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jarramz's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this. It felt like a modern Alice in Wonderland.
nella580's review against another edition
4.0
Hmmm, this is a tough book to rate. Overall, I liked it, but I had lots of trouble keeping up my interest, which may the the fault of the book or may be the fault of my circumstances at the moment.
As to the writing, it was superb. Valente is one of those authors who's an artist at heart. The way she uses language is a thing of beauty, a thing to be savored and enjoyed in all its decadence. You can tell from the title alone that this is not some amateur who's come up with a half-formed idea and is going to slap it down on paper to try and capitalize on the "children's adventure stories" market.
The characters and overall story are both unique and familiar, as Valente seems to be a very well read as well as a very imaginative person. So many aspects of this story take root in existing literature, mythology and folklore, but Valente does a marvelous job of taking those pieces and making them her own.
So what's my criticism? I guess I didn't find the actual adventure of September and her friends all that interesting. I loved the resolution and I loved the motives, but the actual events that transpired were just a means to an end, something I needed to get through in order to find out the interesting parts.
Will I read more of this series? Yes. Will I jump up and run out to buy book 0.5 right this instant? No, but I'd recommend TGWCFISHOM to anyone who might show the slightest interest in such a story.
As to the writing, it was superb. Valente is one of those authors who's an artist at heart. The way she uses language is a thing of beauty, a thing to be savored and enjoyed in all its decadence. You can tell from the title alone that this is not some amateur who's come up with a half-formed idea and is going to slap it down on paper to try and capitalize on the "children's adventure stories" market.
The characters and overall story are both unique and familiar, as Valente seems to be a very well read as well as a very imaginative person. So many aspects of this story take root in existing literature, mythology and folklore, but Valente does a marvelous job of taking those pieces and making them her own.
So what's my criticism? I guess I didn't find the actual adventure of September and her friends all that interesting. I loved the resolution and I loved the motives, but the actual events that transpired were just a means to an end, something I needed to get through in order to find out the interesting parts.
Will I read more of this series? Yes. Will I jump up and run out to buy book 0.5 right this instant? No, but I'd recommend TGWCFISHOM to anyone who might show the slightest interest in such a story.
heartsandhearts's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book! Started off a little slow, but quickly picked up. Reminds me of one of my favorite books, Alice in Wonderland !
bside67's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable book and a light summer read. Just what I needed. Looking forward to the next one.
kanncarlson's review against another edition
3.0
This was an odd read-aloud with my kid. This feels like the most traditionally fairy tale thing we've done so far. Fairy tale not in the cute way but in the confusing and sometimes kind of scary way. It is the first book we've read that is part of series where my kid emphatically asked not to continue in the series so I guess we won't be doing that. From an adult perspective, I liked it more than she did but I would have liked it more reading it alone than reading it to her and being, at times, worried that it was too much for her.
This follows a young girl who finds herself in Fairyland one day. She sees lots of odd things, encounters people who become her friend and some who are villains. As kids who get pulled in to fairy lands often do, she becomes responsible for completing a bit of a quest and saving her friends. There was a reveal at the end that I thought was pretty good and, if I had read this on my own, I may have considered moving forward in the series. As things stand, I think it's a story I am going to let go.
This follows a young girl who finds herself in Fairyland one day. She sees lots of odd things, encounters people who become her friend and some who are villains. As kids who get pulled in to fairy lands often do, she becomes responsible for completing a bit of a quest and saving her friends. There was a reveal at the end that I thought was pretty good and, if I had read this on my own, I may have considered moving forward in the series. As things stand, I think it's a story I am going to let go.
memmiller01's review against another edition
4.0
A little too gory toward the end but wonderful language and overall a satisfying read.
cubfan82's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure what to think of this book at first, but the further I got into the story, the more and more caught up I became in what was going on. By the time it was finished, I didn't want it to be over. The characters were great, my favorite being A through L, the Wiverary.
Really the only negative thing I have to say is that sometimes the way the narrator would occasionally directly talk to the readers didn't always work. In some cases, it only served to take me out of the events of the story, and it was kind of jarring. Other than that, I thought everything was great, and I can't wait to read the next book!
Really the only negative thing I have to say is that sometimes the way the narrator would occasionally directly talk to the readers didn't always work. In some cases, it only served to take me out of the events of the story, and it was kind of jarring. Other than that, I thought everything was great, and I can't wait to read the next book!
pili_pala's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely LOVED this. It was wonderful, creative, subversive and funny - magical.
huntress_fainne's review against another edition
3.0
Wonderland meets Oz meets THIS IS DISTURBING.
No seriously, this book is dark. It's written in a style that is pretty common (Narnia, Oz, Wonderland, Lemony Snicket) and they all portrayed the dark things much more tactfully. This book is clearly written in a fashion that is meant to appeal to fairly young readers, but unless they're extremely mature for their age I wouldn't want them near it.
Now for my spoiler-y rant:
I don't have anything against dark or mature books for children. But it has to be done correctly. I did not feel like that was the case. This book had mentions of nudity that were just random (and thus kinda freaked me out), and then there was lots of implied torture and slavery and murder, there was mention of straight up child abuse, there was a murder that . . . NO. and there was gutting a fish.
It may seem like I'm overreacting, but these things didn't work. I mean, the torture/slavery/imprisonment/murder that was connected to Saturday was handled in an okay fashion. I could accept that. The villain - who was really an old hero turned villain and I quite liked that - was actually abused and due to the way this world works, she went from a pregnant queen to a twelve year old who got beaten. So . . . child abuse and magical abortion! Then there's a murdered paper lantern (who somehow gets resurrected) who BLEEDS. How does a paper lantern that attains sentience BLEED? It makes no sense and it was thrown in in a very depressing way. The act that convinced me this book was way too dark, however, was the fish gutting. It was written in such a way that . . . that was just disturbing. Narnia had the gutting and preparation of animal for food and that wasn't anywhere near as uncomfortable as this.
Really, just something about the writing style and the dark elements didn't work. I liked the plot. That was good and inventive and fun. I liked the characters - although after going through the whole book thinking "Does Saturday have a crush on the MC?" and then having him in his omnipotent-ness saying "hey, look, there's our kid" was . . . the MC is twelve and so far hadn't shown romantic interest SO WHY THROW THAT IN? Other than that weird moment, I liked the plot and the characters. They had the makings of a fantastic book.
It is the writing and the dark elements that don't work. They simply feel wrong and made me feel uncomfortable. I am grown up. I have read A Song of Ice and Fire. This book made me feel uncomfortable. It simply did not work. It wasn't fitting and the dark elements should have been handled differently. I'd be fine with them if they fit into the rest of the book better, because it honestly felt like the darkness of them was being shoved forcefully down my throat.
Maybe younger readers, in their obliviousness, won't have a problem with it, but personally I think that this book was creative and promising but that it didn't know how to handle some thing.
No seriously, this book is dark. It's written in a style that is pretty common (Narnia, Oz, Wonderland, Lemony Snicket) and they all portrayed the dark things much more tactfully. This book is clearly written in a fashion that is meant to appeal to fairly young readers, but unless they're extremely mature for their age I wouldn't want them near it.
Now for my spoiler-y rant:
I don't have anything against dark or mature books for children. But it has to be done correctly. I did not feel like that was the case. This book had mentions of nudity that were just random (and thus kinda freaked me out), and then there was lots of implied torture and slavery and murder, there was mention of straight up child abuse, there was a murder that . . . NO. and there was gutting a fish.
It may seem like I'm overreacting, but these things didn't work. I mean, the torture/slavery/imprisonment/murder that was connected to Saturday was handled in an okay fashion. I could accept that. The villain - who was really an old hero turned villain and I quite liked that - was actually abused and due to the way this world works, she went from a pregnant queen to a twelve year old who got beaten. So . . . child abuse and magical abortion! Then there's a murdered paper lantern (who somehow gets resurrected) who BLEEDS. How does a paper lantern that attains sentience BLEED? It makes no sense and it was thrown in in a very depressing way. The act that convinced me this book was way too dark, however, was the fish gutting. It was written in such a way that . . . that was just disturbing. Narnia had the gutting and preparation of animal for food and that wasn't anywhere near as uncomfortable as this.
Really, just something about the writing style and the dark elements didn't work. I liked the plot. That was good and inventive and fun. I liked the characters - although after going through the whole book thinking "Does Saturday have a crush on the MC?" and then having him in his omnipotent-ness saying "hey, look, there's our kid" was . . . the MC is twelve and so far hadn't shown romantic interest SO WHY THROW THAT IN? Other than that weird moment, I liked the plot and the characters. They had the makings of a fantastic book.
It is the writing and the dark elements that don't work. They simply feel wrong and made me feel uncomfortable. I am grown up. I have read A Song of Ice and Fire. This book made me feel uncomfortable. It simply did not work. It wasn't fitting and the dark elements should have been handled differently. I'd be fine with them if they fit into the rest of the book better, because it honestly felt like the darkness of them was being shoved forcefully down my throat.
Maybe younger readers, in their obliviousness, won't have a problem with it, but personally I think that this book was creative and promising but that it didn't know how to handle some thing.