elisabeths_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
666prada's review against another edition
4.0
my main goal in life is to read every novel written by v.e. schwab, so when i heard that her first middle-grade trilogy is getting published again, i obviously had to pick it up. i'm definitely not the target audience at 19, but i still enjoy these types of stories occasionally, and basically i started reading this with the intention of reading one or two chapters, and then i found myself halfway through the first book.
basically the three books follow aria, a new guardian angel who has to help three girls in order to gain her wings. she doesn't know much about where she comes from or what happens afterwards, she just knows what she has to do and of course has some pretty cool abilities. i wasn't sure about how this would play out, but schwab came through once again and delivered three amazing and memorable books that i wish i had as a kid. i think there is a lot in these, that could help children and make them feel seen.
★new beginnings -4.5*
this story focuses on gabby torres. she is 12, and her brother got sick, so they had to move to a completely new place, and she has to start a new school. she wants to make new friends who wouldn't befriend her "out of pity", or look at her different because of this, so she keeps her life a secret.
this was an amazing start to the series. it showed a difficult situation and that just because your problems aren't necessarily "as serious", they are still valid, and you are allowed to feel these things. it's a very bittersweet story that i absolutely loved. and the brother-sister relationship was really cute.
★second chances-4*
the main character of the second installment is caroline, who goes to an all girls prep school, where she is constantly bullied by the local 12 year old mean girls, whose leader is her next-door neighbor best friend turned enemy.
honestly it was wild to see these twelve year olds targeting someone so early and pretty much making nearly everyone at their school fear them. and the other kids just followed them like sheep. i mean, i'm sure this happens a lot, because children can be cruel, i just personally have never seen it so early, and it was sad to read about the petty things they did, yet caroline still wanted to belong to their group again.
i think it was a realistic portrayal of what they go through even if it's a bit irrational, kids be kids. and i was glad to see that lily wasn't just reduced to the mean queen bee, but she had depth and problems too that explained why she did these things, yet her behavior wasn't completely excused by the end. i liked this book too, but i wasn't a fan of caroline in general, rip.
★last wishes-4*
this book follows mikayla, who is a dancer and won multiple trophies, and basically all her time is consumed by dancing and very strict rules, and the need to be perfect. her parents are also having financial trouble, so her main goal is to get into a prestigious dance academy.
last wishes perfectly explored the perfectionism that some children experience and the bad things it can lead to. there is a lot of pressure on the main character and she has a lot of doubts about what she should do. i was also happy to see what happened to the other two girls and the way aria's story concluded was well done too.
overall this trilogy is a prime example of good middle-grade, and i think it could help a lot of kids who feel alone or lost, or deal with similar problems, so i hope it'll reach a lot of people eventually. and obviously schwab's writing is splendid, as usual.
other books by victoria schwab
Cassidy Blake
1, City of Ghosts ★★★ and ¾
2, Tunnel of Bones ★★★★ and 1/4
The Dark Vault ★★★★ and 1/2
Monsters of Verity
1, This Savage Song ★★★ and 1/2
2, Our Dark Duet ★★★★ and 1/2
Villains
0,5, Warm Up ★★★★ and 1/2
1, Vicious ★★★★★
2, Vengeful ★★★ and 1/2
Shades of Magic
1, A Darker Shade of Magic ★★★ and 1/2
2, A Gathering of Shadows ★★★
3, A Conjuring of Light ★★★★
basically the three books follow aria, a new guardian angel who has to help three girls in order to gain her wings. she doesn't know much about where she comes from or what happens afterwards, she just knows what she has to do and of course has some pretty cool abilities. i wasn't sure about how this would play out, but schwab came through once again and delivered three amazing and memorable books that i wish i had as a kid. i think there is a lot in these, that could help children and make them feel seen.
★new beginnings -4.5*
I think Marco's being sick, is a loud problem. So loud it makes every other problem seem quiet. And because they're quiet, you think they're less important.
this story focuses on gabby torres. she is 12, and her brother got sick, so they had to move to a completely new place, and she has to start a new school. she wants to make new friends who wouldn't befriend her "out of pity", or look at her different because of this, so she keeps her life a secret.
this was an amazing start to the series. it showed a difficult situation and that just because your problems aren't necessarily "as serious", they are still valid, and you are allowed to feel these things. it's a very bittersweet story that i absolutely loved. and the brother-sister relationship was really cute.
★second chances-4*
Putting one person down to lift someone else up. That was something bullies did.
the main character of the second installment is caroline, who goes to an all girls prep school, where she is constantly bullied by the local 12 year old mean girls, whose leader is her next-door neighbor best friend turned enemy.
honestly it was wild to see these twelve year olds targeting someone so early and pretty much making nearly everyone at their school fear them. and the other kids just followed them like sheep. i mean, i'm sure this happens a lot, because children can be cruel, i just personally have never seen it so early, and it was sad to read about the petty things they did, yet caroline still wanted to belong to their group again.
i think it was a realistic portrayal of what they go through even if it's a bit irrational, kids be kids. and i was glad to see that lily wasn't just reduced to the mean queen bee, but she had depth and problems too that explained why she did these things, yet her behavior wasn't completely excused by the end. i liked this book too, but i wasn't a fan of caroline in general, rip.
★last wishes-4*
Because sometimes people had to make the wrong decision first, so they could make the right one later.
this book follows mikayla, who is a dancer and won multiple trophies, and basically all her time is consumed by dancing and very strict rules, and the need to be perfect. her parents are also having financial trouble, so her main goal is to get into a prestigious dance academy.
last wishes perfectly explored the perfectionism that some children experience and the bad things it can lead to. there is a lot of pressure on the main character and she has a lot of doubts about what she should do. i was also happy to see what happened to the other two girls and the way aria's story concluded was well done too.
overall this trilogy is a prime example of good middle-grade, and i think it could help a lot of kids who feel alone or lost, or deal with similar problems, so i hope it'll reach a lot of people eventually. and obviously schwab's writing is splendid, as usual.
other books by victoria schwab
Cassidy Blake
1, City of Ghosts ★★★ and ¾
2, Tunnel of Bones ★★★★ and 1/4
The Dark Vault ★★★★ and 1/2
Monsters of Verity
1, This Savage Song ★★★ and 1/2
2, Our Dark Duet ★★★★ and 1/2
Villains
0,5, Warm Up ★★★★ and 1/2
1, Vicious ★★★★★
2, Vengeful ★★★ and 1/2
Shades of Magic
1, A Darker Shade of Magic ★★★ and 1/2
2, A Gathering of Shadows ★★★
3, A Conjuring of Light ★★★★
zephyrsilver's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I was actually a little nervous about this series. Victoria Schwab is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) authors and I was so excited when her early stuff was rereleased but I found The Near Witch to be just okay and I was afraid this would be a generic middle grade/kids book that wouldn’t have her normal flare to it and that would just be okay. I wasn’t expecting much honestly.
But I actually really loved this series? Schwab’s writing is, as always, beautiful without being overly complicated. It flows very well. Her characters are incredible and the stories very meaningful. I was expecting stories about pre-teen drama that I wouldn’t be able to relate to but that was not the case. These stories hit hard and I think everybody regardless of age can relate to at least one of these stories. Not to mention Aria’s wisdom is relevant to everybody. Aria is wonderfully done in that yes she is very wise but she’s also still a twelve year old girl. She’s filled with wonder and excitement and it’s a reminder to not take the world for granted and fall numb to the beauty around you. She didn’t feel overly preachy or too mature for her age. And the other girls were also wonderful characters who I felt very drawn to and were routing for.
Absolutely incredible and I highly recommend regardless of how old you are.
I was actually a little nervous about this series. Victoria Schwab is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) authors and I was so excited when her early stuff was rereleased but I found The Near Witch to be just okay and I was afraid this would be a generic middle grade/kids book that wouldn’t have her normal flare to it and that would just be okay. I wasn’t expecting much honestly.
But I actually really loved this series? Schwab’s writing is, as always, beautiful without being overly complicated. It flows very well. Her characters are incredible and the stories very meaningful. I was expecting stories about pre-teen drama that I wouldn’t be able to relate to but that was not the case. These stories hit hard and I think everybody regardless of age can relate to at least one of these stories. Not to mention Aria’s wisdom is relevant to everybody. Aria is wonderfully done in that yes she is very wise but she’s also still a twelve year old girl. She’s filled with wonder and excitement and it’s a reminder to not take the world for granted and fall numb to the beauty around you. She didn’t feel overly preachy or too mature for her age. And the other girls were also wonderful characters who I felt very drawn to and were routing for.
Absolutely incredible and I highly recommend regardless of how old you are.
sharonrose's review against another edition
4.0
This was very different than most of Schwab’s works: it was light, fluffy, and cheerful and exactly what I needed to read right now. Very sweet stories with nice lessons and lovable characters! (As a side note I like how Schwab shameless sorts her middle grade characters into Hogwarts houses and states it in the book lol)
sarahoretsev's review against another edition
3.0
Story 1: ✰✰✰✰
Story 2: ✰✰
Story 3: ✰✰✰
This collection is quite obviously Victoria Schwab in her early days, as her writing has become much more sophisticated and immersive since; but the typical traits we enjoy in more recent Schwab novels of mystical magic and tough leading ladies are all here. This is also a middle grade book, so that may have subconsciously affected my engagement with the stories, although I try not to judge middle grade books in that way as I'm fully aware I'm not the target audience.
The first story was genuinely very enjoyable, and the idea of Aria being a guardian angel to Gabby, who's brother Marco was sick with cancer, was extremely emotive and believable. I loved that storyline and thought it was very well written, reminding us that when people are sick, their families need help and support too. The second story was what took this collection down for me, as I thought it was convoluted and then all wrapped up far too neatly in a way that didn't make sense. But the third story saved this collection, once again being an important story about insight to yourself, and the final scene of Aria seeing all 3 girls she had helped in order to get her wings was very well done.
Story 2: ✰✰
Story 3: ✰✰✰
This collection is quite obviously Victoria Schwab in her early days, as her writing has become much more sophisticated and immersive since; but the typical traits we enjoy in more recent Schwab novels of mystical magic and tough leading ladies are all here. This is also a middle grade book, so that may have subconsciously affected my engagement with the stories, although I try not to judge middle grade books in that way as I'm fully aware I'm not the target audience.
The first story was genuinely very enjoyable, and the idea of Aria being a guardian angel to Gabby, who's brother Marco was sick with cancer, was extremely emotive and believable. I loved that storyline and thought it was very well written, reminding us that when people are sick, their families need help and support too. The second story was what took this collection down for me, as I thought it was convoluted and then all wrapped up far too neatly in a way that didn't make sense. But the third story saved this collection, once again being an important story about insight to yourself, and the final scene of Aria seeing all 3 girls she had helped in order to get her wings was very well done.
storiesandsours's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
amysreading_nook's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely adored this! So different to Victoria's other writing styles but I loved it just as much. Such powerful messages throughout the book and I really enjoyed the characters - especially the ever-changing laces.
dinnureads's review
5.0
This book is obviously for a very young reader and I would have liked for it to exist when I was a 12-year-old teenager but it's nice to read it even in my more advanced age...
rebeccavs's review against another edition
4.0
This is a self-help book for teens in a way and I would have loved to have read this in my teens!! The story is such fun and the lessons learned are very valuable (and weirdly enough not that common in teenage self-help books... Even though they’re pretty important!)