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lisaarnsdorf's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Creative story about having and controlling access to resources. A story of resilience and kindness, and of finding something positive in everyone. The ending was a little rushed and a little too pat.
fladysnail's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lsparrow's review
3.0
A young reader book - reminds me of the LIttle princess - a retelling in a magical guilded age of new york.
lux's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
elle4352's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
4.5
The Gilded Girl is a middle-grade, fantasy novel that is a reimagining of "A Little Princess" with magic.
Things you'll find:
*A boarding school for girls with magic*
*Blossoming Friendships*
*Lots of fire references*
As per usual, I had no idea what I was getting into, however, I picked up on the "A Little Princess" storyline by about 15 pages in and was pretty excited. A Little Princess was my favorite book as a kid and still remains one of my favorite books ever. This book definitely takes the baseline of the story and gives it a magical twist that's both fun and whimsical.
Emma and Izzy parallel Sara and Becky and I enjoyed watching them grow from two girls that don't know each other (I can't really say they're enemies because Izzy's issues with Emma are very one sided) to best friends and I really liked a lot of themes this author was going for. This book explores the idea of true friendship and class differences, the latter really being emphasized by the early 1900s time period of the novel. The writing won me over, Colman is very direct and simple with her narration, but fanciful at the same time. You're able to picture everything and everyone in the novel without too much explanation to weigh down the image. I enjoyed the magical quirks she chose; the cat, the Blanding food, the flowers, golden cars, magitecure, boxing of the ears. It was all really cute and a cool play on words to add a little pop to the New York we all know from our history books.
I did feel that Emma was a little too naive through the book, and was glad when she finally grew out of that. But in the beginning, it almost felt like this child had lived her entire life in a windowless room, with no other interaction with anyone other then her father based on how little she seemed to know about....well anything. I'm also a little surprised that no where in the author's acknowledgements, nor in the summary, does she ever mention "A Little Princess". I get where sometimes, people want to avoid comp. titles to give their book a fair shot, but this is almost scene for scene and character for character a match with "A Little Princess". It's 100% that story; there's a Sara, Becky, Miss Minchin, Amelia, Ermengarde, Lavinia, even a Jesse. The only people missing here are Lottie, Ram Dass, and Mr. Carrisford (or Randolph from the 1995 movie version which this book is a closer adaptation of then the original book). It just seems a bit weird to me.
Overall, this book is a pleasant read and like a stroll down memory lane. Younger me would've loved this and I think it's a perfect edition to a library for kids that like witch stories, but not dark witch stories.
Things you'll find:
*A boarding school for girls with magic*
*Blossoming Friendships*
*Lots of fire references*
As per usual, I had no idea what I was getting into, however, I picked up on the "A Little Princess" storyline by about 15 pages in and was pretty excited. A Little Princess was my favorite book as a kid and still remains one of my favorite books ever. This book definitely takes the baseline of the story and gives it a magical twist that's both fun and whimsical.
Emma and Izzy parallel Sara and Becky and I enjoyed watching them grow from two girls that don't know each other (I can't really say they're enemies because Izzy's issues with Emma are very one sided) to best friends and I really liked a lot of themes this author was going for. This book explores the idea of true friendship and class differences, the latter really being emphasized by the early 1900s time period of the novel. The writing won me over, Colman is very direct and simple with her narration, but fanciful at the same time. You're able to picture everything and everyone in the novel without too much explanation to weigh down the image. I enjoyed the magical quirks she chose; the cat, the Blanding food, the flowers, golden cars, magitecure, boxing of the ears. It was all really cute and a cool play on words to add a little pop to the New York we all know from our history books.
I did feel that Emma was a little too naive through the book, and was glad when she finally grew out of that. But in the beginning, it almost felt like this child had lived her entire life in a windowless room, with no other interaction with anyone other then her father based on how little she seemed to know about....well anything. I'm also a little surprised that no where in the author's acknowledgements, nor in the summary, does she ever mention "A Little Princess". I get where sometimes, people want to avoid comp. titles to give their book a fair shot, but this is almost scene for scene and character for character a match with "A Little Princess". It's 100% that story; there's a Sara, Becky, Miss Minchin, Amelia, Ermengarde, Lavinia, even a Jesse. The only people missing here are Lottie, Ram Dass, and Mr. Carrisford (or Randolph from the 1995 movie version which this book is a closer adaptation of then the original book). It just seems a bit weird to me.
Overall, this book is a pleasant read and like a stroll down memory lane. Younger me would've loved this and I think it's a perfect edition to a library for kids that like witch stories, but not dark witch stories.
jetia13's review
5.0
My cheeks hurt when I finished from smiling so much! Such a warm, gripping story with the coolest characters. And I love the historical glimpses of NYC.
alongreader's review
5.0
I love A Little Princess. It's one of my favourite children's books. I hadn't realised before I started this that it's influenced by that classic, but it quickly becomes obvious. Emma, the main character, is brought to a boarding school by her doting, rich father, where she's to be given everything she wants. When he abruptly dies - in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, rather than jungle fever - Emma is promptly made a servant in the school.
The major difference between this story and the original is the presence of magic. I won't go into detail on the subplot, but it's nicely thought out and makes a lot of sense. Izzy is brilliant, as is Emma herself. The ending is fabulous and I really enjoyed watching it unfold.
There's a lovely tone and feeling, and I loved watching Emma gather a group around her to help her out. (Also, yes, I may have welled up right at the end there.) I'm really excited to see what Alyssa comes up with next. I think it'll be great.
The major difference between this story and the original is the presence of magic. I won't go into detail on the subplot, but it's nicely thought out and makes a lot of sense. Izzy is brilliant, as is Emma herself. The ending is fabulous and I really enjoyed watching it unfold.
There's a lovely tone and feeling, and I loved watching Emma gather a group around her to help her out. (Also, yes, I may have welled up right at the end there.) I'm really excited to see what Alyssa comes up with next. I think it'll be great.
cjmedinger's review
4.0
A really sweet retelling of “Little Princess” with an interesting take on magic
literarilyjess's review against another edition
5.0
THE GILDED GIRL is a sheer delight of a book! This take on A Little Princess set in a magical gilded-age New York is spellbinding, heartfelt, and unforgettable. I was so fortunate to read an early version of this magical book and it completely captured my heart. If you have a young reader at home or just love reading special middle grade, don’t miss this one!
z_bookfluencer's review
5.0
The Gilded Girl is a delightful, enrapturing, and heart-warming tale! Plot wise, I felt it was a reimagining of the classic, A Little Princess. The story was both familiar and new, twisting a well-loved tale with magic and historical events.
I found correlations of certain character and storyline aspects from other works of art, specifically Dickon Sowerby from The Secret Garden, and the general story of The Newsies (though loosely).
Subjects touched upon, with some exclusions, are; friendship, social classes, servitude, rights, greed and envy, death and loss, equal rights and self worth.
Overall, I felt The Gilded Girl was a cute, heart-warming middle grade which was fast paced, well written, and a notable read.
The cover of The Gilded Girl is darling!
I found correlations of certain character and storyline aspects from other works of art, specifically Dickon Sowerby from The Secret Garden, and the general story of The Newsies (though loosely).
Subjects touched upon, with some exclusions, are; friendship, social classes, servitude, rights, greed and envy, death and loss, equal rights and self worth.
Overall, I felt The Gilded Girl was a cute, heart-warming middle grade which was fast paced, well written, and a notable read.
The cover of The Gilded Girl is darling!