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A review by princeeskeleton
Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
3.0
* A 3.5 star review
I've been debating about the rating of this book for an hour now basically and decided just to meet in the middle of a 3 star rating and a 4 star rating. I really wanted this book to be at least 4 stars, and i'm pretty sure at points in the book I was like "Hell yeah!!! 4 STARS!!!" But ultimately, this book left me wanting something more.
I love middle grade books. I really really do. I find them, most of the time, be a lot stronger than any YA or adult books i've ever read, especially when it comes to fantasy. Middle grade books always seem to tap into the inner child in me, and leave me in such fascination, wonder, inspiration, and love (ex. Harry Potter of course). Liesl & Po, though just didn't do all that much for me in that department.
Although at times I did feel hopelessly in love with this story, but I also felt it lacked something to me to hold on to. I felt that it was kind of just ok I guess.
Basically the book is about a mix up of two very important items, also it includes some ghost, some magic, and some vindictive characters out for whatever they can get. Although I did find the plot interesting, I found that the ending was anti-climatic in a sense. I felt that there were to many ends left open which I didn't really like, and I felt that the main characters were pretty flatly written. There weren't really any hidden meanings in the book or important lessons. The story just kind of unfolded and that was that. I just felt that there could have been more done all around in this book.
Although those are some negative things I did enjoy this book. I found it highly entertaining, and I found the plot, magic, and ghost all very interesting aspects of the story that made it really favorable to me. I loved how dark and grotesque the book got at points, and I really love dark middle grade stories so that had me very happy and very intrigued. The illustrations sprinkled throughout the book were lovely and effective, and fit perfectly with the tempo of the story. Plus the writing was downright beautiful.
However for me it just didn't stand out all that much between other children's books i've read. I do want to reread this story one day and give it another try though. Maybe I didn't find this story as great because I'm in the middle of finals right now, and was a bit preoccupied with other things. Either way I do recommend this book to those that like middle grade books and want something fast, fun, and highly entertaining to read.
I've been debating about the rating of this book for an hour now basically and decided just to meet in the middle of a 3 star rating and a 4 star rating. I really wanted this book to be at least 4 stars, and i'm pretty sure at points in the book I was like "Hell yeah!!! 4 STARS!!!" But ultimately, this book left me wanting something more.
I love middle grade books. I really really do. I find them, most of the time, be a lot stronger than any YA or adult books i've ever read, especially when it comes to fantasy. Middle grade books always seem to tap into the inner child in me, and leave me in such fascination, wonder, inspiration, and love (ex. Harry Potter of course). Liesl & Po, though just didn't do all that much for me in that department.
Although at times I did feel hopelessly in love with this story, but I also felt it lacked something to me to hold on to. I felt that it was kind of just ok I guess.
Basically the book is about a mix up of two very important items, also it includes some ghost, some magic, and some vindictive characters out for whatever they can get. Although I did find the plot interesting, I found that the ending was anti-climatic in a sense. I felt that there were to many ends left open which I didn't really like, and I felt that the main characters were pretty flatly written. There weren't really any hidden meanings in the book or important lessons. The story just kind of unfolded and that was that. I just felt that there could have been more done all around in this book.
Although those are some negative things I did enjoy this book. I found it highly entertaining, and I found the plot, magic, and ghost all very interesting aspects of the story that made it really favorable to me. I loved how dark and grotesque the book got at points, and I really love dark middle grade stories so that had me very happy and very intrigued. The illustrations sprinkled throughout the book were lovely and effective, and fit perfectly with the tempo of the story. Plus the writing was downright beautiful.
However for me it just didn't stand out all that much between other children's books i've read. I do want to reread this story one day and give it another try though. Maybe I didn't find this story as great because I'm in the middle of finals right now, and was a bit preoccupied with other things. Either way I do recommend this book to those that like middle grade books and want something fast, fun, and highly entertaining to read.