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nightwing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
Received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cathedral of Bones follows Simon, a teenager who works in a mailroom for the Foundation, a sort of group that keeps people in check, especially Animists aka those who can wield "magic". Simon is an animist, but his magic isn't really that great. Life's pretty boring for a teen who wanted to be a hero and help people, until one day a letter comes in from a town begging for help to fight a monster. That monster? It's just a girl named Alice. She has quite an interesting story to tell, however...
So, I agree with what some of the reviewers are saying about this being more Young Adult rather than middle school, the magic system here is pretty complex and not entirely explained. It's also pretty dark in tone. It's still pretty...hopeful, but there's just a lot of dark secrets, tragic backstories, etc, to be found in this book.
I really enjoyed it though, although the magic system not being explained too carefully bothered me I got over it pretty quickly for the sake of the story/characters. Simon is a great character and it's fascinating seeing his true backstory unfold. His parents were equally fascinating and Alice even more so. The bully is boring but who really likes bullies in books? Ha. Simon's mentor was shockingly interesting, despite not having much screentime.
This book is also steampunk-y, though I think it leans heavily toward magic, it does have a ton of steampunk elements throughout. Not to mention all the demons, imps, mechanical monsters running around... I wish the world-building was more in-depth but I can see wanting to sacrifice it for the sake of Simon and his story which was fantastic.
Great book for anyone interested in a character-focused steampunk/fantasy book!
Cathedral of Bones follows Simon, a teenager who works in a mailroom for the Foundation, a sort of group that keeps people in check, especially Animists aka those who can wield "magic". Simon is an animist, but his magic isn't really that great. Life's pretty boring for a teen who wanted to be a hero and help people, until one day a letter comes in from a town begging for help to fight a monster. That monster? It's just a girl named Alice. She has quite an interesting story to tell, however...
So, I agree with what some of the reviewers are saying about this being more Young Adult rather than middle school, the magic system here is pretty complex and not entirely explained. It's also pretty dark in tone. It's still pretty...hopeful, but there's just a lot of dark secrets, tragic backstories, etc, to be found in this book.
I really enjoyed it though, although the magic system not being explained too carefully bothered me I got over it pretty quickly for the sake of the story/characters. Simon is a great character and it's fascinating seeing his true backstory unfold. His parents were equally fascinating and Alice even more so. The bully is boring but who really likes bullies in books? Ha. Simon's mentor was shockingly interesting, despite not having much screentime.
This book is also steampunk-y, though I think it leans heavily toward magic, it does have a ton of steampunk elements throughout. Not to mention all the demons, imps, mechanical monsters running around... I wish the world-building was more in-depth but I can see wanting to sacrifice it for the sake of Simon and his story which was fantastic.
Great book for anyone interested in a character-focused steampunk/fantasy book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
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