style role-playing game where he picks a character that has the conviction to overcome his anxieties and save the day. I thought it was a really smart way for Milo to explore his feelings with a bit of distance.
You may be wondering why I've spent so much time recapping Book 1, well.. it's because this book has the same plot. Switch out the smugglers for a band of pagan carol-singers, Milo's questions of heritage to that of inclusivity and tact, and.. that's about it, everything else is the same.
I actually don't mind that, in theory, since I already enjoyed the first book so much. Milford is a confident writer and I felt assured that I'd enjoy the book no matter its content. The problem is that this book feels really drawn out compared to its predecessor and at almost 100 pages longer there is some truth to it.
I liked the opening chapter, which sets up Milo's state of mind for the holiday and shows how him and his family have continued to explore his sense of self together since last Christmas. But the next few chapters where the various carol-singer characters are introduced really dragged. The first action doesn't start till after page 160. I think if the first part of the book was cut in half the whole thing would feel a lot tighter.
In general though the stakes seem a lot lower this time around. No one is ever really in any danger, Milo's family is safe, so I didn't get the sense of urgency in the last book.
In her afterword Milford discusses that the inception of the story was the idea that our two master thieves, Clem & Georgie, have a job that goes wrong and this book is the fallout of that. Honestly.. it barely features. What is more prominent is Milford's love of folklore and storytelling and as with the last book, those portions were some of the most enjoyable. I'm really hoping future books will be set partially in the Liberty.
So this book still has a whole lot about it that is enjoyable, fantastical storytelling, pagan folklore, a Christmas-y setting, maps, mystery, and a couple of ghosts, a really creepy horse. And I've already ordered the books set in the rest of the universe, because Milford's writing is so comforting and I'm curious to what she can do when not confined to Greenglass.
3.5 stars rounded down.