Reviews

The Fire Within by Chris d'Lacey

fj1204's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

rylol's review

4.0

i was kinda confused about how much of the book revolved around squirrels but i'm guessing this series was just finding its footing. looking forward to more of the dragons and lore

rytheguy19's review

inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

For a kid's fantasy novel, this is a pretty alright experience. This book doesn't do anything crazy or groundbreaking to make it amazing, but it also doesn't do anything confusing or bewildering to make it unpleasant. This is an easy to digest book that has an almost slice of life feel to it with a bit of a fantastical side, with it being about a collage student moving into a rented room that's owned by a mother and daughter which he grows a friendship with, and him writing a story about squirrels over the course of the story; but at the same time, the house is populated by clay dragon figurines that are secretly alive, with the main character actually bonding with one of them. It's a pretty fun and wholesome concept, with some okay world building and character backstory, but again the story doesn't do anything too insane to make it particularly noteworthy.

Overall, I think it's a good book for kids to read, but for older readers, they will probably need to be looking for a more easygoing book in order to get something out of this. With that being said, feel free to check this one out if you're curious enough.

shema's review

4.0

It's not one of the best children's books out there, but it certainly was an enjoyable and entertaining read. I grew to like the characters and the story with the dragons was really interesting.
I borrowed this book from a friend, and he says that it's the worst in the series since it was originally supposed to be a stand alone. If that's the case, then I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

redcinder's review

2.5

This was a good read for a middle grades book but nothing like I expected the story to be. The promise of dragons was a minor side note to the squirrels. If you are wanting a story about dragons, this is not it.

kinziedaniels's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

hayleyg84's review

1.0

Why have I just read a book about squirrels?! I wanted dragons. I was really disappointed as this book was recommended to me by the school librarian and I was hoping that this could be a series I could share with my year 5 class. I was just not gripped by the story. The only parts that interested me were the fantasy parts but these were few and more of the main plot was focused on squirrels!! Will not be bothering with others in this series.

fizzy_reads's review

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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

4.25

katedunnighan's review

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

thisbysvalentine's review

3.0

Picked this up at a used book store last weekend. This story has lived with me for a long time. It is packed with so much childhood nostalgia…That being said, I did not enjoy the writing style. It had a charming, whimsical tone, but the dialogue and characterization felt scattered. I’ll always love the story, even if I don’t like the writing.