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A review by mikaelcatz
Blame it on the Pumpkin by Jennifer Kyrnin, Greg Patrick, Pamela K. Kinney
2.0
Blame It on the Pumpkin is a collection of fiction, nonfiction and verse centered around pumpkins and Halloween. Mostly scares. I downloaded this book off Netgalley as an avid Halloween lover, who gets their kicks from doing every Autumn and Halloween activities as much as possible. I was looking forward to this collection due to its cover and summary.
However, this left me feeling underwhelmed. The first piece was a non-fiction essay about how pumpkins a grown and the work that goes into taking the seeds and eventually turning them into jack-o-lanterns! It was a very interesting essay to read and im sure it's knowledge that not many people care to know about.
Unfortunately, the rest of the collection went downhill from there. The next piece was a small poem about a man being hunted by a werewolf. It was short and to the point but that did not do the work any favors. It read very middle grade in terms of how unsubtle the narrative was, it almost felt like reading a comic book but not in a good way.
Onwards I started and got half way through a story about Penny and her friends, a girl who takes her friends and Halloween spirit to a maze and festival in an unknown mysterious town. On the way, they encounter strange happenings but trudge forward in hopes of having a good scare.
This story had its roots. I was interested in the story because it was more original and had enough mystery to it to continue reading. But the writing isn't great. The writing style is very choppy and doesn't feel distinct despite the idea being innovative. The beginning was fun however as they were driving to this town and encountered some horrible things, the quality of the story faltered in favor. It was all very dramatic in terms of drama and intrigue, but the non-flowery writing was a letdown. I stopped reading this piece because I couldn't stand to read on, despite wanting to know what happened next. The story had no heart or narrative and for that it was left as choppy and unenjoyable.
Very unfortunate.
However, this left me feeling underwhelmed. The first piece was a non-fiction essay about how pumpkins a grown and the work that goes into taking the seeds and eventually turning them into jack-o-lanterns! It was a very interesting essay to read and im sure it's knowledge that not many people care to know about.
Unfortunately, the rest of the collection went downhill from there. The next piece was a small poem about a man being hunted by a werewolf. It was short and to the point but that did not do the work any favors. It read very middle grade in terms of how unsubtle the narrative was, it almost felt like reading a comic book but not in a good way.
Onwards I started and got half way through a story about Penny and her friends, a girl who takes her friends and Halloween spirit to a maze and festival in an unknown mysterious town. On the way, they encounter strange happenings but trudge forward in hopes of having a good scare.
This story had its roots. I was interested in the story because it was more original and had enough mystery to it to continue reading. But the writing isn't great. The writing style is very choppy and doesn't feel distinct despite the idea being innovative. The beginning was fun however as they were driving to this town and encountered some horrible things, the quality of the story faltered in favor. It was all very dramatic in terms of drama and intrigue, but the non-flowery writing was a letdown. I stopped reading this piece because I couldn't stand to read on, despite wanting to know what happened next. The story had no heart or narrative and for that it was left as choppy and unenjoyable.
Very unfortunate.