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kim_j_dare's review against another edition
4.0
I read this after hearing Marcus Sedgwick speak at Politics & Prose in DC, and hearing him go into so much of the backstory probably gave me a fuller enjoyment of the novel than I would have had if I had just picked it up randomly. 16-year-old Laureth (who we find out fairly early is blind), worried about her missing father and her mother's lack of concern, manages to get herself and her 7-year-old brother from London to NYC, and the two have quite an adventure in their efforts to track him down. The story is a fairly quiet one, and reminded me of [b:The London Eye Mystery|1184305|The London Eye Mystery|Siobhan Dowd|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1181720748s/1184305.jpg|2477548] for slightly older readers. As with his other novels, the language is spare and deliberate... Marcus Sedgwick is not a flowery, throw-words-around-with-abandon kind of author. I loved his sensitive portrayal of Laureth and the challenges she faced in navigating an unfamiliar city-- one of the ways that he researched for the book was by spending a good amount of time at a school for students with visual impairments. My favorite part of the book, though, which I never would have picked up on had I not seen Sedgwick, is the way that he weaves in the number 354 so creatively and subtly. A couple of examples-- every chapter title is three words (three letters--five letters--four letters). The WORD COUNT of the entire novel, for goodness sake, is based on his fascination with the number 354 multiplied by another famous number that you learn about in the book. He's a pretty fascinating guy, and, if the father's character in the story is any reflection of him, kind of a mad genius.
madelinehillier's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
oakamoore's review
2.0
This novel's central motifs are overbearing, and its narrative is secondary to these ideas - at times it reads like an essay around which a story has been loosely wrapped.
The narrative itself is an exercise in the suspension of disbelief, it also tends to jump around quite a lot, and comes across as slightly corny.
The narrative itself is an exercise in the suspension of disbelief, it also tends to jump around quite a lot, and comes across as slightly corny.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Coincidentally (irony intended) I only read J.W. Ironmonger's The Coincidence Authority within the last fortnight. A very different take on the subject of coincidence, chance and synchronicity is the talented Sedgwick's latest.
Skipping around in time, we find ourselves at the airport with Laureth, 16, abducting her 7-year-old brother Benjamin and his toy raven Stan. They are travelling to New York to find their missing father. jack Peak is a popular writer, once known for his funny books, now obsessed with the subject of coincidence and the number 354. It might be a straightforward 'quest' story, but it's not. Laureth is blind. She needs Benjamin to be her eyes on their journey. She has no idea where her father is in the city, only that his writer's notebook has been found there and a reward sought, starting Laureth's determination to find her dad.
It's one of those books that's hard to describe. To describe in any more detail the plot would spoil the marvellous events that happen. We get to see Jack Peak's notes as Laureth and Benjamin try to piece together clues as to his whereabouts. We also get little insights into Laureth's dark world and how she copes with it.
It's a very entertaining read that had me racing to finish in a day. I really admire the ideas and writing of Sedgwick, each book completely different. This would be a superb book for a teenage Book Club to discuss (and comes with ready made readers' notes in the back).
Skipping around in time, we find ourselves at the airport with Laureth, 16, abducting her 7-year-old brother Benjamin and his toy raven Stan. They are travelling to New York to find their missing father. jack Peak is a popular writer, once known for his funny books, now obsessed with the subject of coincidence and the number 354. It might be a straightforward 'quest' story, but it's not. Laureth is blind. She needs Benjamin to be her eyes on their journey. She has no idea where her father is in the city, only that his writer's notebook has been found there and a reward sought, starting Laureth's determination to find her dad.
It's one of those books that's hard to describe. To describe in any more detail the plot would spoil the marvellous events that happen. We get to see Jack Peak's notes as Laureth and Benjamin try to piece together clues as to his whereabouts. We also get little insights into Laureth's dark world and how she copes with it.
It's a very entertaining read that had me racing to finish in a day. I really admire the ideas and writing of Sedgwick, each book completely different. This would be a superb book for a teenage Book Club to discuss (and comes with ready made readers' notes in the back).
heylook's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly cool little book that goes from mystery to almost Lovecraftian (or at least Edgar Allan Poe-ian) type nuttiness at one point, but remains firmly planted in reality. Also respectable but a bit clumsy attempts to sort of explain what it's like being blind, and that blindness doesn't mean lack of independence, etc.
hivequeen's review against another edition
3.0
This book was pretty good. It was such an interesting idea, but the actually story fell a little short for me. The ending was anti-climactic. It was quite interesting to read a story told from the point of view of someone who is blind.
I went through and took the first word from every chapter as was suggested in the end of the book. It read:
I went through and took the first word from every chapter as was suggested in the end of the book. It read:
Spoiler
One thing, when you learn what she deals with you might love the blond girl who knows that it's never been her sight that she needs, that it's trust, love, and faith also.hayleybeale's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved the characters of Laureth and her brother, Benjamin (plus Stan) and I found for most of the book I was both thrilled by what they were taking on, and appalled by the risks that they were unknowingly taking. The notes about coincidences that are woven into the story are fascinating and I could imagine will appeal to many readers. I also thought that Mr. Walker was a great character (and deserves his own novel) and I found his last interaction with Laureth extraordinarily moving and insightful. I just felt the resolution to the mystery was a bit flat-footed and seemed to belong to a different book. There's definitely some tonal and thematic similarities with Meg Rosoff's 'Picture Me Gone'. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy - but it meant I couldn't work out what the hidden message was. I noticed that this was actually published a while ago, so I should probably have read a published copy.
maddie_wecker's review against another edition
4.0
'One thing, when you learn what she deals with, you might love. The blind girl who knows that its never been her sight that she needs, that its trust, love and faith also.' He did it. That is the first word of each chapter. Of course it could be just a coincidence ... who knows??