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jeninmaine 's review for:
Secrets of the Cicada Summer
by Andrea Beaty
In short, this was a really good book. This review is for the audio version - I picked it up from the library on a whim as we have been listening to a lot of high fantasy stories in the car and this looked like a good change of pace.
The book is short, easily finished in a few days of commuting, but the characters and setting are very engaging and the story prompted a lot of discussion between my son and I. I like to pause books and talk to the kids about what they've heard, ask questions about what's going on and try to determine what might happen next, that sort of thing. This has been a very good interpretation book so it gets high marks from me for that.
The story itself is well-written, the characters are believable and sympathetic. I won't give away any of the story since it is so short that you can read/listen to it for yourself, and while I was able to figure out a good part of it there were a few bits and pieces that kept me guessing. All around, a very satisfying read.
The only negative (and not really all that negative) was that listening to the book made following the plot slightly confusing due to the way it is written - were I reading the book I would definitely flip back to previous passages to review them - but the construction of the story is intentional and for good reason. Once we got to the end we were able to put together a bunch of things that had left us scratching our heads. I would have enjoyed the audio version a little better if the tracks were shorter, allowing us to skip around more easily.
I'll tell you one thing, though - this book has prompted me to get my hands on Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys for my own kids! I look forward to more from Andrea Beaty.
The book is short, easily finished in a few days of commuting, but the characters and setting are very engaging and the story prompted a lot of discussion between my son and I. I like to pause books and talk to the kids about what they've heard, ask questions about what's going on and try to determine what might happen next, that sort of thing. This has been a very good interpretation book so it gets high marks from me for that.
The story itself is well-written, the characters are believable and sympathetic. I won't give away any of the story since it is so short that you can read/listen to it for yourself, and while I was able to figure out a good part of it there were a few bits and pieces that kept me guessing. All around, a very satisfying read.
The only negative (and not really all that negative) was that listening to the book made following the plot slightly confusing due to the way it is written - were I reading the book I would definitely flip back to previous passages to review them - but the construction of the story is intentional and for good reason. Once we got to the end we were able to put together a bunch of things that had left us scratching our heads. I would have enjoyed the audio version a little better if the tracks were shorter, allowing us to skip around more easily.
I'll tell you one thing, though - this book has prompted me to get my hands on Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys for my own kids! I look forward to more from Andrea Beaty.