misosoupp31's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Just as good as I remember from when I was a kid! A delightful reread. Obviously the hints for the twist are quite apparent now but when I was a kid I was shocked!
jantonichuk's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.75
birdbug's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
If you like wizards and wizard shenanigans, this is definitely the book for you. It is lighthearted, fun, and easy to read. It's also nice to escape to a book with charming characters that all love and care about each other. I loved it the whole way through. The protagonist is young but I found the book to be just as much about the adults navigating the situations as the children. It was very enjoyable to read as a 27 yr old, and I imagine would be a good choice for family reading. If you're older and like wizards and creative magic I suspect you'll enjoy it a lot too.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Nice fantasy book. A little frustrating because the reader knows something that all of the characters are realllllly slow to figure out, but a lot of fun nevertheless.
ldyluck's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book! I loved the premise and the flip-flop of the magic world vs. the non-magic world. What a great story and I loved that the reveal was held until the end. A great read. Looking forward to the next in this series!
minda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
4.0
This is an enjoyable read - I have seen the reviews about the lack of originality, which I totally disagree - everything that is written takes its ideas from what has existed before, but it is the presentation that makes the difference - there needs to be enough of what has gone before to have the comfort of familiar but enough new to wonder and want to know what happens next - this does that beautifully and I will continue the series - my only complaint is the final chapter with the were are they now - it is unique in that minor characters are given a few paragraphs of, Oh Yeah by the Way, but I skipped it - the wonder is part of the fun to me - over all, this is a great read
alipurple's review against another edition
4.0
Despite its faults and is a book for young children, I enjoyed reading this book.
It started off quite slow in the beginning and took a lot of getting used to the tone, the bolded words, the lengthy descriptions, too many characters, an omniscient perspective (even a bug had whole paragraphs describing its life and feelings), etc. However, by the time I reached a third of the book, I was hooked into the story, the humour, and the worldbuilding and was eager to finish the (really long) book.
There were some annoying parts and sentences that read awkwardly and felt like they were reaching some kind of punch-line but were unable to get there (ex: incomplete sentences at the end of a chapter that was meant as answers to the sentences before it, but it didn't really work well). But otherwise, it's very easy to play out this story in your head with the rich descriptions.
This book is not for everyone. The high fantasy is a more easy-going, character-driven read than one based around battles of epic proportion. It reminds me of older books written for children, especially in the tone, word choice, and themes. It's one of those books that like to explore every single aspect of its worldbuilding while also seeing how much more lore, history, and factoids it can fit without becoming too "unrealistic" (i.e. takes you out of the world and loses its appeal).
I recommend reading this if you have nothing better to do, want another Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia/Lord of the Rings type of mishmash story, and like a fun, high-fantasy setting to explore. All in all, it's a fun read that you shouldn't take very seriously.
It started off quite slow in the beginning and took a lot of getting used to the tone, the bolded words, the lengthy descriptions, too many characters, an omniscient perspective (even a bug had whole paragraphs describing its life and feelings), etc. However, by the time I reached a third of the book, I was hooked into the story, the humour, and the worldbuilding and was eager to finish the (really long) book.
There were some annoying parts and sentences that read awkwardly and felt like they were reaching some kind of punch-line but were unable to get there (ex: incomplete sentences at the end of a chapter that was meant as answers to the sentences before it, but it didn't really work well). But otherwise, it's very easy to play out this story in your head with the rich descriptions.
This book is not for everyone. The high fantasy is a more easy-going, character-driven read than one based around battles of epic proportion. It reminds me of older books written for children, especially in the tone, word choice, and themes. It's one of those books that like to explore every single aspect of its worldbuilding while also seeing how much more lore, history, and factoids it can fit without becoming too "unrealistic" (i.e. takes you out of the world and loses its appeal).
I recommend reading this if you have nothing better to do, want another Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia/Lord of the Rings type of mishmash story, and like a fun, high-fantasy setting to explore. All in all, it's a fun read that you shouldn't take very seriously.
laramarler's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A fun magical tale