theartolater's review
3.0
Felix has a lot on his mind in his life. There's a new kid at school who's a bit of a bully, and his parents are working hard and things may not be working out with their work.
And then there's when Felix goes to sleep. When he goes to sleep, he ends up in a world with all sorts of monstrous dangers, and an alternate version of himself.
So yeah - a neat concept, somewhat Wild Things-esque, with decent, inessential execution, I thought. For as much action and adventure this could have had, it really stuck more with the emotional chords instead, which I'm not sure was the right choice. With that said, seeing more alternate universe stuff in middle grade fiction is something I don't mind seeing, either.
Maybe worth a look if you can get your hands on it. Definitely good, but not as great as it could have been.
And then there's when Felix goes to sleep. When he goes to sleep, he ends up in a world with all sorts of monstrous dangers, and an alternate version of himself.
So yeah - a neat concept, somewhat Wild Things-esque, with decent, inessential execution, I thought. For as much action and adventure this could have had, it really stuck more with the emotional chords instead, which I'm not sure was the right choice. With that said, seeing more alternate universe stuff in middle grade fiction is something I don't mind seeing, either.
Maybe worth a look if you can get your hands on it. Definitely good, but not as great as it could have been.
afterwhat's review
2.0
Felix lives in a big city; he's never seen real mountains or lakes, but now he sees them every night, when he dreams. Every time Felix sleeps, now--now that his father's work project is going badly and his dad's never around and there's a big kid at school who doesn't want to be Felix's friend--he winds up in a wild world of monsters and Other Felix. Other Felix saves Felix from the monsters, shows him how to build a bow, how to hunt, how to fight monsters, and the Felixes are friends; Felix even looks forward to dreaming, to getting away from home and school. But Other Felix starts having trouble fighting the monsters, and he begins acting weird and not very nice, and Felix suddenly doesn't want to be there, either.
I...don't know if I liked this. I was reading the book, interested and needing to know what would happen, waiting to find out What Was Going On. I was anticipating some big reveal, a twist or a resolution with a bang, and I didn't get one. It's a very exciting book, with the monsters and the jungle, but in the end, nothing really does happen, and things in Felix's real life improve slightly. So, while there's adventure and suspense, it's also somehow a very quiet book, a look inside the psyche of a stressed little boy, and ultimately, it's very realistic. I guess I kind of liked it.
I...don't know if I liked this. I was reading the book, interested and needing to know what would happen, waiting to find out What Was Going On. I was anticipating some big reveal, a twist or a resolution with a bang, and I didn't get one. It's a very exciting book, with the monsters and the jungle, but in the end, nothing really does happen, and things in Felix's real life improve slightly. So, while there's adventure and suspense, it's also somehow a very quiet book, a look inside the psyche of a stressed little boy, and ultimately, it's very realistic. I guess I kind of liked it.
alenka's review
3.0
This is a book about anxiety and bullying, mostly? A new boy at school steals a calculator and makes the teacher believe Felix took it, Felix's parents are often away at work and his father might lose his job, and he doesn't really have any friends. In his dreams, Felix sees monsters - until he encounters another boy who looks just like him and is also named Felix, and who knows how to fight the monsters.
This has a set up similar to A Monster Calls but is less intense. The outdoorsy scenes in the dream world with the Other Felix are fun but I sort of expected them to be spookier? As a book for younger readers though, the scariness level is pretty manageable.
This has a set up similar to A Monster Calls but is less intense. The outdoorsy scenes in the dream world with the Other Felix are fun but I sort of expected them to be spookier? As a book for younger readers though, the scariness level is pretty manageable.
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