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rcsreads's reviews
764 reviews
Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The villains of this tale are annoyingly inept. I'd quite like a retelling from Uncle Silas' perspective because he's just off his face on opiates the whole time while all his lackeys are failing to achieve anything but faintly irritating Maud!
As in all classic gothic novels, our heroine, Maud, goes to live in a big, spooky house and people attempt to marry her against her wishes. There's a distinct lack of scenery chat though, which is probably an improvement on the genre. The book is still about twice as long as it needs to be though! We get all the Radcliffe references of Northanger Abbey but without any of the humour. It was readable and had enough little mysteries to keep me interested.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder
The Secret of Golden Island by Natasha Farrant
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At the end of the book Tabitha asked if the author had more we could buy so that's a pretty good endorsement!
The book opens with quite a long football section, which nearly put us off. I did wind up going "blah blah, he scored a goal" because none of us are into football and Fox was complaining of boredom! If you share our absolute hatred of sports don't let it deter you. It doesn't happen again.
The book then trauma dumps on us for a bit before we get into the fun of children doing irresponsible things. At points it reminds me of Blyton's Adventure series but without all the racism, which is nice.
I really liked how the friendship between the two children developed through the story. I also appreciated that when they talked about feelings it was clear that they felt awkward, and the conversations were believable as being how children might actually speak. The story dealt really well with how trauma can affect people and the importance of checking in with your friends. It never got too heavy though because at the same time they were doing weird challenges to win an island!
Fox is off school and when asked for review thoughts said: "It was very nice. Good book."
The book opens with quite a long football section, which nearly put us off. I did wind up going "blah blah, he scored a goal" because none of us are into football and Fox was complaining of boredom! If you share our absolute hatred of sports don't let it deter you. It doesn't happen again.
The book then trauma dumps on us for a bit before we get into the fun of children doing irresponsible things. At points it reminds me of Blyton's Adventure series but without all the racism, which is nice.
I really liked how the friendship between the two children developed through the story. I also appreciated that when they talked about feelings it was clear that they felt awkward, and the conversations were believable as being how children might actually speak. The story dealt really well with how trauma can affect people and the importance of checking in with your friends. It never got too heavy though because at the same time they were doing weird challenges to win an island!
Fox is off school and when asked for review thoughts said: "It was very nice. Good book."
Maze by Thiago Souto
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Maze begins like a fantasy but turns into something else, I don't think I can explain it without spoiling it. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting from looking at the first few pages in the library. It's all about friendship and imagination, and it features Falcor from the Never Ending Story which is definitely a bonus in my eyes! The art is beautifully detailed.
Soupy Leaves Home by Cecil Castellucci
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Soupy Leaves Home follows a young woman who runs away from her abusive father and joins a band of hobos during the great depression. It is a surprisingly sweet and wholesome story, all about helping others, not judging based on appearances, and following your dreams. The art is also really nice and had an interesting way of using colour.