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ethan_libra's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I've been needing to read something this fun and easily enjoyable. The adventure, the mystery, the candy, the time-travel that comes in at the end....it all makes for a really fun read and a book I really enjoyed growing up. I can remember reading it at least four times before picking it up again during the pandemic. So nostalgia is a big factor, but I don't think it was clouding my vision. The plot is intriguing, even when you remember most of the events and twists, and again, the time-travel stuff is really well done. I can tell a lot of thought and fun went into making this book that comes out when you read it. However, it's not without its flaws. Sometimes this book feels like it purposefully appeals to a bunch of tropes in middle grade fiction, though. Plenty of main and supporting characters feel uninteresting because of how much they try to relate to what a middle grade reader might have been like in 2007. For example, Summer only ever came off as a tomboy, Pigeon only ever came off as a cautious know-it-all, and the three bullies are only ever distinguished by their facial features. Also, this has been mentioned in other reviews, but the description of non-white characters bothered me quite a bit. All in all though, I enjoyed this book a good amount. Not as good as Fablehaven, mind you, but this stands well rereading it.
statman's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read, much like the Fablehaven series by the same author which I also enjoyed. It is really fast pace and its fun to see all the different plot twists and turns that happened, many of which were unexpected for me. Clean enough for the young ones, my eight year old loved it when the Harry Potter books are too scary for her, even the first ones.
jcarsrud's review against another edition
4.0
This book has a slow start that wasn't very interesting, but I plugged along and it was a great adventure! The four kids are very real and engaging. I was very entertained with the story and couldn't wait to find out how it ended!
lindzieh's review against another edition
1.0
The plot was hard to follow. Too many characters and not enough development. I know it was meant for a younger audience, but I felt like his other series of books were better.
mandler_'s review against another edition
3.0
I remember really enjoying this series as a kid. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it appears my tastes in books have changed. The idea of this book is great--magical candies with interesting and compelling abilities. I just am not the target audience for this book and it was boring and annoying to read the juvenile, judgmental, and harsh opinions and character descriptions. I get it, the kids are young, but I just was bored.
mattbeatty's review against another edition
3.0
(Disclaimer: we listened to this on CD, something I don't like to do, for the kids' sakes, while driving on our Memorial Day 2011 weekend trip through Moab and Canyonlands. Captivated nearly everyone--and much better than DVDs in my opinion.)
This was a very fun book. Good plot, with twists and turns to keep you guessing, a great classic idea adapted for modern young audiences. I like Brandon Mull's imaginative magical spins on the world. If these short sentences were my whole review, it'd be 4 stars.
However, I cannot *stand* his writing style. Saying he is overdescriptive is severe underexaggeration. Every single character is given very average first and last names. Every street is named, directions are always given. When looking through a window into a room or a library, every single item is catalogued in a neverending sequence. Adjectives fly endlessly all over the place. While this may be good for scripts and the screen, to help lay a distinct scene which ends up visual, it is too much for his novels (same with Fablehaven
, which I'm currently reading to the kids). I think he was writing this book with a film deal in mind (which he got), and if so, good for him, seriously. I think it could be translated better on film.
He uses literary gimmicks to keep the action moving and to keep from writing redundantly. He constantly begins sentences with present participles, many of them dangling. This was annoying--sorry.
Also, the themes already mentioned in previous review of lawbreaking, shadowed racism, and violence can be a little hard to swallow--in particular for me, the lawbreaking. It seemed just a little too easy for these kids.
I won't overanalyze the "bad examples" that may have been imparted. I want to give my kids a little credit, considering this book *does* occur in a fantasy world. (Instead, I'll overanalyze Mull's writing style--ha.) All in all, my kids loved it, and I thought it was fun and worth listening to.
This was a very fun book. Good plot, with twists and turns to keep you guessing, a great classic idea adapted for modern young audiences. I like Brandon Mull's imaginative magical spins on the world. If these short sentences were my whole review, it'd be 4 stars.
However, I cannot *stand* his writing style. Saying he is overdescriptive is severe underexaggeration. Every single character is given very average first and last names. Every street is named, directions are always given. When looking through a window into a room or a library, every single item is catalogued in a neverending sequence. Adjectives fly endlessly all over the place. While this may be good for scripts and the screen, to help lay a distinct scene which ends up visual, it is too much for his novels (same with Fablehaven
, which I'm currently reading to the kids). I think he was writing this book with a film deal in mind (which he got), and if so, good for him, seriously. I think it could be translated better on film.He uses literary gimmicks to keep the action moving and to keep from writing redundantly. He constantly begins sentences with present participles, many of them dangling. This was annoying--sorry.
Also, the themes already mentioned in previous review of lawbreaking, shadowed racism, and violence can be a little hard to swallow--in particular for me, the lawbreaking. It seemed just a little too easy for these kids.
I won't overanalyze the "bad examples" that may have been imparted. I want to give my kids a little credit, considering this book *does* occur in a fantasy world. (Instead, I'll overanalyze Mull's writing style--ha.) All in all, my kids loved it, and I thought it was fun and worth listening to.
annika_1205's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
moochan's review against another edition
3.0
The book was overall enjoyable and mostly well-written. It would’ve had 4 stars but the race stuff was persistent throughout the book and I couldn’t in good conscience NOT take a star off. The racial bits came off as uninformed and a bit prejudiced, and the book didn’t even need it.
The race stuff was a little odd, and not really necessary for the book. There were plenty of other ways to describe a costume or disguise without making it completely based around race. In the book the kids were given “Melting Pot Mixers” that would alter their appearance. There was a moment where Pigeon declared “I was hoping for Black!” As if that race were a costume to put on-and that was what race was treated as throughout the book. That’s a little similar to Blackface-putting on the assumed features of another race to one’s own advantage.
Additionally, the author only ever described the race of people who weren’t white-implying whiteness to be the norm or standard. And the descriptions were also based on stereotypes and prejudice. Summer, when she had taken her Mixer, was described as Asian, Japanese, and Chinese-which are not the same thing. It didn’t really matter as long as the reader saw what they-and likely the author-thought someone of these ethnicities would look like. This oversight was never corrected or clarified, which tells me the author didn’t really care to specify.
To clarify, the author is NOT RACIST, nor is the book, but the way it deals with race was insensitive and uninformed.
Also the author really laid into the fact that Pigeon was chubby. Like…he went into detail about how he could never keep up with his friends and was embarrassed by his weight…but that was it. He never lost the weight or gained self confidence about it. He just…kept on the exact way he’d been. So I really don’t know what the reason for mentioning the weight was. Other than shaming him? Or allowing the reader to understand that…fat people have a hard time?? I really don’t know, but it just rubbed me the wrong way.
The race stuff was a little odd, and not really necessary for the book. There were plenty of other ways to describe a costume or disguise without making it completely based around race. In the book the kids were given “Melting Pot Mixers” that would alter their appearance. There was a moment where Pigeon declared “I was hoping for Black!” As if that race were a costume to put on-and that was what race was treated as throughout the book. That’s a little similar to Blackface-putting on the assumed features of another race to one’s own advantage.
Additionally, the author only ever described the race of people who weren’t white-implying whiteness to be the norm or standard. And the descriptions were also based on stereotypes and prejudice. Summer, when she had taken her Mixer, was described as Asian, Japanese, and Chinese-which are not the same thing. It didn’t really matter as long as the reader saw what they-and likely the author-thought someone of these ethnicities would look like. This oversight was never corrected or clarified, which tells me the author didn’t really care to specify.
To clarify, the author is NOT RACIST, nor is the book, but the way it deals with race was insensitive and uninformed.
Also the author really laid into the fact that Pigeon was chubby. Like…he went into detail about how he could never keep up with his friends and was embarrassed by his weight…but that was it. He never lost the weight or gained self confidence about it. He just…kept on the exact way he’d been. So I really don’t know what the reason for mentioning the weight was. Other than shaming him? Or allowing the reader to understand that…fat people have a hard time?? I really don’t know, but it just rubbed me the wrong way.