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A review by aylea
Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye
2.0
Spoilers are ahead. But to be honest, there isn't anything you should be too worried about hearing about.
I really, really, really wanted to like this book. The idea and cover intrigued me from the second I saw it. Reform school in the woods? Amnesia? Kids saving themselves from the creepy reform school? It sounded awesome.
It wasn’t.
The characters? I feel like I know nothing about them. I couldn't tell the siblings apart and, to be honest, when I finished the book I couldn't even remember their names because they were so thoroughly uninteresting. All I know about them was that they were rotten kids to their governess. She was supposed to be awful, but to be honest, I'd probably be just as awful if I had to deal with these two because when they're not being boring, they're being brats. Their father made no sense to me. He drives them to a terrible, terrible place, feels bad about it, and then can't remember who he is. To put it in simple terms, he's pretty lame. I feel like there was no one to root for. I didn't even mind when the villain took away their memories because I didn't care one way or another about what happened to them. The narrator was mildly interesting, but I couldn't figure out WHY there was a narrator.
The book presents more mysteries than it solves. It felt like an odd prequel instead of starting a story. Writers, you OWE your readers a story. I might be able to forgive bad characters, terrible setting (okay, this should have been cool. I read the book for the idea of the school, but I didn't think it was interesting except for maybe the monsters prowling around it) but I can't forgive a book that doesn't have a story. It sets up the rest of the series, but... nothing really happens. Even if it's just one book in a series (just like one episode in a TV show), each part of the series MUST have its own plot, even if there are unanswered questions to leave room for the other books. This book just... ends. No questions answered. No resolution. Not even any good questions to leave the reader wanting another book (okay, so maybe a little curiosity about if their dad will remember who they are and if they're going to go to an unclear terrible fate, but, like I said, I didn't care enough about them to be interested in what kind of terrible fate might be waiting for them). The entire book: they get dropped off at the school for being brats. They're upset. They sneak around the school at night. They get their memories removed. There's a weird parade for no reason. They get their memories back. They try to escape. They fail. They lose their memories. The book ends. I think they'd all be better off if the kids and their dad never got their memories back.
Just disappointing.
I also reviewed this book for The Children's Book and Media Review. That review is as follows:
When Tobias and Charlotte Egger play one too many pranks on their terrible governess, their father takes them to a place that he hopes will scare them into good behavior. He only means to leave them there for a short time, but a car accident leaves him with amnesia and unable to come get them. Tobias and Charlotte find themselves stuck in Witherwood Reform School, locked in their room with more questions than they have answers. When they sneak around looking for answers, their memories are taken from them. They get their memories back and try to escape, but they find that escaping from this place and being reunited with the father is not going to be easy.
Although the idea of a reform school with mysterious magic is interesting, the execution of the idea fell flat. It has a similar feeling of Snicket’s Unfortunate Events series with the siblings in trouble, weird situations and creepiness, and false hope scenarios, but it is not as effective as Snicket’s work. The characters were uninteresting and difficult to tell apart. The book ends with no resolution or answering any of the questions about what Witherwood Reform School is supposed to be doing and why it is such a weird place. Without any relief from the constant conflict or even enough of a resolution to make the book feel complete, the charm it could have had from its quirkiness is lost. Although the ideas were intriguing, it was a disappointing start to a series.
I really, really, really wanted to like this book. The idea and cover intrigued me from the second I saw it. Reform school in the woods? Amnesia? Kids saving themselves from the creepy reform school? It sounded awesome.
It wasn’t.
The characters? I feel like I know nothing about them. I couldn't tell the siblings apart and, to be honest, when I finished the book I couldn't even remember their names because they were so thoroughly uninteresting. All I know about them was that they were rotten kids to their governess. She was supposed to be awful, but to be honest, I'd probably be just as awful if I had to deal with these two because when they're not being boring, they're being brats. Their father made no sense to me. He drives them to a terrible, terrible place, feels bad about it, and then can't remember who he is. To put it in simple terms, he's pretty lame. I feel like there was no one to root for. I didn't even mind when the villain took away their memories because I didn't care one way or another about what happened to them. The narrator was mildly interesting, but I couldn't figure out WHY there was a narrator.
The book presents more mysteries than it solves. It felt like an odd prequel instead of starting a story. Writers, you OWE your readers a story. I might be able to forgive bad characters, terrible setting (okay, this should have been cool. I read the book for the idea of the school, but I didn't think it was interesting except for maybe the monsters prowling around it) but I can't forgive a book that doesn't have a story. It sets up the rest of the series, but... nothing really happens. Even if it's just one book in a series (just like one episode in a TV show), each part of the series MUST have its own plot, even if there are unanswered questions to leave room for the other books. This book just... ends. No questions answered. No resolution. Not even any good questions to leave the reader wanting another book (okay, so maybe a little curiosity about if their dad will remember who they are and if they're going to go to an unclear terrible fate, but, like I said, I didn't care enough about them to be interested in what kind of terrible fate might be waiting for them). The entire book: they get dropped off at the school for being brats. They're upset. They sneak around the school at night. They get their memories removed. There's a weird parade for no reason. They get their memories back. They try to escape. They fail. They lose their memories. The book ends. I think they'd all be better off if the kids and their dad never got their memories back.
Just disappointing.
I also reviewed this book for The Children's Book and Media Review. That review is as follows:
When Tobias and Charlotte Egger play one too many pranks on their terrible governess, their father takes them to a place that he hopes will scare them into good behavior. He only means to leave them there for a short time, but a car accident leaves him with amnesia and unable to come get them. Tobias and Charlotte find themselves stuck in Witherwood Reform School, locked in their room with more questions than they have answers. When they sneak around looking for answers, their memories are taken from them. They get their memories back and try to escape, but they find that escaping from this place and being reunited with the father is not going to be easy.
Although the idea of a reform school with mysterious magic is interesting, the execution of the idea fell flat. It has a similar feeling of Snicket’s Unfortunate Events series with the siblings in trouble, weird situations and creepiness, and false hope scenarios, but it is not as effective as Snicket’s work. The characters were uninteresting and difficult to tell apart. The book ends with no resolution or answering any of the questions about what Witherwood Reform School is supposed to be doing and why it is such a weird place. Without any relief from the constant conflict or even enough of a resolution to make the book feel complete, the charm it could have had from its quirkiness is lost. Although the ideas were intriguing, it was a disappointing start to a series.