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A review by dahall1023
Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson
3.0
Here is what I liked:
The mystery element did intrigue and captivate me. Tabitha’s character, a little girl who loves mysteries, has a rich inner dialogue with herself, and longs for love.
What didn’t work for me:
It was far too depressing… it takes way too long of the book to reach any kind of hope for Tabitha. I understand the characterizations of making her “parents” so unloving and putting her all alone in the world barring her little pet mouse… but it was too much for me. For a children’s book, I found the emotional and verbal abuse of her parents to be unsettling, the lack of any hope for her for the majority of the book to be depressing. There are too many highly unlikeable characters. The (very) few likeable characters are not given enough time. It also felt very dark for a middle reader book.
So all in all, it was alright. I did like it. And I understand the literary choices made for this book but I just didn’t prefer it for myself, at least. I’d like to have seen a deeper friendship earlier with Oliver (there was certainly connection but I think because they’re both somewhat solitary and in-their-heads, these two aren’t nearly as verbal as Viola and Edward.
Three stars for staying up late reading it to find things out and liking it well enough.
The mystery element did intrigue and captivate me. Tabitha’s character, a little girl who loves mysteries, has a rich inner dialogue with herself, and longs for love.
What didn’t work for me:
It was far too depressing… it takes way too long of the book to reach any kind of hope for Tabitha. I understand the characterizations of making her “parents” so unloving and putting her all alone in the world barring her little pet mouse… but it was too much for me. For a children’s book, I found the emotional and verbal abuse of her parents to be unsettling, the lack of any hope for her for the majority of the book to be depressing. There are too many highly unlikeable characters. The (very) few likeable characters are not given enough time. It also felt very dark for a middle reader book.
So all in all, it was alright. I did like it. And I understand the literary choices made for this book but I just didn’t prefer it for myself, at least. I’d like to have seen a deeper friendship earlier with Oliver (there was certainly connection but I think because they’re both somewhat solitary and in-their-heads, these two aren’t nearly as verbal as Viola and Edward.
Three stars for staying up late reading it to find things out and liking it well enough.