Julian Wouters Wouters থেকে Pendeen, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 7SE, UK
When I first started reading this, I had the impression that a narrator was telling either a story of the past (like a prologue) or a nice bedtime story and that the real tale would be told years later. Except, I realised later on that the story had indeed started already, and it was merely the writing style that confused me. The beginning was mainly a narration and it felt like I was being told a story rather than being shown it. There were sudden changes from third person to second person, which didn’t work so well. While reading it, I felt like a bystander watching the proceedings from a distance instead of experiencing the actions with the characters. Unfortunately I did not feel a connection with any of the characters. Perhaps it was because everything happened too fast, some characters jumped in and out, never staying long enough to make an impression. Sara and Manolo’s characters were not as well developed as I’d liked. Being the main character, I expected to understand more of Sara’s personality and behaviour, but as the book focused mainly on what she did and what happened to her, occasionally mentioning what she felt, i personally felt no connection with her. The blurb mentioned Sara being telekinetic but in the book, there was hardly any reference to her telekinetic abilities. She discovered her ability one day, was told to learn to control it, and almost never used her ability again. The book was easy to read and reminded me of an innocent children’s bedtime story. There were mentionsof folklore that was quite intriguing but would certainly have appealed to me more if I was younger. However, I did find many of the fantasy creatures very imaginative. Some were incredibly amusing and sweet, while others were plain evil. Unfortunately, the journey took too long to describe and when I finally read up to the climax, everything resolved too quickly. At least, the ending was satisfying. I was happy that it wasn’t a typical happily-ever-after ending. I would recommend this to younger readers, as there were appealing qualities which younger children may find interesting. I know for a fact that, had I been younger, I certainly would have enjoyed this much more. Overall, it was fast-paced, and fairytale-like, but sadly, it wasn’t quite my cup of tea. http://www.shiirleyysbookshelf.blogsp...