shadowofadoubt89's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great book. The main character was a lot different than the other main characters I see in most books for this age group and the story was different than most of the other books I read. It felt very much like a Rick Riordan book, but it dealt with elves and dwarves rather than demi-gods. But it was a really nice change of pass from those Rick Riordan books and I couldn't stop reading it. The ending was a little abrupt and I'm not really sure what the next book will be about given how the author left the story. But I'm super excited to see where he goes with it and how the ending affects the world the characters live in.
lissystrata's review against another edition
4.0
I specifically requested this book because I couldn’t walk away from that title. And it did not disappoint.
Greg Belmont has the worst luck. I’m not talking “dropping your ice cream” luck, or “slamming your hand in the car door” luck. I’m talking “getting attacked by a polar bear at the zoo and then the teacher getting mad at you for it” luck. Which totally happens to Greg. It runs in the family, he’s told by his dad, who’s always out looking for new ingredients for organic soaps and teas.
And Greg’s just different somehow from the other kids at his fancy private school. So far, he’s only managed one friend. Life, especially on Thursdays, kind of sucks for Greg.
…until one day he drinks his dad’s new tea and makes lettuce grow from the floor of the cafeteria. And then a Bro-Troll randomly attacks his dad’s shop and kidnaps his dad and now the only other employee at the store turns out to be some Mysterious Old Guy With Magic who takes Greg to the Underground. And he’s like, “Surprise! You’re a dwarf! And here’s a magical underground world that’s like Hogwarts but with 93% more blacksmithing! Also Elves suck and you should hate them.”
It’s gonna take some new Dwarf friends, a talking axe, and some spectacular failures to save his dad. And prepare for the end of the modern world. Did I mention all this secret magic is leaking out of the world and will soon plunge all of humanity into a pre-tech existence? Because that’s kind of important.
It’s hard to do whimsy in storytelling, because there’s a fine line between “whimsical” and “annoying”, and it’s difficult to find that balance, but I think Rylander does it well. It helps that in addition to being genuinely funny, this book is also surprisingly…well, truthful. Greg has to come to terms with a lot of big changes, and even has to decide whether or not he can still trust Edwin, his best and only friend for years, anymore. He’s got a lot of conflicting emotions about his father, and doesn’t even know if he’ll get the chance to apologize or even get an explanation of why his dad kept so many things a secret.
I’m going to leave it at that so I don’t get into spoiler territory, but this is the first in a new series and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next for Greg.
Greg Belmont has the worst luck. I’m not talking “dropping your ice cream” luck, or “slamming your hand in the car door” luck. I’m talking “getting attacked by a polar bear at the zoo and then the teacher getting mad at you for it” luck. Which totally happens to Greg. It runs in the family, he’s told by his dad, who’s always out looking for new ingredients for organic soaps and teas.
And Greg’s just different somehow from the other kids at his fancy private school. So far, he’s only managed one friend. Life, especially on Thursdays, kind of sucks for Greg.
…until one day he drinks his dad’s new tea and makes lettuce grow from the floor of the cafeteria. And then a Bro-Troll randomly attacks his dad’s shop and kidnaps his dad and now the only other employee at the store turns out to be some Mysterious Old Guy With Magic who takes Greg to the Underground. And he’s like, “Surprise! You’re a dwarf! And here’s a magical underground world that’s like Hogwarts but with 93% more blacksmithing! Also Elves suck and you should hate them.”
It’s gonna take some new Dwarf friends, a talking axe, and some spectacular failures to save his dad. And prepare for the end of the modern world. Did I mention all this secret magic is leaking out of the world and will soon plunge all of humanity into a pre-tech existence? Because that’s kind of important.
It’s hard to do whimsy in storytelling, because there’s a fine line between “whimsical” and “annoying”, and it’s difficult to find that balance, but I think Rylander does it well. It helps that in addition to being genuinely funny, this book is also surprisingly…well, truthful. Greg has to come to terms with a lot of big changes, and even has to decide whether or not he can still trust Edwin, his best and only friend for years, anymore. He’s got a lot of conflicting emotions about his father, and doesn’t even know if he’ll get the chance to apologize or even get an explanation of why his dad kept so many things a secret.
I’m going to leave it at that so I don’t get into spoiler territory, but this is the first in a new series and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next for Greg.
womanon's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while before I got into it, though when I did, I sometimes still had moments when my mind wandered off. I loved the story, however, and the writing style was very good.
eli02's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
teacher2library's review against another edition
3.0
"When things seem bleakest, that's when your future couldn't possibly look any better, any more hopeful."
Something about the zoo seems to herald magic moments. Harry Potter discovers he's a wizrd, Greg discovers he's a dwarf.
I liked the first half of this book but the dialogue started feeling awkward/inconsistent and the action lurched in weird fits and starts the second half. Would recommend as a HP read alike for middler schoolers but honestly not invested enough to pick up the sequel.
Something about the zoo seems to herald magic moments. Harry Potter discovers he's a wizrd, Greg discovers he's a dwarf.
I liked the first half of this book but the dialogue started feeling awkward/inconsistent and the action lurched in weird fits and starts the second half. Would recommend as a HP read alike for middler schoolers but honestly not invested enough to pick up the sequel.
yapha's review against another edition
4.0
Fun fantasy adventure with a nice touch of humor. Fans of Percy Jackson will love this. It seems to be the first in a series. I hope so! Recommended for grades 4 & up.
teebles's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my goodness.
I would seriously recommend reading this book without a lot of prior knowledge because it is seriously so good.
All I really knew about this book was that it was about a dwarf called Greg who has bad luck on Thursdays, and I was sold.
I read one review where they compared this book to Percy Jackson and I really have to agree. This book just gives off all of the Percy Jackson vibes and it just gave me such nostalgia.
I really love the characters in this book. They are all so different and well developed and each have an entirely different personality. I especially love Greg, Edwin and Ari. Although, I always have to reread what Lake says because he speaks in ancient Dwarfish (basically olde English).
I also love the plot of this book. It was action packed and something that I have never seen done before.
I really love how this book chose to focus on developing friendships as opposed to creating instalove relationships.
The thing is, Edwin and Greg are my BROtp. And, after that ending... I really just don’t know what to think! I love the kind of development we saw between Edwin and Greg.
I strongly feel that this is a book for all ages. It is aimed at 8-12 year olds, and I am an almost-16-year-old who really loved this story.
Seriously, it is so good and is really engaging from the get go. The first page really grabs your attention and keeps you hooked!
I would seriously recommend reading this book without a lot of prior knowledge because it is seriously so good.
All I really knew about this book was that it was about a dwarf called Greg who has bad luck on Thursdays, and I was sold.
I read one review where they compared this book to Percy Jackson and I really have to agree. This book just gives off all of the Percy Jackson vibes and it just gave me such nostalgia.
I really love the characters in this book. They are all so different and well developed and each have an entirely different personality. I especially love Greg, Edwin and Ari. Although, I always have to reread what Lake says because he speaks in ancient Dwarfish (basically olde English).
I also love the plot of this book. It was action packed and something that I have never seen done before.
I really love how this book chose to focus on developing friendships as opposed to creating instalove relationships.
The thing is, Edwin and Greg are my BROtp. And, after that ending... I really just don’t know what to think! I love the kind of development we saw between Edwin and Greg.
I strongly feel that this is a book for all ages. It is aimed at 8-12 year olds, and I am an almost-16-year-old who really loved this story.
Seriously, it is so good and is really engaging from the get go. The first page really grabs your attention and keeps you hooked!
aminajbxr's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
thetalesofabookishmom's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off slow for me but keeping in mind it’s written for a much younger age range it was really good and I definitely wanna know what happens next.