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beyondevak's review
5.0
This book is a winner!
Star Darlings Sage's Story is a creative blast of positive energy for young girls. How delightful it was to meet the Darlings, to learn about their world, and to experience the grand and noble mission that Sage took to save their planet. I found Sage to be exciting, curious, bold, quick to act without thinking, but lovable and good. I loved the way she tackled her mission, even though the unexpected miss right at the last few moments happened. Still, she saved the day...with a little help from her friends.
I adored learning about the characters - the positive and negative traits. I thought it would prove helpful for young girls trying to figure out just who they are in this rapidly changing world. I thought the authors did a great job identifying how differences and similarities can all work together to build relationships.
The cover art and included illustrations made the book come to life. I couldn't help but think, as I read along, that this should be a cartoon series or something.
The bonus for me was the super cool instructional in the back of the book that talked about how to make your own "birthday party" projects.
I would recommend this book highly, without hesitation.
Outstanding! That's all there is to say.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are indeed my own.
Star Darlings Sage's Story is a creative blast of positive energy for young girls. How delightful it was to meet the Darlings, to learn about their world, and to experience the grand and noble mission that Sage took to save their planet. I found Sage to be exciting, curious, bold, quick to act without thinking, but lovable and good. I loved the way she tackled her mission, even though the unexpected miss right at the last few moments happened. Still, she saved the day...with a little help from her friends.
I adored learning about the characters - the positive and negative traits. I thought it would prove helpful for young girls trying to figure out just who they are in this rapidly changing world. I thought the authors did a great job identifying how differences and similarities can all work together to build relationships.
The cover art and included illustrations made the book come to life. I couldn't help but think, as I read along, that this should be a cartoon series or something.
The bonus for me was the super cool instructional in the back of the book that talked about how to make your own "birthday party" projects.
I would recommend this book highly, without hesitation.
Outstanding! That's all there is to say.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are indeed my own.
allmadhere106's review
5.0
This book attracted me right from the start and I really haven't been able to stop talking about it. I thought I was getting into a fantasy explosion with possible fairy types and a school, but what I got to read was so much more. Here we have a separate planet with other beings who use humans' wish energy to completely run their society. (It powers their cars and technology, for one.) Sage must go to a special boarding school to learn how to harness these skills. Her and a select few are chosen as a focus group for a special mission, so there's that element as well. The book also has a very advanced vocabulary, utilizing a lot of scientific language and using slang just from this world. There's even a glossary in the back! I cannot wait to read the other books in the series and it is a definite recommendation for those readers with an advanced reading level but who want subject matter closer to their interest level. It was a truly wonderful combination!
For: science fiction fans; readers wanting that boarding school setting; fans of spy/infiltration/mission books; readers wanting a lot of character attention as well as a grandiose plot.
Possible red flags: bullying; mentions of parental death.
For: science fiction fans; readers wanting that boarding school setting; fans of spy/infiltration/mission books; readers wanting a lot of character attention as well as a grandiose plot.
Possible red flags: bullying; mentions of parental death.
planetarypan's review
3.0
More like 3.5 stars. It is definitely written for the tween set, but the writing is good and heavy on visuals. Everything is beautiful, definitely a bit fast-paced (not a lot of extraneous stuff going on to distract from the story), and enchanting. I would recommend this set to anyone into Disney-type stories (TV, not princess movies). I will prolly find a way to keep up with them myself.
xandra_lyn's review against another edition
I read this to see if it would be any good for my daughter. She's a little young for it, so I'm reading ahead to see if it's worth introducing to her. It was kinda dull in the beginning, and I don't love the premise that other beings make our wishes come true.
broomsticksandmagick's review
3.0
Note: DNF this book at 54%
It's a cute read. But it wasn't for me and I should had kept to my age limit. I'm to old for this book and may be because of that I didn't like it much. Making me give it this rating. The storyline or the plot was not there. The character and the dialogue was so vague. It's good for younger audience and will recommend it to parents that want to read something to there kids. Like I said it was not much of my cup of tea but the animated show on YouTube it's so cute and made me want to read this. But to fast with vague writing style and no discriptive words, sadly the characters are not likable either but in the animated one they are amazing. I have read good kid type books but it seem this not for me. I also decided not to continue this series because it's hard for me to get into it. I am giving it.
3.1 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It's a cute read. But it wasn't for me and I should had kept to my age limit. I'm to old for this book and may be because of that I didn't like it much. Making me give it this rating. The storyline or the plot was not there. The character and the dialogue was so vague. It's good for younger audience and will recommend it to parents that want to read something to there kids. Like I said it was not much of my cup of tea but the animated show on YouTube it's so cute and made me want to read this. But to fast with vague writing style and no discriptive words, sadly the characters are not likable either but in the animated one they are amazing. I have read good kid type books but it seem this not for me. I also decided not to continue this series because it's hard for me to get into it. I am giving it.
3.1 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
caitcosentino's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Cute, but boring
I liked the parts about the school, but the rest was kind of dull
I liked the parts about the school, but the rest was kind of dull
coolkid97's review
5.0
this book was VERY cute!!! I'm excited to read the next one
update feb 28: still as good the second time!
update feb 28: still as good the second time!
lifegivesyoulemons's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
avalonroselin's review
4.0
Professional Opinion: ★★★★☆
Personal Opinion: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
Star Darlings: Sage and the Journey to Wishworld is a quick read, and a fairly short book, to the point where I considered picking up one of the three-book omnibuses and reviewing an entire quarter of the series at a time. However, they didn’t have the first omnibus at the bookstore so… here we are.
This is one of the first books I’ve read in a wild that is clearly written for children, in the sense that the writing style is very simple and easy to digest. However, there are still plenty of higher concepts to consider in this book, such as how to deal with rumors and bullies and not letting your own prejudices get the better of you. As a protagonist, Sage has definite flaws and strengths. She’s compassionate and friendly, but also a tad hot-headed and sometimes does things that she knows she shouldn’t do because of that. Despite the simplistic writing style, Star Darlings doesn’t talk down to its audience.
Surprisingly enough, the twist did catch me off guard. I was expecting it to be one thing, and it was something completely different!
However, the book didn’t get a perfect score for a reason. Because it is such a short, quick read, the resolution to the final conflict felt rushed and a little too much time was spent establishing Starling Academy as opposed to actual plot happening on Wishworld with Sage. I know that the goings-on in Starland are the anchor point of the series and there is an overarching plot there that connects all the books together, and I can understand wanting to firmly ground the reader and characters in the ‘home base’ before sending the protagonist off somewhere else, but I feel that there were better ways to do it without taking up so much of the book and contributing to the rushed pacing when Sage gets to Wishworld.
Star Darlings also suckers me in on the fact that the girls have a Western Zodiac motif going on. I love that aesthetic–it’s one of the only reasons I ever checked out Homestuck. And, from what I understand, the girls fairly represent their zodiac personalities without feeling like the author checked off a box of traits in favor of real development. They are still characters, not just a collection of stereotypical zodiac traits.
Though I really could have done without the Starland lingo. I was okay with it in Ever After High because it wasn’t too prevalent and was usually an addition to a known phrase (like saying “Whatever after” instead of “whatever” as a play on “ever after”). But Star Darlings goes a little overboard to the point of there being a glossary in the back, and they add “star” to the beginning of way too many things. I know that Starland is an alien place, but it’s also an alien place that has frequent contact with Earth. I don’t really think we need to differentiate between “minutes” and “starmins” to know where we are.
Overall, Sage and the Journey to Wishworld has me invested enough to consider finishing out the series, which is quite a feat given that it’s at least twelve books long (I believe there are one or two additional books coming out after the main twelve, each of which will feature a different main protagonist if I’m not mistaken).
Personal Opinion: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
Star Darlings: Sage and the Journey to Wishworld is a quick read, and a fairly short book, to the point where I considered picking up one of the three-book omnibuses and reviewing an entire quarter of the series at a time. However, they didn’t have the first omnibus at the bookstore so… here we are.
This is one of the first books I’ve read in a wild that is clearly written for children, in the sense that the writing style is very simple and easy to digest. However, there are still plenty of higher concepts to consider in this book, such as how to deal with rumors and bullies and not letting your own prejudices get the better of you. As a protagonist, Sage has definite flaws and strengths. She’s compassionate and friendly, but also a tad hot-headed and sometimes does things that she knows she shouldn’t do because of that. Despite the simplistic writing style, Star Darlings doesn’t talk down to its audience.
Surprisingly enough, the twist did catch me off guard. I was expecting it to be one thing, and it was something completely different!
However, the book didn’t get a perfect score for a reason. Because it is such a short, quick read, the resolution to the final conflict felt rushed and a little too much time was spent establishing Starling Academy as opposed to actual plot happening on Wishworld with Sage. I know that the goings-on in Starland are the anchor point of the series and there is an overarching plot there that connects all the books together, and I can understand wanting to firmly ground the reader and characters in the ‘home base’ before sending the protagonist off somewhere else, but I feel that there were better ways to do it without taking up so much of the book and contributing to the rushed pacing when Sage gets to Wishworld.
Star Darlings also suckers me in on the fact that the girls have a Western Zodiac motif going on. I love that aesthetic–it’s one of the only reasons I ever checked out Homestuck. And, from what I understand, the girls fairly represent their zodiac personalities without feeling like the author checked off a box of traits in favor of real development. They are still characters, not just a collection of stereotypical zodiac traits.
Though I really could have done without the Starland lingo. I was okay with it in Ever After High because it wasn’t too prevalent and was usually an addition to a known phrase (like saying “Whatever after” instead of “whatever” as a play on “ever after”). But Star Darlings goes a little overboard to the point of there being a glossary in the back, and they add “star” to the beginning of way too many things. I know that Starland is an alien place, but it’s also an alien place that has frequent contact with Earth. I don’t really think we need to differentiate between “minutes” and “starmins” to know where we are.
Overall, Sage and the Journey to Wishworld has me invested enough to consider finishing out the series, which is quite a feat given that it’s at least twelve books long (I believe there are one or two additional books coming out after the main twelve, each of which will feature a different main protagonist if I’m not mistaken).
imzadirose's review
5.0
Cute start to a long series. Like the school and the characters and the stories. It's super cute and fun.
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