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mariefrost's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.75
charlottehoitsma's review against another edition
5.0
Such a fantastic series. It was my favourite when I was a few years younger. Even though I'm older now, you can't really outgrow this series!
toebean5's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the illustrations, and I really liked the whole journey. The adventures were great and some of the characters were really cleverly constructed. But I just felt like the story was too disconnected and choppy. I needed more flow, more continuity.
cypherfairy's review against another edition
2.0
i hated this, easily one of the most depressing/harrowing books for children ive ever read. every single time the mc ran into a new creature i let out a groan and went "what NOW?". bro could never catch a break it was exhausting. the pacing was breakneck fast, with a billion things happening per page (and all of them awful!). something that greatly contributed to me disliking this book was how gross it was: slime, vomit, pus...it's all in here, and sometimes all in the same scene (the illustrations...). just not for me.
there was also a good amount of fatphobia, which is sadly common but always annoying to see in a book for children, and a truly bizarre portrayal of a matriarchal society (why do men love to paint those as evil, i wonder?)
anyway, i won't be reading the rest of the series!
there was also a good amount of fatphobia, which is sadly common but always annoying to see in a book for children, and a truly bizarre portrayal of a matriarchal society (why do men love to paint those as evil, i wonder?)
anyway, i won't be reading the rest of the series!
sunscour's review
4.0
A fun kids book about belonging, you meet so many characters and the world is so dangerous. The pictures are fantastic.
kwims's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
clonedgoodness's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is such an interesting and evocative setting. You have a river tumbling endlessly into a fog-filled abyss, rocks that can be lighter than air when the right temperature, forest trolls who live in terror of stepping outside the path. The story itself is fine, a fairly straightforward young boy in search of his real family/destiny, although with some surprisingly dark and visceral moments on occasion.
thelonebookwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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? Yes
5.0
janaroos's review against another edition
5.0
The library close to my primary school had only two shelves of books for younger readers, and by the time I was eight or nine I had already worked my way through most of them. This wasn't a big problem, since I re-read a lot. Also we had a lot of books at home. Also we were members of another, larger library.
But I had only ever seen this book in that small library, and all I ever wanted to do was read it.
For some reason, the book came with an age-restriction printed on the back: not for readers under 10! Perhaps this was a large part of why I wanted to read it. Regardless, I was still young enough to take age restrictions very seriously, and I never tried to check this book out. I waited, for years. Every time we went to the library, I would check to see that it was still there. I waited until I was finally old enough to be allowed to read Beyond the Deepwoods.
I'm a great believer in low expectations--I prefer to be pleasantly surprised rather than surprisingly disappointed--but this book had been built up in my mind over years of anticipation. It couldn't possibly be as amazing, as intriguing, or as unsettling as I'd imagined it.
The rating obviously indicates where this is going.
Man, did it ever deliver. Beyond the Deepwoods is one of the most vivid stories from my childhood. The Deepwoods were scary and fascinating and like nothing I had read before, and my only slight disappointment with the book was. The illustrations were fantastic and are still imprinted on my mind. The termagants, the Blood Oak, the terrifying Gloamglozer; it was dark and brilliant and I still love it today.
I never read any of the sequels since our library only ever stocked the first book. Great thing about adulthood is rectifying all the horrible injustices of childhood book-deprivation.
But I had only ever seen this book in that small library, and all I ever wanted to do was read it.
For some reason, the book came with an age-restriction printed on the back: not for readers under 10! Perhaps this was a large part of why I wanted to read it. Regardless, I was still young enough to take age restrictions very seriously, and I never tried to check this book out. I waited, for years. Every time we went to the library, I would check to see that it was still there. I waited until I was finally old enough to be allowed to read Beyond the Deepwoods.
I'm a great believer in low expectations--I prefer to be pleasantly surprised rather than surprisingly disappointed--but this book had been built up in my mind over years of anticipation. It couldn't possibly be as amazing, as intriguing, or as unsettling as I'd imagined it.
The rating obviously indicates where this is going.
Man, did it ever deliver. Beyond the Deepwoods is one of the most vivid stories from my childhood. The Deepwoods were scary and fascinating and like nothing I had read before, and my only slight disappointment with the book was
Spoiler
the end, where Twig leaves the woods with his father, only because I wanted more scary and weird woods stories, dammitI never read any of the sequels since our library only ever stocked the first book. Great thing about adulthood is rectifying all the horrible injustices of childhood book-deprivation.
r_lea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0