Phillip Abraham
truthfully, i didn't love this book like i thought i would. i think the characters in this book are the strongest aspect, and i think the general whimsical fairytale-like atmosphere of the story was very well done. it felt very cozy and comforting to read!
the reason why i say i say i didn't love this is because of how little i felt like i understood of the overarching plot. i think this is the kind of book i need to reread to fully understand - there was a surprising amount of depth to the story, but i think the way it was executed was a little confusing. i did find the ending very sweet though, even if a lot of the preceding chapters felt a bit muddled.
as some other reviews have said, i think i wouldn't have the same level of comittment to finish this if it weren't associated with the movie. i did enjoy reading and don't regret it at all though (i actually havent watched the ghibli movie so this is my gateway LOL) and i think with a revisit, i might like it more
“They'd devoured each other in this forest, these boys so ravenous and defiant and tearful, they'd not known how to stop. The way Andrew loved Thomas was terrible and eternal, but he couldn't remember if he'd ever said that out loud.”
this was one of my most anticipated books for this year and i'm so glad it didn't disappoint!! andrew and thomas' relationship was actually very sweet despite how much they suffered - i'm so glad this story didn't fall into the trap i see in so many ya novels where the main characters just don't have any chemistry. something i also did NOT expect from this book was detailed illustrations of the monsters, which i absolutely loved!! it added so much to the twisted fairytale theming!!
the ending, without spoiling, is open-ended, but doesn't feel cheap to me since i feel like you could pretty easily come to a reasonable conclusion about what happened. this book has such great atmosphere and i really loved how it was maintained up until the very end. there were a few parts where i felt the talks about andrew's sexuality were a bit jarring compared to the rest of the plot, but i do understand how important that is to his character and this book's audience.
overall, i highly enjoyed reading! the horror in this book is (as someone who's easily freaked out) not all that graphic, more haunting and uncomfortable than anything else. if that sounds up your alley, i definitely would recommend!
this is the kind of book i felt more than i understood. i felt the grief, the sinking, and the longing all through the haze of the dreamy prose. i'm completely exhausted as i type this but i think that's actually perfect for the type of book this is. maybe i miss someone or something too
overall i definitely need to read again to fully take everything in but this was great either way woooo
this book is so ridiculous that i genuinely have no idea how i feel about it. it's unlike anything i've ever read - is that a good thing?? i dont know!!
i can tell from just the first book that the characters are what make this series. unfortunately i don't feel like i've been aquainted with them for long enough to feel attached to them, but i do see the setup for future books so i'll reserve my judgement until then. what i will say is that they all stick out, and have things that make them memorable, so that's a definite plus! yes, some of them are cartoonishly antagonistic at times, but i can somewhat look past that for now because i'm interested to see the arc these characters go through.
the writing here is serviceable enough - the prose isn't amazing, but it's not terrible. i definitely felt like the first half dragged a bit, but this did get better as the book progressed. is the plot anywhere close to realistic? not at all, but it's clear that's not what the point of these books is.
overall, i have no idea what to even rate this. i'm going to go with 3 stars, but i'm intrigued and think this book may improve with the context of the rest of the series filled in.
it was fun! a bit too short to really build on its subject matter, but i liked what we got to see!
the main character and her internal struggles were compelling, and i liked seeing her growth throughout. the ending did feel a bit too convenient and abrupt for my liking, but i think it made sense within the context of the book. i'd also like to shout out the very cool illustrations at the start of each chapter - they kept me engaged!
overall, a pretty interesting usage of the magical girl trope! i probably won't think about this much after finishing it, but i did have a good time reading it.
i mean... was i invested in the drama? definitely. the last 50 pages or so ramped up the action, and the twists were genuinely surprising, but everything else about this was underwhelming.
none of the six main characters were all that likeable or even memorable, with the exception of one that absolutely infuriated me, and the ending felt underwhelming. i found myself often skimming pages either because red's inner monologue felt overdone, or because the main characters were all planning something too ridiculous to even be plausible.
overall, i don't fully regret my time reading this book since i did find some enjoyment in the sheer dramatics of the plot, but i really don't see any reason i'd ever come back to this.
2.75 ⭐️
“I don't want to say good-bye,” I whisper to no one in particular.Grandpa Ike pats a rough hand on my back. “You'll never have to say good-bye,” he says. “Not so long as you remember.”
i first read this book in 2018, when i was just 12 years old. now, 6 years later, it still holds up incredibly well - i actually think it may be even better now that i'm older and better able to process the themes of family, loss, and grief in this book.
i haven't read middle grade since middle school, but this book constantly had me forget it was written for a young audience, not in the same way so many young adult books feel so juvenile. for such a short book, i'm shocked by how emotional i got near the end. ali standish does such a great job of writing complex young characters, without making it seem patronizing or unrealistic. will definitely check out more of her works. overall, i'm so happy i loved this just as much as i did back then - i feel so much for ethan and coralee.
