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All the Invisible Things

Orlagh Collins

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A warm, witty, important story about being a young woman today, and what it's like to find a real...

Fiction YA LGBT

The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water

Erin Bartels

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book Watch

The best fiction simply tells the truth. But the truth is never simple. When novelist Kendra...

contemporary fiction friendship fiction coming of age tragedy

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Once Upon a Wardrobe in Books

Nov 13, 2024 (Updated Nov 13, 2024)

Mixed Journey of Self-Discovery

Megs’s younger brother George has a heart defect that keeps him in bed reading. It’s 1950, and he’s just discovered The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and he wants to know where Narnia came from. Since Megs is at Oxford, she goes to ask the author himself. But will C.S. Lewis’s answer help Megs and George?

I’ve been a Narnia fan since I first read the books in 3rd grade, so the premise of this book intrigued. However, it didn’t work for me. It felt too scattered, with too many storylines. It’s part biography of C.S. Lewis with vignettes about his life. It’s part coming of age story for Megs. I see where the author was trying to combine them thematically, but it didn’t quite work for me. I needed a bit more focus on something. Plus, some events in the story really strained what I could believe. But I did enjoy the characters, and I found myself tearing up a time or two. If the premise really intrigues you, check it out. Otherwise, give this one a pass.

Kudos

Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated The Cruel Prince in Books

Sep 15, 2018

The Cruel Prince

Holly Black | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance, Young Adult (YA)

8.4

(36 Ratings)

Book Rating

A great start to the series

THE CRUEL PRINCE was a great start to this series and it holds so much promise in terms of future book potential. The strengths of this series lie in the meeting of mortal and faerie worlds and the mixing of mortal and faerie beings, with hierarchy and prejudice being prominent. The book is full of strong characters to like, love, dislike and hate. Each character was developed so well, even some of the lesser characters. However, there are many lead characters and this exemplifies Holly Black’s talent.

Jude, the female main character was a strong young women who had had a life of hardship, trauma, bullying and adversity. She went through a coming of age that was forced on her during this read and she was just fantastic to focus on. The family relationships were complex and fascinating; the potential romantic relationships were unexpected and intriguing.

I listened to this on audio and I have to admit to feeling a lack of focus mid-way, where it either lost pace or the audio wasn’t working for me. The narration was good however. I can see myself flipping to the book a re-read before book two and continuing in this format.

I am truly excited at the continuation of the series and the final 15% was thrilling. Most YA fantasy fans will roll around in the muddy hype on this one, feeling satisfied.