spookyaz's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Listen, I ended up liking this better than I thought I would. It starts off very slowly. That being said, the characters are flat, the brother constantly acts terribly without any consequences, and the author seems to have this....weird...kinda fetishistic...fixation on East Asian women?? Also, the majority of the magical creatures are very definitively "good" or "evil" without nuance which is...honestly boring and disappointing. I love complex morally grey witches especially, and I know this is a book for younger children but you can definitely have those kinds of witches (and fantasy creatures in general) in stories written for that age range! Overall I would not recommend this book. There is plenty of better middle-grade fantasy to read out there.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Body horror
ladykatka's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Not sure why this book is so highly rated, the characters are so unlikeable and irritating they border on insufferable. Seth is the worst of them all, he is such a selfish brat and causes 90% of all the problems in the book. Grandpa's lies cause the other 10%. The fact that severe consequences are implied but never happen or never stick is also very annoying. This book is less about fairy creatures and more about a poorly behaved child running amok and leaving chaos in his wake. There are also several chapters where nothing much happens to further the plot and can be skipped altogether. The author also does a lot of telling rather than showing which gets quite boring. Not going to be reading the second one even though the end of the book leaves several plots still open.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Death
naomi_k's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Kidnapping and Death
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