Reviews

Wonka by Sibéal Pounder, Roald Dahl

vaish7_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

zay_day's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

2.5

aotora's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

I am still on a roll with Roald Dahl and related books and movies- I didn't watch this movie - but I wanted to read a book about Wonka's past for a while now. I listened to the audiobook in combination with reading Kindle version and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a perfect mix of humor and seriousness and it had some surprisingly dark themes. I loved all the characters, Wonka made me laugh but this book also made me cry. Noodle's story was so sad and I was so so happy that Wonka managed to help her find her real parents. I also enjoyed the action scenes, they genuinely kept me on my toes and for how short this book was it was surpsingly packed with action. 

milansteentjes13's review against another edition

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4.0

⭐4.0⭐

omggg aaaa dit wass zooo vermakelijk. wat cute.

vond het echt leuker dan verwacht eigenlijk!!

love you willie en noedel <33

putri_the_awesome's review

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-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

4.0

saretta82's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.5

amanda_m_harwood's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.0

jesse105's review against another edition

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hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

myjourneywithbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Ever wondered about Willy Wonka's backstory?

Wonka, by Sibéal Pounder (based on the movie by the same name), sets out to do just that. And it does a fairly decent job.

The prologue introduces us to Willy Wonka as a young boy, living in absolute poverty with his mother. Willy, however, sees his life as grand, bolstered by an imagination that is nurtured by his mother. The highlight of his life is the chocolate his mother makes for his birthday after scrounging for ingredients throughout every year. Willy's dream is to one day open a shop selling the most amazing chocolates. And seven years later, after a life at sea, that's exactly what he sets out to do. But he has to overcome many obstacles first, like a trio of conniving chocolatiers and being tricked into a lifetime of work and imprisonment in a wash-house. Willy will need some luck, a lot of magic and his newfound friends to get out of this sticky situation.

I haven't watched the movie but from what I've seen of the trailer, the book seems to be almost an exact replica, down to the dialogue and everything. That doesn't mean the book is anything to be looked down upon; it takes some skill to turn a screen adaptation into a book, especially to describe the settings and to give life to the characters with just your words. The writing, the character and the humour, though not exactly on the same level as that of Roald Dahl, is still quite reminiscent of it. One of my only complaints is that I wish there had been more about the Oompa Loompa.


rory_john14's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted 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? No

3.5

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