Scan barcode
yleavy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I read this book every autumn. It’s made more fun if you recognize the stories it references, but still an enjoyable read no matter what. Snuff is a hugely lovable protagonist, and I love his interactions with his friends and frenemies alike. I could see this being a fun read-aloud for a parent and their kid to do together too. Also, I think about the line, ”an enormous number of acorns were ruined last night” at least once a week.
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Violence
chrisljm's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
this book is so well loved but i don’t get it.
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
manarnia's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was a fun read! I think it could have been shorter, but it was still rather short and quick.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Violence
bookwyrmknits's review against another edition
slow-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? No
3.0
The part of this book that I liked the most was seeing the different characters from classic fiction pop up. Some were obvious, and others were less so, but it was fun trying to solve the mystery of who was who.
The story itself was a bit on the boring side for me, though. There's no promise that the good guys will win, but there's also not really any tension set up about what will happen if they lose. It's mentioned that "things go badly for the losers" but not how, and so there's no real tension involved. I liked the two main characters: the dog Snuff (our narrator) and the cat Graymalk, but many of the others were a bit like background.
Another issue I had with this book was the lack of dialogue tags. This seems like a minor thing, but when you have to back up and read a large chunk of dialogue mentally adding "he said" and "she said" in your head because there are no other clues, it can really break you out of the story.
I guess if the sound of this interests you, it's worth a read, but go in with your expectations weighted a lot heavier on the cozy side instead of the horror side. This is a light read, with Gothic and horror influences perhaps, but very little creepiness of its own.
The story itself was a bit on the boring side for me, though. There's no promise that the good guys will win, but there's also not really any tension set up about what will happen if they lose. It's mentioned that "things go badly for the losers" but not how, and so there's no real tension involved. I liked the two main characters: the dog Snuff (our narrator) and the cat Graymalk, but many of the others were a bit like background.
Another issue I had with this book was the lack of dialogue tags. This seems like a minor thing, but when you have to back up and read a large chunk of dialogue mentally adding "he said" and "she said" in your head because there are no other clues, it can really break you out of the story.
I guess if the sound of this interests you, it's worth a read, but go in with your expectations weighted a lot heavier on the cozy side instead of the horror side. This is a light read, with Gothic and horror influences perhaps, but very little creepiness of its own.
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Violence
More...