kybart's review against another edition
3.0
i thought this book was confusing at most parts, but i enjoyed it.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
As a new children's librarian, I read this when it first came out and loved it. This time around, I found it very slow. I was also taken aback that the 15-year-old daughter becomes the family housekeeper when she decides to stay in Wales after the holidays - this felt very dated. But the fantasy worked for me. I loved Peter's glimpses of the sixth century world. And I especially loved the descriptions of the Welsh countryside and the natural world - though it might not have been so enthralling if I had not just returned from Wales.
kxu65's review against another edition
3.0
This book is about the aftermath of 3 siblings when their mom dies, and 2 of them has to stay with their dad in Ireland, while the oldest stays back to live with their aunt and uncle in New England, but then reunite for the holidays at their dad's house. During the holidays, one of the siblings find a mysterious object that allows myth and history to be seen.
This book is not so great because I felt there was no conflict within the book, and what was there was made up in order to fill the void of needing one. I felt no danger or be connected with the characters more because of the so called conflict.
P. S. I didn't like or find it great that in child's book when they call adults by their first name, especially with a parent, and then other adults are called by their last name like they should be.
This book is not so great because I felt there was no conflict within the book, and what was there was made up in order to fill the void of needing one. I felt no danger or be connected with the characters more because of the so called conflict.
P. S. I didn't like or find it great that in child's book when they call adults by their first name, especially with a parent, and then other adults are called by their last name like they should be.
sonofthunder's review
4.0
A lovely book. Ok yes, it is a children's book written back in the 70s. It is not an intricately plotted epic or a book of exquisite literary quality. But it sang. This is a book that I couldn't wait to get back to every time I was absent from it. It is a book about a family, about a land, about sadness and loss and fellowship and discovery and joy. Set in a small coastal Welsh village, this book is about a family transplanted from America to Wales, adrift both body and soul. It starts out simply enough and just tells their story as they struggle to deal with their grief over losing their mother/wife. I will not tell too much more, but this story also has fantastical elements linking back to far-ago Welsh history! Those elements I honestly felt were the weaker bits. Still lovely, but not as engrossing as just reading about this family trying to get through a year as they also seek to become closer to one another and the community in which they live. Reading this book, the details and meandering storytelling were so vivid and seemingly well-informed, I assumed the author must have first hand knowledge, and so it turned out to be. The author herself spent time in small-town Wales and so she writes with the assuredness of someone who's walked the same streets, talked to the same people and lived the same life. I was very sad to leave this book. A brilliantly-told story - not complex, but beautiful.
lory_enterenchanted's review against another edition
I read this after reading Constance's 1976 Club review, remembering I had read it long ago as a child and not liked it much. It seemed like something I should adore (Wales, harps, magic) - I couldn't recall why I had disliked it.
Upon starting the reread, I immediately understood why. The first half of the book is incredibly depressing. Wales is cold and wet. The family in the story is sad and dysfunctional. Neither Peter nor Jen, the two main viewpoint characters, are very sympathetic, although I feel sorry for them and their plight. Their bereaved father is frankly in need of therapy and advice as to how to be a parent (hint: you don't do it by blaming your son for being unhappy at being torn away from all his friends and familiar surroundings immediately after his mother dies, nor by expecting your 15 year old daughter to step into the role of caregiver and confidante).
The "magic" consisted of Peter finding a harp tuning key from the 6th century bard Taliesin, and having visions of his life that also sometimes bled into the present day. However, it was all very static and lacking in interactivity or tension, like Peter was watching Taliesin TV. Even when things happened in the present, it did not affect anyone in any lasting way.
Peter's depression and anger eases through his magical experience, though it's not really clear why, unless it's just that it distracts him from obsessing over his negative feelings. And the family grows into a new kind of relationship, mostly through the children realizing they have to be the grownups and take care of their father. "I can't help thinking of you as my children," he says near the end. Um yes ... maybe you should treat them that way and actually give them some care and attention?
The descriptions of Wales are sometimes interesting, although clearly drawn from the author's trips, which seem to have inspired her to take her travel journal and turn it into a novel.
Overall, a pale imitation of Susan Cooper's The Grey King, which won the Newbery the previous year, and includes many of the same elements, including a grieving bereaved man, a troubled father-son relationship, and a dramatic hunt for a sheep-killing canine. And harps, of course.
Upon starting the reread, I immediately understood why. The first half of the book is incredibly depressing. Wales is cold and wet. The family in the story is sad and dysfunctional. Neither Peter nor Jen, the two main viewpoint characters, are very sympathetic, although I feel sorry for them and their plight. Their bereaved father is frankly in need of therapy and advice as to how to be a parent (hint: you don't do it by blaming your son for being unhappy at being torn away from all his friends and familiar surroundings immediately after his mother dies, nor by expecting your 15 year old daughter to step into the role of caregiver and confidante).
The "magic" consisted of Peter finding a harp tuning key from the 6th century bard Taliesin, and having visions of his life that also sometimes bled into the present day. However, it was all very static and lacking in interactivity or tension, like Peter was watching Taliesin TV. Even when things happened in the present, it did not affect anyone in any lasting way.
Peter's depression and anger eases through his magical experience, though it's not really clear why, unless it's just that it distracts him from obsessing over his negative feelings. And the family grows into a new kind of relationship, mostly through the children realizing they have to be the grownups and take care of their father. "I can't help thinking of you as my children," he says near the end. Um yes ... maybe you should treat them that way and actually give them some care and attention?
The descriptions of Wales are sometimes interesting, although clearly drawn from the author's trips, which seem to have inspired her to take her travel journal and turn it into a novel.
Overall, a pale imitation of Susan Cooper's The Grey King, which won the Newbery the previous year, and includes many of the same elements, including a grieving bereaved man, a troubled father-son relationship, and a dramatic hunt for a sheep-killing canine. And harps, of course.
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
1.0
When you are halfway through a book, and a children's book at that, and the plot still has not developed, you know it won't turn out well.
It didn't. Maybe there was a good idea behind this story. Probably the description of Wales was good, but I was so bored; I couldn't really tell you.
It didn't. Maybe there was a good idea behind this story. Probably the description of Wales was good, but I was so bored; I couldn't really tell you.
shogins's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this but it was a slog. I was hoping it would make me feel the way the Dark is Rising books felt as a kid, but I was mostly bored. Too much Wales, not enough legend and the interaction between the worlds was frankly uninteresting.
abigailbat's review against another edition
This was a childhood favorite of mine - I used to reread it every summer - and I still think it stands up. It's a bit slow at first, but when it takes off it really takes off. I am fascinated with and hope to visit Wales because of this book!
gabrielhounds's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully evocative. Beware, you will have an unrelenting desire to visit Wales after reading this book!
Bond crafts a touching and really perceptive family dynamic. The Morgans are a fantastic cast of characters, and following their journey--how they process their loss, the culture shock, and the daily struggle of family coexistence--is a true pleasure.
Great for all ages.
Bond crafts a touching and really perceptive family dynamic. The Morgans are a fantastic cast of characters, and following their journey--how they process their loss, the culture shock, and the daily struggle of family coexistence--is a true pleasure.
Great for all ages.