Scan barcode
jnichols'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jelomath's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bookishpip's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mattirubin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
telltalepage's review against another edition
5.0
This book was super cute and a little bit creepy!!
Set on a moving island, you follow a younger sister of a powerful exiled prince/King and it's such an interesting point of view. It's not often that we see a story about someone of Julian's character archetype from the POV of someone else and someone who loves him. Noa was a great main character, having all the flaws and annoyances that a 13 year old girl can have.
I loved the magic system (language/elemental based magic! very cool!) and I would have gladly read an entire series in this world, whether it be juvenile or adult.
Set on a moving island, you follow a younger sister of a powerful exiled prince/King and it's such an interesting point of view. It's not often that we see a story about someone of Julian's character archetype from the POV of someone else and someone who loves him. Noa was a great main character, having all the flaws and annoyances that a 13 year old girl can have.
I loved the magic system (language/elemental based magic! very cool!) and I would have gladly read an entire series in this world, whether it be juvenile or adult.
pinkpassionpages's review against another edition
2.0
Personages: 2/5
Setting: 1/5
Plot: 1/5
Schrijfstijl: 2/5
Niet geheel mijn boek. Het verhaal loopt zeer snel waardoor je als lezer niet helemaal mee bent. Daarnaast wordt er weinig aan world building gedaan. De lezer moet zelf de invulling maken en daarin zijn plan trekken. Dit zorgt ervoor dat het visuele beeld steeds gewijzigd wordt en er met de wereld geen connectie gevormd kan worden.
Idem voor de personages. Die blijven zeer oppervlakkig en maken weinig tot geen evolutie door. De hoofdpersoon is dan ook nog eens een vervelend personage. De eerste honderd à twee honderd pagina's gedraagt ze zich als een verwend nest. Vanaf dan begint het te beteren, maar haar wispelturige karakter houdt aan.
De plots is relatief eenvoudig en mist ook wat meer diepgang. Er is te weinig context om te begrijpen wat de achterliggende gedachten zijn. Daarnaast was het einde zeer zwak. In één pagina is alles opgelost en de manier waarop was niet zo geloofwaardig.
Setting: 1/5
Plot: 1/5
Schrijfstijl: 2/5
Niet geheel mijn boek. Het verhaal loopt zeer snel waardoor je als lezer niet helemaal mee bent. Daarnaast wordt er weinig aan world building gedaan. De lezer moet zelf de invulling maken en daarin zijn plan trekken. Dit zorgt ervoor dat het visuele beeld steeds gewijzigd wordt en er met de wereld geen connectie gevormd kan worden.
Idem voor de personages. Die blijven zeer oppervlakkig en maken weinig tot geen evolutie door. De hoofdpersoon is dan ook nog eens een vervelend personage. De eerste honderd à twee honderd pagina's gedraagt ze zich als een verwend nest. Vanaf dan begint het te beteren, maar haar wispelturige karakter houdt aan.
De plots is relatief eenvoudig en mist ook wat meer diepgang. Er is te weinig context om te begrijpen wat de achterliggende gedachten zijn. Daarnaast was het einde zeer zwak. In één pagina is alles opgelost en de manier waarop was niet zo geloofwaardig.
dohali's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
hdbblog's review against another edition
3.0
This was actually my second attempt at this book. The first time around I wasn't in the right headspace to appreciate Noa and her siblings, and so I set it aside for later reading. Fast forward to this year, and I was so in the mood for some middle grade shenanigans! I picked this story back up, and dove straight in. If you're new to my blog, I should premise this review with the fact that I truly love Middle Grade books. In fact, I feel like there are so many gems here that people generally miss out on because they go straight into the YA realm. So it should come as no surprise that I had pretty high expectations for this Fantasy realm and its quirky characters.
First off, big kudos to Heather Fawcett for the wonderful world that she has created here. While Noa's reason for fleeing to her moving island home is a tragic one, the picture that Fawcett paints of Noa's new home is just magical. A crumbling castle. Invisible cats. A sea serpent! What's not to love? Despite its faults, Noa finds her new home rather charming and that pulled me right in too. Add in a stellar, easy to understand magic system and you have my heart. This is absolutely a story that younger me would have loved, and I enjoyed it even now.
Similarly, I thought that the big focus on family in this story was really lovely. Julian isn't the easiest big brother to take care of. As a mage of vast power, with a fiery temper as large as his talent, Noa has her hands full trying to keep him from getting himself into trouble. However her love for him just shines off the page. Noa's constant worry that her big brother will go "bad" is so understandable, and downright sweet. The lengths that she'll go to in order to make sure he stays on the right path made me smile. I also loved how much Noa's affection for her littlest sibling, Mite, radiated off the page. We all know our younger siblings can drive us nuts. Mite is no exception, and it was so giggle worthy and realistic to watch their banter. There was love there too though, and I ate it up.
Now to the part that I had a bit of trouble with. While I loved a lot about this story, there were a few parts that just didn't hit for me. Noa is a bit hard to handle as a narrator at times. I fully understood that she was a young teen, and so I took a lot of what she said and did with a grain of salt. Still, there were portions of the story where it felt like she was just being stubborn to further the plot, and not like it was an intentional aspect of her character. Same goes for the constant miscommunication between the siblings. Do I love that Fawcett showed that siblings do indeed argue, sometimes constantly? Absolutely! I also loved they were able to grow, learn and make up at some point. The frustrating part was that a lot of their arguments felt wholly manufactured as a way to generate drama. Add in a few frustrating plot holes, and I was admittedly a bit frustrated at times.
I think that the ending definitely rounded things out, and did the book justice! Books like The Language of Ghosts always make me smile because they show the beauty of family togetherness and perseverance. That's ultimately why I settled on a solid three-star rating. While this wasn't my favorite book of the year, I did indeed enjoy it! I'll be adding more of Fawcett's writing to my TBR this year!
First off, big kudos to Heather Fawcett for the wonderful world that she has created here. While Noa's reason for fleeing to her moving island home is a tragic one, the picture that Fawcett paints of Noa's new home is just magical. A crumbling castle. Invisible cats. A sea serpent! What's not to love? Despite its faults, Noa finds her new home rather charming and that pulled me right in too. Add in a stellar, easy to understand magic system and you have my heart. This is absolutely a story that younger me would have loved, and I enjoyed it even now.
Similarly, I thought that the big focus on family in this story was really lovely. Julian isn't the easiest big brother to take care of. As a mage of vast power, with a fiery temper as large as his talent, Noa has her hands full trying to keep him from getting himself into trouble. However her love for him just shines off the page. Noa's constant worry that her big brother will go "bad" is so understandable, and downright sweet. The lengths that she'll go to in order to make sure he stays on the right path made me smile. I also loved how much Noa's affection for her littlest sibling, Mite, radiated off the page. We all know our younger siblings can drive us nuts. Mite is no exception, and it was so giggle worthy and realistic to watch their banter. There was love there too though, and I ate it up.
Now to the part that I had a bit of trouble with. While I loved a lot about this story, there were a few parts that just didn't hit for me. Noa is a bit hard to handle as a narrator at times. I fully understood that she was a young teen, and so I took a lot of what she said and did with a grain of salt. Still, there were portions of the story where it felt like she was just being stubborn to further the plot, and not like it was an intentional aspect of her character. Same goes for the constant miscommunication between the siblings. Do I love that Fawcett showed that siblings do indeed argue, sometimes constantly? Absolutely! I also loved they were able to grow, learn and make up at some point. The frustrating part was that a lot of their arguments felt wholly manufactured as a way to generate drama. Add in a few frustrating plot holes, and I was admittedly a bit frustrated at times.
I think that the ending definitely rounded things out, and did the book justice! Books like The Language of Ghosts always make me smile because they show the beauty of family togetherness and perseverance. That's ultimately why I settled on a solid three-star rating. While this wasn't my favorite book of the year, I did indeed enjoy it! I'll be adding more of Fawcett's writing to my TBR this year!