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vi_frt's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Strong points: humorous and whimsical, engaging enough
Weaknesses: some parts of it are problematic, specifically the descriptions of the initial arabic-like setting and some recurrent fatphonia that had me cringing.
It does not match its predecessor but it is still a fun read, if you can look past the problematic bits and also how much of a giant dummy Abdullah is.
Weaknesses: some parts of it are problematic, specifically the descriptions of the initial arabic-like setting and some recurrent fatphonia that had me cringing.
It does not match its predecessor but it is still a fun read, if you can look past the problematic bits and also how much of a giant dummy Abdullah is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Animal cruelty
shawnali's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
3.75
As a follow-up to one of my favourite books of all time, this was let me down, but only slightly.
I think this is a book that didn't age as well in some aspects as it could have, but not in a way that was ever over intent on causing harm.
There were a lot of characters, particularly towards the end of this tale, that made it hard to remember who everyone was at points.
That said, I think it was a fun read, and would still recommend it. Particularly for folks with children!
I think this is a book that didn't age as well in some aspects as it could have, but not in a way that was ever over intent on causing harm.
There were a lot of characters, particularly towards the end of this tale, that made it hard to remember who everyone was at points.
That said, I think it was a fun read, and would still recommend it. Particularly for folks with children!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
pythonesque's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The worst thing about this book -- it casts a shadow to the Howl's Moving Castle, and I hate to find flaws in it!
I wouldn't give this book to my younger self, because otherwise I definitely would have hated my body even more than I already did.
I wouldn't give this book to my younger self, because otherwise I definitely would have hated my body even more than I already did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Cultural appropriation
makennahbristow's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
ac_anemon's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
it’s good, it’s repetitive in the way that all the ‘moving castle’ books are in that all the actions the character take have them going around in circles until it reaches a boiling point and every little detail becomes relevant in this grand scheme. there’s some fatphobia i can’t let go and some, we’ll say, questionable depictions of other cultures (don’t hear characters being described as yellow these days). overall, pretty good!
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia
nikenacs's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
shadowmaster13's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Certainly wish I'd been able to read this one while I was younger. The orientalism that is almost focused into fairy tale satire and fatphobia might have been more palatable then.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
spaghettibooplesnoot's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia
probably one of the most racist books I've ever read. the descriptions of all the "bad" people is that they have big hooked noses. the accents in the audiobook are like something out of an old film. i listened to it while really ill and was too tired to downloada another book but needed to listen to something and i feel dirty for listening to it.vsnuffles's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought this was a decent four-star read that hit well within its specific niche: fairytale stories based on classic fairytale genres, in this case Middle Eastern folktales - or at least their depictions in western media. This felt sympathetic to the fantasy Middle Eastern culture and characters depicted (to me, who is not from a Middle Eastern culture) and not degrading.
But I've rated this 3 stars instead due to the degrading content that did exist in the book. I can't recall the quote exactly, but while listening to "The Only Warrior Cats Podcast" Zoe mentioned the inexplicable and intense fat-phobia that tends to be present in English children's books and media and that feels very present here. I wanted to mention it here because it feels so out of no-where in this story and so pointlessly cruel in an otherwise very child-friendly book. It only surrounds two characters who only briefly appear, but they do appear at the end and are part of the overall conclusion of the book, so it feels like more of an embedded theme in the story than it might have - though it is a horrible inclusion regardless.
I did like how this story tied into the Howl's Moving Castle characters and continued the story, though it felt a little like a rug-pull to have all the conflict and characters be secretly about this other cast of characters. It felt a little unsatisfying to feel like the main characters of this story were secretly side characters all along, even if that wasn't the case. I think the framing by the end of it felt a bit that way. But this can be a fun element in childrens' series, so I don't think it's that big a deal.
I would otherwise say a lot of the story and setting were great.
But I've rated this 3 stars instead due to the degrading content that did exist in the book. I can't recall the quote exactly, but while listening to "The Only Warrior Cats Podcast" Zoe mentioned the inexplicable and intense fat-phobia that tends to be present in English children's books and media and that feels very present here. I wanted to mention it here because it feels so out of no-where in this story and so pointlessly cruel in an otherwise very child-friendly book. It only surrounds two characters who only briefly appear, but they do appear at the end and are part of the overall conclusion of the book, so it feels like more of an embedded theme in the story than it might have - though it is a horrible inclusion regardless.
I did like how this story tied into the Howl's Moving Castle characters and continued the story, though it felt a little like a rug-pull to have all the conflict and characters be secretly about this other cast of characters. It felt a little unsatisfying to feel like the main characters of this story were secretly side characters all along, even if that wasn't the case. I think the framing by the end of it felt a bit that way. But this can be a fun element in childrens' series, so I don't think it's that big a deal.
I would otherwise say a lot of the story and setting were great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
It's not a huge part of the book, only concerning two minor characters, but there is (within the otherwise lighthearted context of the book) quite cruel fatphobia. It feels very out of no-where and appears briefly, but it does reappear as part of the conclusion of the book.