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A captivating story of courage and strength against terrible odds, this is th... read full description
A captivating story of courage and strength against terrible odds, this is th... read full description
reviews
Jul 17, 2011
Hilary
rated it: 
Twelve-year-old Midge is sent to stay on her uncle's West Country farm for the summer holidays. She's bored and lonely until the day she finds a tiny winged horse lying injured in an outbuilding and goes to its rescue.[return][return]So far, so ordinary there's a band of tiny people living in the woods on the hill, and Midge finds herself caught up in their lives and problems but the depiction of the tiny people, the 'Various' themselves, sets this book apart: they're a far cry from the et
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Feb 21, 2011
Such a disappointment: I enjoyed The Various so much and looked forward to the next installment. I read Celandine a first time, but didn't want to be too judgemental after a once over. So I read it again - and what a let down. Don't get me wrong, I can't fault the eloquent poetry of the language, or the ability to set the scene, but to use the term 'overcook' would be an understatement. Mr. Augarde is way too dependent on long overdescriptive passages and doesn't offer the reader the opportunity
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Jan 23, 2011
NebraskaIcebergs
rated it:
How many pages do you read of a book before you decide its fate? Can you know within one page if you love it? How many chapters do you endure if you hate it? What if your feelings are simply neutral? All these questions have been debated by readers. Some readers hold to a 5-sentence rule; others to a 5-page rule; while a few doggedly persevere no matter what to the end. Myself, I’m normally pretty tolerant of a novel. It’s been almost a year since I abandoned one. Yet I came close to quitting on
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Dec 29, 2009
Louise
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I'm not a huge fan of fairies, elves and other critters of that nature. But I am a fan of great writing, strong atmosphere, great characters and dialogue, and this book has all of that in spades. When Midge goes to her uncle's farm in Somerset for the summer and first encounters the fields and tangled forests, the old house and dilapidated (and dangerous) out-buildings, it really is magical -- because of Augarde's beautiful evocation of place and character. Her bumbling uncle, mother in career o
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Jul 01, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com
Twelve-year-old Midge has been sent to stay with her Uncle Brian at Mill Farm while her musician mother goes on tour.
Though she's not sure what to expect, Midge never dreamed of the adventures she'd encounter at the farm. She stumbles upon an injured winged horse in one of the outbuildings and helps the creature. She learns the horse lives in the Royal Wood. Unfortunately, Uncle Brian has decided to sell the woods and they ar More...
Twelve-year-old Midge has been sent to stay with her Uncle Brian at Mill Farm while her musician mother goes on tour.
Though she's not sure what to expect, Midge never dreamed of the adventures she'd encounter at the farm. She stumbles upon an injured winged horse in one of the outbuildings and helps the creature. She learns the horse lives in the Royal Wood. Unfortunately, Uncle Brian has decided to sell the woods and they ar More...
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Aug 03, 2009
Adam
rated it: 
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to fans of Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling, Lemony Snicket, et cetera. This book may even be slightly better than what I've read from those authors. It's decent YA entertainment. However, I have to admit that that's just not good enough for me... and in fact, I only skim-read the second half of the novel. More and more often I'm finding that a genre novel (and YA is certainly a genre of its own) just doesn't hold my interest if it isn't clearly one of
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Jan 31, 2012
Nisha-Anne
rated it: 
You know, at first I rather liked the detailed descriptions, especially when our protagonist first gets to the farm. But then good grief, when I realised how long it was taking to get through one damned scene, just getting our protagonist to solve one lone situation, my impatience and disbelief kicked in. Not just that but my writer disapproval reared its head. When that happens, it's pretty serious. And the loooooong horribly pedantic descriptions persisted, so much so that I began to get quite
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Jul 27, 2011
I have had a strange craving for fairy tales lately, which I had to go to kid fiction to satiate properly. There is a lot here that is good. I love Midge and the parts about her are consistently the most interesting. The bits about the fairies are less so, and the different tribes are like a throw-back to the different regions of Oz or something. My only real complaint, though, is that Midge doesn't get to DO anything. After rescuing the horse, she is pretty much running for her life at arr
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Nov 09, 2010
Kaethe
rated it:
When Midge declared herself the Mistress, I was well and truly hooked. I dearly love her thinking things through at the Summer Palace.
***
Suffers from the common "characters are male unless they need to be female for plot purposes" problem, but a great story nonetheless. I look forward to the further adventures.
(Seriously, you create five new species, and you automatically default to patriarchal society? Why bother? Yeah, there's a queen, but she's old, con More...
***
Suffers from the common "characters are male unless they need to be female for plot purposes" problem, but a great story nonetheless. I look forward to the further adventures.
(Seriously, you create five new species, and you automatically default to patriarchal society? Why bother? Yeah, there's a queen, but she's old, con More...
Jan 23, 2011
Louise
rated it:
I picked this book because it sounded like a fun read, but I was a little disappointed in it. I found the writing to be a bit clunky and obvious, especially in the beginning. Although I found the way the main character reacted to the little people to be fairly realistic, I didn't like how she reacted to adults around her. It just sounded like it was a child written from an adult's point of view.
*spoiler alert*
Furthermore, I didn't find the little people all that interestin More...
*spoiler alert*
Furthermore, I didn't find the little people all that interestin More...
Jun 20, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
Have you ever read a book that you weren't sure you liked while reading, but then couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards? The Various, by Steve Augarde was one of those books for me. It took me a month to read it because I had several other books taking precedence, but once I gave it my undivided attention I did enjoy it.
The main character is a girl who's mother is a professional violinist. She goes to spend time with her uncle on his farm while her mother is on tour. She loves t More...
The main character is a girl who's mother is a professional violinist. She goes to spend time with her uncle on his farm while her mother is on tour. She loves t More...
Sep 11, 2009
Virginia
rated it:
The Various is a tribe of fairies that Midge discovers when she goes to live at Mill Farm with her eccentric uncle while her mother is touring with an orchestra. Midge loves the old farm and while exploring she finds a winged horse in a shed pinned under a farm machine. She is able to rescue the horse who takes her to where the rest of the tribe lives. All is not peaceful among members of the tribe and the fairies are struggling with the inevitable disappearance of their homeland due to develo
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Jan 07, 2012
Bowsty
rated it:
found this in the Old Aberdeen Bookshop in the Spital, Aberdeen, Scotland. thought it was a y/a book but it's more of a middle reader. starts off well, but degenerates into the domestic squabbling that seems characteristic of a middle-reader book. The plot was evident from about a third of the way through the book, and the story unfortunately sagged into a predictable ending. I did enjoy the development in relationship between the human children, and I always appreciate a reverence for song, mus
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Dec 20, 2011
S. Bell
rated it: 
I think I was, like, three pages into this when I was set to give it five stars! What a perfect gem of a book - it starts off wonderfully and actually never, ever falters. The whole thing is charming and magical and absolutely top-notch.
The plot is one that's been done before... kid (Midge) finds some kind of magical creature (in this case, first Pegs the miniature winged horse and then the rest of the Various) who lives in the woods by her house (or her Uncle's) which are about to b More...
The plot is one that's been done before... kid (Midge) finds some kind of magical creature (in this case, first Pegs the miniature winged horse and then the rest of the Various) who lives in the woods by her house (or her Uncle's) which are about to b More...
Aug 03, 2011
Kimberly
rated it:
When Midge's mother goes on a tour with the London Philharmonic, she sends Midge to Mill Farm to stay with her Uncle Brian. There, Midge finds an injured flying horse named Pegs. As she helps Pegs, she is drawn into a world of small and magical people called "The Various." The Various live in the woods near her Uncle's farm, and their livelihood is threatened both by the barrenness of the land and the possibility of the forest's destruction.
To say much more about the plo More...
To say much more about the plo More...
Mar 03, 2010
Adam
rated it:
What distinguishes The Various from the plethoria of fairy fiction out there is the nature of the eponymous small folk themselves. Augarde's fairies are a far cry from Shakespeare's; you won't find them enchanting mortals or cursing anyone with the head of an ass. They are small in stature and few in number, and what little magic they have is mostly religated to superstition. They eek out a meager existance in one small woods, equally fearing starvation and human discovery.
Which i More...
Which i More...
Dec 08, 2010
Miriam
rated it:
I picked this up because I liked the cover and title. Having finished the book, I suspect both were marketing gimmicks to make the books seem more intriguing. Not that it sucked or anything, but it wasn't novel or mysterious the way I had been hoping. A pretty standard kid-staying-at-old-family-home-discovers-secret-supernatural-whatever fantasy. Moderately interesting to read. Pacing a bit off, with the second half feeling much more full than the first and introducing most of the secondary char
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Feb 06, 2011
Ayla
rated it:
Excellent children's/young adult fantasy novel.
Midge goes to stay with her uncle in deepest Wiltshire and basically finds fairies not quite at the bottom of the garden but in the nearby wild, overgrown forest.
Nice creation of another world of differing fairy tribes with their own customs, ways of speaking etc. A rollicking, adventurous plot that never really lets up. The fairies way of life is in danger and Midge and her cousins have to help out.
Midge goes to stay with her uncle in deepest Wiltshire and basically finds fairies not quite at the bottom of the garden but in the nearby wild, overgrown forest.
Nice creation of another world of differing fairy tribes with their own customs, ways of speaking etc. A rollicking, adventurous plot that never really lets up. The fairies way of life is in danger and Midge and her cousins have to help out.
Mar 10, 2011
Adrian
rated it:
Not going to finish this one. I guess I just don't really like books where ordinary children discover something magical and fantastic in their backyard. This is the third in a row that I've read and been bored with. It's another off the strong heroine list, and it does have a very strong girl heroine in it, but the story to me is just boring. I can see where it's going, and I don't want to bother finishing it to find out if I'm right.
May 17, 2011
Leigh
rated it:
This book is about a girl, Midge, who spends her summer in her uncle's house. Her mom is part of a band, which is touring for a couple of months. She doesn't really know her uncle well, so this gave a chance for both of them to bond. Midge later on found out that she was born in the room she is staying in, at her uncle's house. She also discovered a mystical animal hiding in the old pig farm in their backyard. Although, Midge doesn't know that this can bring trouble to her uncle and her.
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Dec 17, 2009
Isabella
rated it:
What a pleasant surprise!
I found a faulty edition (missing the first 30 pages) of this book in a bargain session and got it mainly because I liked the cover.
This is a sweet story of a young girl named Midge who has to spend the summer at her uncle's farm. Here she encounters a tiny horse with wings and subsequently meets the title giving "various" in the nearby forest.
The various are several tribes of fairies (good and bad) about to lose their livin More...
I found a faulty edition (missing the first 30 pages) of this book in a bargain session and got it mainly because I liked the cover.
This is a sweet story of a young girl named Midge who has to spend the summer at her uncle's farm. Here she encounters a tiny horse with wings and subsequently meets the title giving "various" in the nearby forest.
The various are several tribes of fairies (good and bad) about to lose their livin More...
Oct 13, 2010
Librarian
rated it:
Pros: Cool fairy world with different types of fairies who have to live together (farmers, hunters, fishers, and metal workers). Gutsy girl protagonist who is believably smart and adventurous.
Cons: I found the contrast between the real world and the fairy world to be kind of jarring. The real world stuff seemed so boring compared to the adventures in the fairy woods, and I found myself wanting to skip those parts.
Cons: I found the contrast between the real world and the fairy world to be kind of jarring. The real world stuff seemed so boring compared to the adventures in the fairy woods, and I found myself wanting to skip those parts.
Dec 07, 2009
Scott
rated it:
I didn't finish it because it was a tad boring, things weren't happening quick enough for me and he kept jumping back and forth between places, leaving something I was interested in and introducing something else. I kept feeling like it would eventually get better but I lost interest before that happened.
Feb 16, 2008
Kirsten
rated it:
I really enjoyed this novel -- it has sort of an old-fashioned YA fantasy novel feel. I did feel that it suffered from some pacing and plot problems; for how long the book is (over 400 pages) very little was wrapped up in the end, and the story seemed to move in fits and starts throughout. Still, the author does a great job of giving the Various different personalities and creating their culture, and he also has a good sense for how young adolescents think and interact. I particularly enjoyed Ge
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Mar 07, 2011
Andrea
rated it:
Not really sure what to say. I enjoyed reading this book, and am reading the second book in this seris but it wasn't like a book a couldn't put down. It keep me interested enough though that I wanted to know what was happening next. Would recommend this book if you wanted a slow reader to get you through a couple of weeks. If you like books on the secret life of faries, you will enjoy this.
Sep 09, 2009
Alice
rated it:
pretty, haunting and placid. the various is a book you almost can't stand, but yet can;t bear to put it down. it spins a spell about elves and pixies, naiads and draiads all who live in a special wood, undisturbed, until a young girl comes along and opens their heart.
Jun 25, 2011
114 Parmis
rated it:
I really liked this book, becauase it was an advanturous jurney for this girl midge, who was the one person who had ever descovered the little fairy creatures,( Who were mostly evil!). This brings the human world a change of curiosity, and adventurous.
Aug 07, 2011
Selene
rated it:
This book took a while to get into, though once inside it was worth the initial struggle. This is one of those epic type books, like Lord of the Rings, and there are apparently two more books to follow this. A very simple story but a good read.
Jul 31, 2008
Anastasia
rated it:
The Various is a strangely old-school fantasy novel: it deals, like many such stories, with a very isolated space where fantastical creatures can still thrive. The creatures, the Various, are threatened with the extinction of their environment as the imposition of man move toward their space. This environmental aspect of the destruction of forest is played down in favor of romance, family disputes, and the gradual progression towards a perfectly traditional happy ending. If you can get past the
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Jan 01, 2010
Kristina
rated it:
I really liked this book. A story about fairies (known to themselves as the Various) who live among us, hidden is their own tiny forest, and what happens when a human girl helps one of them. I'm excited to find out what the next two books in the trilogy bring.
