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A review by barrettbooks
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Elodie is a 12 year old from a poor family, travelling on her own to the mainland city, home of a king, an ogre, and a dragon! Elodie hopes to apprentice as a mansioner (an actor) but finds herself lacking funds, and entangled with the mystery-solving dragon as she learns not everything is what it seems.
This was a fun middlegrade from the author of Ella Enchanted. It was a little slow moving sometimes, but the world is well-developed and charming. I liked Elodie a lot; she is very determined and resourceful. We get to see her learn as she ventures from her little impoverished island to the big city and it was honestly relatable to me as someone who lived in a small town until university, despite the medieval-esque setting. It's delightful to watch Elodie figure out her new environment and learn about the people there, especially since she often figures out more than the locals know themselves.
The detective dragon is what I was most excited about with this one, particularly because the dragon uses nonbinary pronouns and terms of address (IT/IT/ITS and Masteress.) This turned out to be not exactly that the dragon is nonbinary as that a dragon's gender is not to be known by humans and other nondragons. Still, it was nice to see ITS pronouns respected by all the human characters. There were a few times early on where Elodie speculated on ITS gender based on stereotypes, which did not enjoy, but these stopped as Elodie got to know IT and appreciate IT beyond gender, which liked. The actual detecting part of the dragon storyline was lovely, especially since being a dragon lends extra quirks that make detecting more challenging.
Overall, this was a cute read! There is a sequel which will be on the lookout for. Just a slow little cosy medieval mystery with a fantasy twist and a nice moral. I had a pleasant time.
This was a fun middlegrade from the author of Ella Enchanted. It was a little slow moving sometimes, but the world is well-developed and charming. I liked Elodie a lot; she is very determined and resourceful. We get to see her learn as she ventures from her little impoverished island to the big city and it was honestly relatable to me as someone who lived in a small town until university, despite the medieval-esque setting. It's delightful to watch Elodie figure out her new environment and learn about the people there, especially since she often figures out more than the locals know themselves.
The detective dragon is what I was most excited about with this one, particularly because the dragon uses nonbinary pronouns and terms of address (IT/IT/ITS and Masteress.) This turned out to be not exactly that the dragon is nonbinary as that a dragon's gender is not to be known by humans and other nondragons. Still, it was nice to see ITS pronouns respected by all the human characters. There were a few times early on where Elodie speculated on ITS gender based on stereotypes, which did not enjoy, but these stopped as Elodie got to know IT and appreciate IT beyond gender, which liked. The actual detecting part of the dragon storyline was lovely, especially since being a dragon lends extra quirks that make detecting more challenging.
Overall, this was a cute read! There is a sequel which will be on the lookout for. Just a slow little cosy medieval mystery with a fantasy twist and a nice moral. I had a pleasant time.