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A review by justjeanettelee
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
5.0
Easily my favourite book series from my childhood. It still manages to capture my attention and unwavering love all these years later. This marks the fourth read of "The Ruins of Gorlan", and although it has been some years since the last time I've leafed through it's pages, the first book in Flanagan's amazing "Ranger's Apprentice" series has been read with a more fresh approach and opened eyes (on my behalf).
I have next to no issues with the book, but the one thing that certainly doesn't sit well with me is the bullying of Horace. While overall it is a good message and development of character, I felt that Flanagan could have come up with a more creative taunt than "baby", and the constant repetitive use of it by Bryn, Alda and Jerome was rather frustrating to read at times. I realise this is an early teen novel, but surely there could have been something besides "baby" for Flanagan to use - for example, an insult about Horace's appearance, or even using "orphan" as a derogatory term (although I obviously do not condone bullying one bit, it's still a reasonable point to make). A small criticism in the larger scheme of things.
I have next to no issues with the book, but the one thing that certainly doesn't sit well with me is the bullying of Horace. While overall it is a good message and development of character, I felt that Flanagan could have come up with a more creative taunt than "baby", and the constant repetitive use of it by Bryn, Alda and Jerome was rather frustrating to read at times. I realise this is an early teen novel, but surely there could have been something besides "baby" for Flanagan to use - for example, an insult about Horace's appearance, or even using "orphan" as a derogatory term (although I obviously do not condone bullying one bit, it's still a reasonable point to make). A small criticism in the larger scheme of things.