kricketa's review
5.0
one of my co-workers arranged for james kennedy to visit our library in january. somehow the book had escaped my radar, perhaps because we had it in the 'youth middle school' section, but when i found out kennedy would be coming, i grudgingly decided to read his book. and i am so glad i did, FOR IT IS SCRUMPTIOUS!!
jo is 13, living with her batty aunt lily in a red palace in the desert outside los angeles. at aunt lily's christmas costume party, many mysterious occurrences occur, and the next day jo finds herself vomited from a giant fish onto the shores of eldritch city with aunt lily, the mysterious colonel korsakov, and his butler, a giant cockroach called sefino. (hands down my favorite character in the book.) They have come to rejoin the Order of Odd-fish, a group of knights researching useless information in a lodge filled with secret rooms and twisty passageways. The secrets of jo's real family and strange birth are contained in eldritch city, and it is up to her to uncover the secrets as she desperately tries to change her fate.
meanwhile, the writing is brilliant, colorful, and hilarious, and eldritch city is a fantasy world unlike any other. i laughed, i cried, and was thrilled to the core. definitely one of my top reads this year.
jo is 13, living with her batty aunt lily in a red palace in the desert outside los angeles. at aunt lily's christmas costume party, many mysterious occurrences occur, and the next day jo finds herself vomited from a giant fish onto the shores of eldritch city with aunt lily, the mysterious colonel korsakov, and his butler, a giant cockroach called sefino. (hands down my favorite character in the book.) They have come to rejoin the Order of Odd-fish, a group of knights researching useless information in a lodge filled with secret rooms and twisty passageways. The secrets of jo's real family and strange birth are contained in eldritch city, and it is up to her to uncover the secrets as she desperately tries to change her fate.
meanwhile, the writing is brilliant, colorful, and hilarious, and eldritch city is a fantasy world unlike any other. i laughed, i cried, and was thrilled to the core. definitely one of my top reads this year.
twocents's review against another edition
4.0
A certain kind of absurdity, and I mean that in the best possible way. Had a lot of fun with it. :)
addiemae09's review against another edition
4.0
This book was very strange and random in a good way. It’s a crazy ride into the bewildering world of the Odd Fish, but it was a fun casual read that made me laugh. I wouldn’t say it sucked me in but i was really interested and enjoyed reading about jo’s adventures. it was light hearted and goofy without being meaningless, and i loved james kennedy’s vivid and colorful world.
emilyk099's review
5.0
This book is very ridiculous. That is what makes it absolutely amazing. Despite all of the absurdity present in the story, there are still serious plot points. It is a great balance between humor and serious fantasy.
sarah_of_bramblewood's review against another edition
5.0
This book was surprisingly good. I was expecting some lame, weird teen fantasy book, but it totally blew me away. I can't wait to read more by James Kennedy.
charmiecm's review
There is just too much nonsense. It’s like a whole book of Jabberwocky, but in a contrive and annoying way.
easemily's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.25
My reading challenge for the year is to read a favorite book of one of my friends each month, and this is Michaela’s. I was skeptical going into it because it is a middle grade novel, however I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the curve balls — or not so much curve balls as out of pocket moments. Every other page there was some new weird concept introduced. This book struck a great balance of being realistic while also introducing odd concepts and characters. It was a pleasant read and definitely a nice break from all the thrillers I’ve been reading. The characters are lovable — if a bit weird — and the resolution at the end is satisfying while still having consequences and effects.
cleverruhs's review
5.0
"As an Odd-Fish, it is not my job to be right," said Sir Oort. "It is my job to be wrong in new and exciting ways."
somewheregirl7's review
3.0
I almost put this book down after making it through the first quarter of the book. The premise and characters and every little thing was wacky and absurd with seemingly little purpose. I don't like that style of writing and never have - odd for odd's sake doesn't appeal to me and *gasp* I am one of the few who is not a fervent fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This book feels quite similar in tone and content with a bit of Lewis Carrol's whimsy thrown in.
However, after that first dismal quarter, I was firmly snagged and couldn't put the book down. The story only really started for me when Jo and Lilly reach Eldritch City. The character development, progression and conflict from that point forward are well done and more than offset the absurdity.
Kennedy's writing is full of rich details and grand sweeping gestures - boldly painted pictures that drip with description and detail. The dialogue is one of the strongest areas of the book and he captured many of the characters very well. Jo's character is the most interesting to me and the most developed.
The absurd tone and bizarre details and events continued throughout the story. Often doing little to add to the main narrative. Large passages were devoted to very graphic descriptions of bodily functions, carnage, etc. It was almost loving done and a bit disturbing.
Also, as an adult reader, I felt as though there was a lot of subtext beneath the main story. Some of it pretty disturbing. The Belgian Prankster, the book's villain, is psychotically over-done in the grand tradition of comic book villains and his interactions with Jo later in the book made me very uncomfortable.
SPOILERS BELOW
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SPOILERS BELOW
IN
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In the scene in the insane asylum where Jo goes to the Belgian Prankster it almost felt like a rape scene and that was the subtext I was reading into it. Also, the way that Ian is treated by Una, the mobster boss, is really disturbing. He's around Jo's age, so about 13, and here this middle-aged woman is actively pursing him and almost sexually assaulting the kid in public while openly saying how much she wants to have sex with him. And none of the characters other than Jo and Ian seem at all uncomfortable with that - it's just lightly passed off. Also, the redemption of Ken Kiang felt contrived as did most of the sections that involved him. Kiang is one characters that was very 2-dimensional and never really achieved any depth.
Despite my gripes above this was a fun, quick read and it had me smiling often. Kennedy occasionally surprises with an insightful statement hidden in a tangle of satirical comments. I was also glad that Kennedy did not magically bring Lily back to life - it would have cheapened her death scene which was very poignant.
However, after that first dismal quarter, I was firmly snagged and couldn't put the book down. The story only really started for me when Jo and Lilly reach Eldritch City. The character development, progression and conflict from that point forward are well done and more than offset the absurdity.
Kennedy's writing is full of rich details and grand sweeping gestures - boldly painted pictures that drip with description and detail. The dialogue is one of the strongest areas of the book and he captured many of the characters very well. Jo's character is the most interesting to me and the most developed.
The absurd tone and bizarre details and events continued throughout the story. Often doing little to add to the main narrative. Large passages were devoted to very graphic descriptions of bodily functions, carnage, etc. It was almost loving done and a bit disturbing.
Also, as an adult reader, I felt as though there was a lot of subtext beneath the main story. Some of it pretty disturbing. The Belgian Prankster, the book's villain, is psychotically over-done in the grand tradition of comic book villains and his interactions with Jo later in the book made me very uncomfortable.
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
IN
1
2
3
In the scene in the insane asylum where Jo goes to the Belgian Prankster it almost felt like a rape scene and that was the subtext I was reading into it. Also, the way that Ian is treated by Una, the mobster boss, is really disturbing. He's around Jo's age, so about 13, and here this middle-aged woman is actively pursing him and almost sexually assaulting the kid in public while openly saying how much she wants to have sex with him. And none of the characters other than Jo and Ian seem at all uncomfortable with that - it's just lightly passed off. Also, the redemption of Ken Kiang felt contrived as did most of the sections that involved him. Kiang is one characters that was very 2-dimensional and never really achieved any depth.
Despite my gripes above this was a fun, quick read and it had me smiling often. Kennedy occasionally surprises with an insightful statement hidden in a tangle of satirical comments. I was also glad that Kennedy did not magically bring Lily back to life - it would have cheapened her death scene which was very poignant.