baleypetersen's review against another edition
2.0
Strange. Very strange. Definitely created a mood, but not one I particularly want.
zullia's review against another edition
2.0
I guess this is a children's novel? I wasn't expecting that. Perhaps it's a cute story, but I found the way that the narrator spoke and the way her mother and aunt spoke to her to be unconvincing. Too grown-up.
curlygirl71's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this short story. Although I prefer Rita Mae Brown's series with the cat/horses.
readsinbed's review against another edition
2.0
This is a nice short story, but again, inconsistent with the story she created for these characters in Six of One and Bingo, so kind of disappointing. Would have been a nice story if it were truly independent of the other books.
nce14210's review
2.0
I read this in 2009, now in 2013 I sadly can't remember it. I do love the characters from Bingo and Six of One. Maybe I should read it again?
satyridae's review
2.0
I loved Six of One, where Brown introduced many of the characters who reappear in this book. She's written several sequels, each more perfunctory than the last. This latest chapter can't be called perfunctory but it is very odd inasmuch as several characters have inexplicably changed names (Cora becomes Big Wheezie, of all things) and other important features. This is very, very difficult to get past. Aside from that, it's an odd little story told fairly well.
kat2112's review
2.0
This is a very short book - I completed this literally in about an hour. I've read many of RMB's works and especially enjoyed the first two Runnymeade novels, which IMO are the best. The third, Loose Lips, was a disappointment, as is this one. The length, though, is not the reason - I feel these characters have become mere caricatures of their former selves.
If you've read Six of One and Bingo, you know the history of Juts and Wheezy and their personalities. In The Sand Castle, their most annoying traits are set to eleven and left there. Also, and this is a big complaint among RMB's readers, the back story is ret-conned. I won't go into the details and spoil the books, but I will advise this: if you have read Six of One and Bingo and enjoyed them, do not read this one. If you read this first and decide to back track, I think you'll find the earlier stuff better.
Getting back The Sand Castle - this is a novella set during an entire day at the Chesapeake Bay. Juts and Wheezy snipe at each other, and Juts's daughter Nickel (Nicole) snipes at her cousin. The story is heavily dialogue-driven and difficult to like if you don't find the characters sympathetic.
It hurts to review this because I loved RMB's early works. I wonder if The Sand Castle was an excised portion of an earlier work, or part of a WIP she never finished. Either way, I really think she needs to end the Runnymeade stories before she confuses readers more with rewritten history.
If you've read Six of One and Bingo, you know the history of Juts and Wheezy and their personalities. In The Sand Castle, their most annoying traits are set to eleven and left there. Also, and this is a big complaint among RMB's readers, the back story is ret-conned. I won't go into the details and spoil the books, but I will advise this: if you have read Six of One and Bingo and enjoyed them, do not read this one. If you read this first and decide to back track, I think you'll find the earlier stuff better.
Getting back The Sand Castle - this is a novella set during an entire day at the Chesapeake Bay. Juts and Wheezy snipe at each other, and Juts's daughter Nickel (Nicole) snipes at her cousin. The story is heavily dialogue-driven and difficult to like if you don't find the characters sympathetic.
It hurts to review this because I loved RMB's early works. I wonder if The Sand Castle was an excised portion of an earlier work, or part of a WIP she never finished. Either way, I really think she needs to end the Runnymeade stories before she confuses readers more with rewritten history.
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