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ginggrr's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Shorter teen novel, which can be hard to find! Engaging read and I blew through it in a day. Adds nuance and depth to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and modernizes it while using a narrative alternating between the present and the past to remind us that human problems are the same, hundreds of years apart, and that we all have agency in our lives. I didn’t expect much from this read, but it was very well done and I enjoyed it!
thebooknerdscorner's review
2.0
A modern, feminist retelling of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" featuring some LGBTQIA+ characters and many, many Katrina's.
Kat is a descendant of one of Sleepy Hollow's prestigious families, that of the Van Tassels. She knows that she is expected to marry her longtime boyfriend, Blake, and inherit the family estate and honorifics, but she wants more than what the Sleepy Hollow has to offer. When she meets Isadora Crow, she begins to imagine a world in which her dreams could possibly come true. But what really makes her reevaluate her life is her great-great-something grandmother's diary, that of the original Katrina Van Tassel, who lives on in a sense through "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
When I started reading this book, I thought it would be fun. I mean, I haven't read any retellings of the Headless Horseman, so I thought it would be different. Then I realized I didn't know anything about "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" so I took a pit stop and gave that a read to give myself some context. Over half of this book is told from the first Katrina Van Tassel's perspective and unfortunately, nothing really new or exciting was done with this. Some feminist bits were thrown in at the very end to give more power to Katrina and allow her to make some of her own decisions, but I feel like it was relatively little for how much of her perspective we were given.
After I got about halfway through the book, it really started to drag for me. The characters were bland and cookie-cutter versions of the people from Irving's original work, the plot wasn't super exciting, but the biggest issue was the writing. This book has got to have some of the laziest writing I have ever seen in multiple different ways. The descriptions are boring, the figurative language was usually very literal, and both Katrina's read as exactly the same person, despite the two hundred year time difference.
Also, the fact that Katrina's diary entries weren't written as journal entries really bothered me. The book would have benefited so much if it was written in first person. I found it so bizarre that the author didn't just write Katrina's diary as, wait for it, diary entries. Grrr. The epilogue was written in first person, and it was literally the best few pages of the book. The executive decisions in this book were seriously not great, and I cannot believe that this book wasn't written in the first person.
The ending of this book was also so lack luster. Pretty much every part of this book mirrored Irving's tale exactly, so there were zero elements that were unpredictable. I would have loved for an ending with a bit more of a twist than the three "shocking" details that Kat and Isadora discover at the very end (I saw all of them coming besides this one detail about the original Katrina that I found cheesy and very much just leaned into the feminist vibes that this book was trying to have). For a retelling, it kinda just felt like reading an expanded version of the original story two times over, due to the fact the book was in both Kat's and Katrina's perspectives, which were both very similar.
Overall, "Raising the Horseman" was pretty much just a lazily rewritten version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that didn't bring too many new elements to the table except for the bisexual main character and the feminist portrayal of the original Katrina Van Tassel. This book had potential to be good, but it's overall lack of decent writing really caused the book to plummet. Every single word was bland and this just made it incredibly boring. I hope to one day find a better book that retells the story of Sleepy Hollow in a better light. Thank you for "trying," but I think that I'd pass on this one if I were you!
Kat is a descendant of one of Sleepy Hollow's prestigious families, that of the Van Tassels. She knows that she is expected to marry her longtime boyfriend, Blake, and inherit the family estate and honorifics, but she wants more than what the Sleepy Hollow has to offer. When she meets Isadora Crow, she begins to imagine a world in which her dreams could possibly come true. But what really makes her reevaluate her life is her great-great-something grandmother's diary, that of the original Katrina Van Tassel, who lives on in a sense through "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
When I started reading this book, I thought it would be fun. I mean, I haven't read any retellings of the Headless Horseman, so I thought it would be different. Then I realized I didn't know anything about "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" so I took a pit stop and gave that a read to give myself some context. Over half of this book is told from the first Katrina Van Tassel's perspective and unfortunately, nothing really new or exciting was done with this. Some feminist bits were thrown in at the very end to give more power to Katrina and allow her to make some of her own decisions, but I feel like it was relatively little for how much of her perspective we were given.
After I got about halfway through the book, it really started to drag for me. The characters were bland and cookie-cutter versions of the people from Irving's original work, the plot wasn't super exciting, but the biggest issue was the writing. This book has got to have some of the laziest writing I have ever seen in multiple different ways. The descriptions are boring, the figurative language was usually very literal, and both Katrina's read as exactly the same person, despite the two hundred year time difference.
Also, the fact that Katrina's diary entries weren't written as journal entries really bothered me. The book would have benefited so much if it was written in first person. I found it so bizarre that the author didn't just write Katrina's diary as, wait for it, diary entries. Grrr. The epilogue was written in first person, and it was literally the best few pages of the book. The executive decisions in this book were seriously not great, and I cannot believe that this book wasn't written in the first person.
The ending of this book was also so lack luster. Pretty much every part of this book mirrored Irving's tale exactly, so there were zero elements that were unpredictable. I would have loved for an ending with a bit more of a twist than the three "shocking" details that Kat and Isadora discover at the very end (I saw all of them coming besides this one detail about the original Katrina that I found cheesy and very much just leaned into the feminist vibes that this book was trying to have). For a retelling, it kinda just felt like reading an expanded version of the original story two times over, due to the fact the book was in both Kat's and Katrina's perspectives, which were both very similar.
Overall, "Raising the Horseman" was pretty much just a lazily rewritten version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that didn't bring too many new elements to the table except for the bisexual main character and the feminist portrayal of the original Katrina Van Tassel. This book had potential to be good, but it's overall lack of decent writing really caused the book to plummet. Every single word was bland and this just made it incredibly boring. I hope to one day find a better book that retells the story of Sleepy Hollow in a better light. Thank you for "trying," but I think that I'd pass on this one if I were you!
sydneykaye's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
retelling/continuation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow following Katrina van Tassel's descendant of the same name.
brittster622's review
3.0
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a very short tale and I was greatly looking forward to delving into it some more. Here we find a descendant of the original Katherine who dealt with the horseman and Ichabod. Our current Katherine's life seems to be paralleling OG Katherine's quite a bit and we get to see a little of both by reliving the former through her journal entries. Katherine discovers some previously unearthed secrets about this legend and tries to learn to be who she is and not who everyone expects her to be.
The retelling aspect of the book was enjoyable as I got to learn more about the legend of sleepy hollow and the horseman. I was not a big fan of how the romance played out but granted its a middle grade read so the romance was basically, I like you and a kiss here and there. However, I did adore their friendship. The parallels between orginal Katherine and current Katherine were really well done and I found it fun to draw the comparisons as the story and some reveals played out.
This book is great for fan of the original tale and fans of the Halloweentown movies, as this whole town lives and breathes the legend of sleepy hollow.
The retelling aspect of the book was enjoyable as I got to learn more about the legend of sleepy hollow and the horseman. I was not a big fan of how the romance played out but granted its a middle grade read so the romance was basically, I like you and a kiss here and there. However, I did adore their friendship. The parallels between orginal Katherine and current Katherine were really well done and I found it fun to draw the comparisons as the story and some reveals played out.
This book is great for fan of the original tale and fans of the Halloweentown movies, as this whole town lives and breathes the legend of sleepy hollow.
pizzle183's review
adventurous
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
xnelsen12's review
5.0
Valentino's modern take on the retelling of Ichabod Crane's story (which follows Katrina Van Tassel and her female descendents) is a spooky and beautiful coming-of-age story that touches on friendships, relationships, family, traditions, and personal values. Framing Kat Van Tassel's coming life decisions inside her famous ancestor's own story recorded in her diary emphasizes not only traditional family values, but also the importance of making decisions for one's self. A clever and thoroughly enjoyable tale for Autumn lovers and MG/YA readers, "Raising the Horseman" is a definite must-read!
nordiccowgirl's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
slow_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
No poc, no warnings for homophobia or abusive teen relationships
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Homophobia
jrascoe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75