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moreau's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this book made me realise i hate children's lit and always have, as a kid i pretty much went from picture story books to historical biographies and now i remember why. this was the single most stressful thing ive read since percy jackson. do kids need constant drama?? like. nothing in this every goes properly right. it genuinely made it hard to finish. so many times i physically cringed, never been so stressed reading. this was supposed to be my relaxing bedtime audiobook, nuh uh, not relaxing. i thought assad zaman's sweet voice would soothe me to sleep, it did, but the book itself kept me awake for ages. its bloody good though. i cried at the end, got super attached to all the characters. really good book if you won't freak out as much as me HAHA
i wish i knew an Al irl hes adorable. really hope py's dr who bedsheets in the 80s didnt feature the doctor then. i love the 5th and 6th doctors because theyre cheesy but cant respect anyone who genuinely thinks theyre cool shit. but yeah, this book is amazing and i really loved it but it also made me want to die. does have a way nicer ending than The Time Machine though, which was also stressful. maybe time travel just blows my mind yet im a nerd about it. dont time travel kids.
i wish i knew an Al irl hes adorable. really hope py's dr who bedsheets in the 80s didnt feature the doctor then. i love the 5th and 6th doctors because theyre cheesy but cant respect anyone who genuinely thinks theyre cool shit. but yeah, this book is amazing and i really loved it but it also made me want to die. does have a way nicer ending than The Time Machine though, which was also stressful. maybe time travel just blows my mind yet im a nerd about it. dont time travel kids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying and Animal cruelty
Minor: Cursing
sheena_sherburn's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
2.25
This was suggested at a reading group for my young brothers (age 9-11). The book had a good foundation story but it felt like it had been fleshed out way too much. To the point that my brothers were getting lost and felt that the words the 12 year old character Albert was using was very unrealistic for his age.
They thought that if Albert was made to go back and forth from his old house a little less, before time travelling, it would have been a bit more enjoyable and they would’ve been able to get hooked on the storyline a bit sooner.
As an adult I thought the idea of the story was a good one but I agree that it’s definitely a bit too wordy for younger readers that struggle. I would have personally made Albert a little bit older in the books, just so the language he uses and the actions in the story made a little bit more sense (maybe 14 instead?).
I would say this book needs to be aimed more at 13+ readers so they have a full understanding of the language involved.
They thought that if Albert was made to go back and forth from his old house a little less, before time travelling, it would have been a bit more enjoyable and they would’ve been able to get hooked on the storyline a bit sooner.
As an adult I thought the idea of the story was a good one but I agree that it’s definitely a bit too wordy for younger readers that struggle. I would have personally made Albert a little bit older in the books, just so the language he uses and the actions in the story made a little bit more sense (maybe 14 instead?).
I would say this book needs to be aimed more at 13+ readers so they have a full understanding of the language involved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Death of parent
silver_valkyrie_reads's review
funny
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
This was entertaining, a great kid's version of some of the classic time travel tropes, but with it's own twists. Plus a bit about mind palaces and memory tricks!
I was prepared to LOVE this book at the beginning, since I love a competent, prepared protagonist, and those traits are especially rare for middle grade books. I'm not sure where the LOVE dropped to like. Maybe the odd threads of Hinduism put me off? Or just the book didn't quite go where I was expecting it to, and I wanted more of the time travel parts? Whatever it was, I ended up a little disappointed that it didn't follow through on all the awesome I was hoping for, but still glad I read it.
I was prepared to LOVE this book at the beginning, since I love a competent, prepared protagonist, and those traits are especially rare for middle grade books. I'm not sure where the LOVE dropped to like. Maybe the odd threads of Hinduism put me off? Or just the book didn't quite go where I was expecting it to, and I wanted more of the time travel parts? Whatever it was, I ended up a little disappointed that it didn't follow through on all the awesome I was hoping for, but still glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Grief
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
There is a reference to listening for 'noises' from the adults' bedroom, implication of the adult nature of the noises, but not directly stated.
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