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vegas37's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
librocubicularist_197915's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kristen_kinney314's review against another edition
4.0
This is such a cute and cozy read! The kids are adorable and I love their relationship! It’s adorable and perfect for Christmas!
tamarasbff's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure I can properly express how much I love this gem of a book. THE VANDERBEEKERS OF 141ST STREET is about five siblings, aged four to twelve, who are trying to convince their crotchety old man landlord not to evict them from their home, and it's a pure delight from start to finish.
Spending time with the Vanderbeekers is like stopping in to visit Alcott's March family or Estes's Moffats. I don't feel like I just read a book; I feel like I just spent Christmas dinner as a welcome and beloved guest with adorable Laney and her hugs, Hyacinth and her crafts, Oliver and his good-natured only-boy-with-four-sisters-ness, and the twins and their musical and scientific prodigy.
Every page made my heart feel oh so squishy. Every page made me fall more in love with this family. Every page solidified my love for this book. And also my love for cookies. Like Oliver, my love for cookies is very strong. Just FYI.
Spending time with the Vanderbeekers is like stopping in to visit Alcott's March family or Estes's Moffats. I don't feel like I just read a book; I feel like I just spent Christmas dinner as a welcome and beloved guest with adorable Laney and her hugs, Hyacinth and her crafts, Oliver and his good-natured only-boy-with-four-sisters-ness, and the twins and their musical and scientific prodigy.
Every page made my heart feel oh so squishy. Every page made me fall more in love with this family. Every page solidified my love for this book. And also my love for cookies. Like Oliver, my love for cookies is very strong. Just FYI.
katedskeen's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
emj8y's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mehsi's review against another edition
1.0
I am just not sure what to think of this one....
The premise sounds pretty sweet, heartwarming and lovely, but I actually didn't like it that much. Maybe because I got tired of the "Old man yells at clouds (or in this case kids and adults), but turns out to have a terrible backstory with lots of tragedy and that is why we should all forgive him for his angry outbursts because look at this sad old man"-trope. Really, can't we for once just have a grumpy old man without a sob sob backstory? Like he is just legit pissed off at the world for no reason? He just hates things? And I wouldn't mind if he would grant them one kind thing, but then turns back to crabby. But this? I have seen it too many times in books (or movies, or tv-shows, or anime, or manga).
It also didn't help that the POV switched between the various siblings. I didn't always like the siblings. Oliver for instance was definitely not my favourite. Laney or Hyacinth would both win. Laney for her weirdness that is kind of adorable, Hyacinth for the amount of love she can throw out in the world and that she doesn't care if someone is an angry humbug, she will just hug them to death and let them feel the love. Isa and Jessie were OK-ish, but then the whole drama with Bennie started and I just raised my hands to the heavens. Was that needed? And what in all hell did Jessie think that it was a good idea to lie about that and say that? Hello, your twin, Isa, is allowed a life outside of your precious twinbubble. I get that it is hard, but growing up means that you can't do everything together every day, every hour.
I did find it weird that someone is just able to drop someone's lease like that and barely gives them time to find a new home/move. Unless the parents knew about it for months and just didn't care to tell their kids until right before Christmas (which seems like a crappy thing to do), but otherwise I don't see how it is legal to just drop someone's lease and just give them a week (maybe a bit more) to get out.
I am bit confused about the cover. We see 3 stories of the house, I am guessing the last story (bottom level) is hidden. But, checking the cover we see the kids on the third story, whereas that is the apartment/floor of their neighbours: Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet.
As reading the book linear didn't work for me (in very very rare cases that happens), I dove right to the end, then pick random parts to read until I finish the whole book. It is a bit chaotic, but it isn't like I missed anything of the story this way or got too many spoilers. That may also say something about the book itself. :P Too predictable.
I did like that the book took place over the days until Christmas. Then again, I didn't notice much of it given how I read the book, but still nice touch.
There are a few illustrations (like 4 or 5), mostly stuff like how their house looked, or a note. I would have loved seeing the characters, or some other things. Now it just felt weird there were things like that water wall thing, or a note, but nothing else.
All in all, not a success. I am a bit sad as I have been hoping to read this book for some time and I was delighted that one of my libraries finally had it.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
The premise sounds pretty sweet, heartwarming and lovely, but I actually didn't like it that much. Maybe because I got tired of the "Old man yells at clouds (or in this case kids and adults), but turns out to have a terrible backstory with lots of tragedy and that is why we should all forgive him for his angry outbursts because look at this sad old man"-trope. Really, can't we for once just have a grumpy old man without a sob sob backstory? Like he is just legit pissed off at the world for no reason? He just hates things? And I wouldn't mind if he would grant them one kind thing, but then turns back to crabby. But this? I have seen it too many times in books (or movies, or tv-shows, or anime, or manga).
It also didn't help that the POV switched between the various siblings. I didn't always like the siblings. Oliver for instance was definitely not my favourite. Laney or Hyacinth would both win. Laney for her weirdness that is kind of adorable, Hyacinth for the amount of love she can throw out in the world and that she doesn't care if someone is an angry humbug, she will just hug them to death and let them feel the love. Isa and Jessie were OK-ish, but then the whole drama with Bennie started and I just raised my hands to the heavens. Was that needed? And what in all hell did Jessie think that it was a good idea to lie about that and say that? Hello, your twin, Isa, is allowed a life outside of your precious twinbubble. I get that it is hard, but growing up means that you can't do everything together every day, every hour.
I did find it weird that someone is just able to drop someone's lease like that and barely gives them time to find a new home/move. Unless the parents knew about it for months and just didn't care to tell their kids until right before Christmas (which seems like a crappy thing to do), but otherwise I don't see how it is legal to just drop someone's lease and just give them a week (maybe a bit more) to get out.
I am bit confused about the cover. We see 3 stories of the house, I am guessing the last story (bottom level) is hidden. But, checking the cover we see the kids on the third story, whereas that is the apartment/floor of their neighbours: Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet.
As reading the book linear didn't work for me (in very very rare cases that happens), I dove right to the end, then pick random parts to read until I finish the whole book. It is a bit chaotic, but it isn't like I missed anything of the story this way or got too many spoilers. That may also say something about the book itself. :P Too predictable.
I did like that the book took place over the days until Christmas. Then again, I didn't notice much of it given how I read the book, but still nice touch.
There are a few illustrations (like 4 or 5), mostly stuff like how their house looked, or a note. I would have loved seeing the characters, or some other things. Now it just felt weird there were things like that water wall thing, or a note, but nothing else.
All in all, not a success. I am a bit sad as I have been hoping to read this book for some time and I was delighted that one of my libraries finally had it.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
cottonkiwi's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It was a bit slow to start and difficult to get into because the author throws a lot of characters at you at once. That being said this was possibly one of the most touching books I've read despite being middle grade. It brought me to tears at one point and left me feeling warm and cozy. Definitely recommend if you like stories of family and community support.