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emilywv's review against another edition
5.0
I was halfway through this book before realizing how special it is. The world-building is subtle and awesome.
brandypainter's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Goblin Secrets by William Alexander came on to my radar via Betsy Bird at Fuse 8. When it was named as a National Book Award Finalist I moved it up the TBR. When it actually won the NBA I figured it was time to get serious about reading it. Two months later...It took me longer to get to this than it should have. My experience reading it has some resemblance to this. I was intrigued by the beginning but found myself easily distracted and not overly interested so it took me longer than it should have to finish it too.
Goblin Secrets is a book with great atmosphere. The city of Zombay comes to life, sights, sounds, smells, and all. This is a world that the reader is dropped into, no explanation, no hand holding. As usual with well-constructed fantasy, I consider this to be a good thing. There is a steam punk element added in as well that makes it slightly different than most fantasy settings in MG novels and gives it a slight edge.
I really enjoyed what Alexander did with the concept of theater and acting. Why putting on plays is forbidden in Zombay is one of the mysteries the reader must discover as the story unfolds, and it was the one I was most interested in. It's an odd thing to forbid when the city seems to have bigger problems. I also liked how the Goblins were not a separate race but "changed" humans. Humans who had chosen or been forced to undergo a transformation into something other. I was a little annoyed when the hows and whys of this were not fully divulged by the end of the book. The title is a little misleading. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed.
The book has many of the elements I usually love, an interesting world, twists on old standards, fascinating themes, and a mystery. Yet I found myself not caring at all. I think it is because Rownie didn't do much for me as a character. He was sort of flat, always carried along by what was happening, reacting instead of acting himself. This is not a bad thing in and of itself, but I like to see some change or growth when a character does this and I didn't. Rownie was pretty forgettable and as a result so is the book. Graba never really inspired any great fear in me either. I never thought she was an actual threat to Rownie. He felt she was. The author was telling me she was. But I wasn't feeling it. Maybe it is because she is a pale reflection of the legendary witch she derives from.
It is a good entertaining book that will delight any young person who loves fantasy, particularly if they are looking for steampunk elements.
Goblin Secrets by William Alexander came on to my radar via Betsy Bird at Fuse 8. When it was named as a National Book Award Finalist I moved it up the TBR. When it actually won the NBA I figured it was time to get serious about reading it. Two months later...It took me longer to get to this than it should have. My experience reading it has some resemblance to this. I was intrigued by the beginning but found myself easily distracted and not overly interested so it took me longer than it should have to finish it too.
Goblin Secrets is a book with great atmosphere. The city of Zombay comes to life, sights, sounds, smells, and all. This is a world that the reader is dropped into, no explanation, no hand holding. As usual with well-constructed fantasy, I consider this to be a good thing. There is a steam punk element added in as well that makes it slightly different than most fantasy settings in MG novels and gives it a slight edge.
I really enjoyed what Alexander did with the concept of theater and acting. Why putting on plays is forbidden in Zombay is one of the mysteries the reader must discover as the story unfolds, and it was the one I was most interested in. It's an odd thing to forbid when the city seems to have bigger problems. I also liked how the Goblins were not a separate race but "changed" humans. Humans who had chosen or been forced to undergo a transformation into something other. I was a little annoyed when the hows and whys of this were not fully divulged by the end of the book. The title is a little misleading. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed.
The book has many of the elements I usually love, an interesting world, twists on old standards, fascinating themes, and a mystery. Yet I found myself not caring at all. I think it is because Rownie didn't do much for me as a character. He was sort of flat, always carried along by what was happening, reacting instead of acting himself. This is not a bad thing in and of itself, but I like to see some change or growth when a character does this and I didn't. Rownie was pretty forgettable and as a result so is the book. Graba never really inspired any great fear in me either. I never thought she was an actual threat to Rownie. He felt she was. The author was telling me she was. But I wasn't feeling it. Maybe it is because she is a pale reflection of the legendary witch she derives from.
It is a good entertaining book that will delight any young person who loves fantasy, particularly if they are looking for steampunk elements.
katypies's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
pussinbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Goblin Secrets wasn't quite impressive to me, coming from a theater background. While I loved Rownie's reverence for the stage, and the quirky inner workings of the stage crew, I didn't feel the themes of identity and mask wearing that I thought should be there. William Alexander sets up conflicts between characters that never come to a head, leaving the ending feeling anti-climactic. Maybe he will explore those character relationships in a sequel, but it comes at the cost of this book not standing very well on its own. What saves this book for me is the happy ending that comes at a great sacrifice.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
4.0
As a young boy, Rownie and his older brother Rowan go to live with Graba the witch. Rowan disappears after the rest of his acting troupe is arrested. Graba is looking for him and Rownie hopes he can catch a glimpse of him somewhere. One day a Goblin troupe comes to Zombay and Rownie steals money from Graba to go. Rownie illegally participates in the play and is asked to join the troupe. Because he fears the wrath of Graba, Rownie joins. The troupe teaches Rownie the art of masks and Rownie learns that they also taught his brother this art. Will they be able to protect Rownie from Graba and help him find his lost brother?
Try this book if you like the 2012 Newbery Honor winner Splendors and Glooms.
Upper elementary/middle school.
Try this book if you like the 2012 Newbery Honor winner Splendors and Glooms.
Upper elementary/middle school.
literaryanna's review against another edition
3.0
This book was seriously weird. I'm still trying to figure out what I thought about it.....
cstoeger's review against another edition
2.0
I really didn't like this book. I know it's supposed to be part of a series, so that's why so many questions were left unanswered at the end of the book. The problem for me though was the lack of character development. I wish the goblins would have been explained more, with more details about how they look, etc. The coal aspect was also a little confusing as well. When Semele talked about using fish hearts to power their gear horse, I really didn't think that they meant actual hearts.
sbelasco40's review against another edition
3.0
This is surely a strange book. It won the National Book Award for YA and I'm always curious about who wins this prize, especially since the YA choices tend to be considerably more adventurous than those in literary fiction. I liked certain things about it - the steampunk/fantasy aesthetic, the world-building - but the characters were not that interesting to me, nor very well-developed. Also for being a book structured like a play (divided into acts and scenes) the action seemed weirdly flat, like everything was narrated with the same level of interest.
italsma's review against another edition
1.0
Like many other reviewers, I picked up this book after it was given the National Book Award and was eager to get started with it. However, I was met with a very disappointing read. The plot has some interesting promise -- a steampunk world, goblins, theater and beautifully described masks, as well as a Baba Yaga-esque villain -- the story, setting, and characters all fell flat. While some elements of the story were compelling, including the use of interesting machinery and the imminent danger of the flooding river, many of the books story arcs felt rushed and underdeveloped.
Most disappointing of all is the protagonist, Rownie, whose search for his missing brother and efforts to gain self-confidence are brought to an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion. Although the plot moves with Rownie's attempts and desires to stand up to his adversaries through skills learned on the stage, Rownie never truly comes alive as a character and his role in the goblin's theater troupe seems minimal. Similarly, the goblins, who play a large role, feel one dimensional and never seem to emerge as distinct or memorable characters.
The multiple story lines and lack of exposition also make this a somewhat confusing read. The characters jump from place to place, but never make any lasting interpretations of difficult themes. Likewise, many questions, including the use of human hearts as coal, the social divisions and conflicts between Zombay's Northside and Southside, or the importance of the Changed versus the unChanged, are left frustratingly unanswered. And despite the time spent on different set pieces within the story, many of the events don't seem to have a lasting impression on the characters or tie back into the story later. The tropes and devices used in this book often lack a cohesion that would allow them to benefit the story or characters as a whole.
Overall, this book starts with the potential of a fantasy adventure, but the underdevelopment of key characters and themes, as well as an ill-paced plot lead Goblin Secrets to be an unsatisfying read.
If you are looking for a more effective book in this genre, I would suggest Neil Gaiman's [b:The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303859949s/2213661.jpg|2219449].
Most disappointing of all is the protagonist, Rownie, whose search for his missing brother and efforts to gain self-confidence are brought to an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion. Although the plot moves with Rownie's attempts and desires to stand up to his adversaries through skills learned on the stage, Rownie never truly comes alive as a character and his role in the goblin's theater troupe seems minimal. Similarly, the goblins, who play a large role, feel one dimensional and never seem to emerge as distinct or memorable characters.
The multiple story lines and lack of exposition also make this a somewhat confusing read. The characters jump from place to place, but never make any lasting interpretations of difficult themes. Likewise, many questions, including the use of human hearts as coal, the social divisions and conflicts between Zombay's Northside and Southside, or the importance of the Changed versus the unChanged, are left frustratingly unanswered. And despite the time spent on different set pieces within the story, many of the events don't seem to have a lasting impression on the characters or tie back into the story later. The tropes and devices used in this book often lack a cohesion that would allow them to benefit the story or characters as a whole.
Overall, this book starts with the potential of a fantasy adventure, but the underdevelopment of key characters and themes, as well as an ill-paced plot lead Goblin Secrets to be an unsatisfying read.
If you are looking for a more effective book in this genre, I would suggest Neil Gaiman's [b:The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303859949s/2213661.jpg|2219449].