Flora knows better than to take shortcuts in her family home, Crackpot Hall--the house has eleven thousand rooms, and ever since her mother banishe...
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reviews
Jul 28, 2007
Oyceter
rated it: 
I don't think this is quite like anything I've read for a while. It's got wonderfully bizarre worldbuilding and great prose: I'd rec this to anyone who enjoyed Mary Poppins or Peter Pan (the books! not the movies!).
Full review: http://oyceter.livejournal.com/627770.ht...
Full review: http://oyceter.livejournal.com/627770.ht...
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Mar 11, 2008
Julian
rated it:
fun and surprisingly harsh YA fantasy novel, that takes place in a world unlike any other YA fantasy novel I've ever read. plus, the main character fucks up a lot and everything does not all work out all happy for her, which is kind of refreshing for a change.
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Feb 14, 2011
Abigail
rated it:
Flora Nemain Fydraaca ov Fydraaca was the second Flora - Flora Segunda - born to her illustrious family, one of the most powerful in the city of Califa. The legacy of that other, earlier Flora - the one whose loss in the War had driven her father, Poppy, mad - hung over the great Fydraaca household, Crackpot Hall, with its eleven thousand rooms, all falling into disrepair in the absence of its magical Butler. As Flora (Segunda) reluctantly prepares for her upcoming Catorcena, or fourteenth birth
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Jul 16, 2008
Alethea
rated it:
If you can get past some of the cutesy language (like "choco sandwies" and other things that end in -ie that eventually I got sick of encountering) you'll find a fun adventure with a little (well, rather plump actually) girl who's on her way to finding her place in the world.
Flora Segunda (a "replacement" daughter, as the first Flora in the family was lost in the War) is getting ready for her Catorcena--and not doing a great job of it, what with having to do all More...
Flora Segunda (a "replacement" daughter, as the first Flora in the family was lost in the War) is getting ready for her Catorcena--and not doing a great job of it, what with having to do all More...
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Mar 01, 2008
Jarrah
rated it:
This is either YA or children's fantasy, but I can't really make up my mind which. Flora, called Segunda because there was another Flora, who was a good deal more perfect but died, lives in Crackpot Hall, one of the four magickal Great Houses in the city. She struggles to keep the decrepit house from falling apart, to keep her messed up father from destroying the kitchen, and to write the speech for her Catorcena - her all-important fourteenth birthday, when she becomes legally an adult. Mostly,
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Jun 24, 2007
Res
rated it: 
The one where Flora accidentally reawakens the elemental spirit who serves as a butler, tries to rescue him, tries to rescue a heroine's sidekick, and then has to rescue herself.
I've read and adored Wilce's stories of Hardhands and Tiny Doom, and that was what I really wanted to read. This story apparently takes place at least a generation later than those stories. I'm struggling a bit to be fair and not downgrade it for not being some other book than the book it is.
It's More...
I've read and adored Wilce's stories of Hardhands and Tiny Doom, and that was what I really wanted to read. This story apparently takes place at least a generation later than those stories. I'm struggling a bit to be fair and not downgrade it for not being some other book than the book it is.
It's More...
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Dec 16, 2009
Moontail
rated it: 
This was amazing....there are not enough words to tell of the awesomeness of this title. Although others find it muddled and a bit schizophrenic..I did not find it to be the case. I do not know if everyone can appreciate the nature of the tale. But I found it to be unique in a world of YA literature that just all feels the same. Flora is strong and NOT ANGSTY...which is rare. Her sidekick is amusing and full of life. Characterizations...amazing. Plot is good and surprising. Characters ar
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Apr 05, 2008
Tamela
rated it:
Blasted Heck...so begins Flora on our rampacious,laborious, delicious and enchanting read. "Ayah",it was fun! With sentences like, "Ave,sieur denizen, thank you, ave," This young adult book was a tad difficult to get into the rhythm. But once in, the fun began. The names alone were crazy: Udo, Mouse, Bonzo, Flynnie, Zoo Battery, Cow Hollow Harbor. The use of silly words that made perfect sense, were fantastic: grabby water, snapperdog, sunshiny day. The heroine, Flora, was
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Jan 11, 2009
Alain
rated it:
This was a very strange book for me. When I feel like giving up a book because of plain bad writing (as was the case for every Tom Clancy boo I've tried to read) I abandon it after about ten or twelve pages. When I feel like giving up a book because the style doesn't suit me (like the last Harry Potter novel) I usually abandon at around fifty pages. It's also the same fifty page mark for books which don't have enough imagination or science fiction or fantasy in them, as is the case with near
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Jan 22, 2012
Margo
rated it:
Audiobook. On the eve of her 14th birthday Flora Segunda (so named because her sister, the first Flora, died before she was born) Flora is in a funk. Her mother, a general, is never home, and her father has succumbed to madness. Flora is left to take up the slack in her 11,000-room house until she finds the banished butler who is the soul of the house. As Flora and her friend try to help the butler, they find themselves in mortal danger as well as the very real danger of not being prepared for h
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Jan 06, 2012
The
rated it: 
Well, for a start I couldnt finish this book. I found the characthers ok, some were interesting enough, Udo and Poppy being my two favourite characthers.[I thought Poppy was a strange name to call a man!} Other names are strange too some difficult to pronounce, Im a fast reader so I just skimmed over them. It did start off a good story, I liked how it is told from Flora's POV, and she is an interesting, likeable funny character and easy to relate to. It started interesting when she found Valefor
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Dec 29, 2011
Minli
rated it:
I enjoyed this--a YA fantasy a bit on the younger side with truly original worldbuilding. There's inspiration from Spanish/Italian/Mexican/various other traditions in Califa, the city where Flora lives with her military family in a crazier house, not mistakenly named "Crackpot Hall" (which has approximately 11,000 rooms). Flora's adventures begin when she puts off preparing for her Catorcena (a coming-of-age ceremony when she declares her intent to serve in the military) while her moth
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Mar 14, 2011
Amy
rated it:
Your childhood hero is ripped to pieces before your very eyes. Not only is he ripped to pieces, but his heart is ripped out of his chest and there is not a thing you can do about it. If your hero can not stop these dreaded bird creatures, how can you possibly have any hope of defeating them? The next step should be running like mad to escape their talons, correct? For Flora Segunda, her next step always seems to lead her into the very places she wishes to flee.
We meet Flora as a c More...
We meet Flora as a c More...
Feb 21, 2011
xurol
rated it:
I, while reading this book, enjoyed it, although I would not, unless someone was looking for such a book, recommend it. It was not predictable, which is found all to often in books, and even though it did have a little of the main character making stupid mistakes, it did not remove from the experience. I seemed not to look forward to picking it up, but once I had started to read, found myself not wanting to put it down. Altogether it was very odd, and even though the writing style was also diffe
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Jan 29, 2011
Xythen
rated it:
One of my favorite books.
It's a fantasy YA novel different from any other I've read.
Despite its delightful whimsy, it deals with some very harsh issues.
Flora Secunda is the daughter of a great general (her mother)who is a workaholic and absent most of the time, and a war hero (her father) so debilitated by his prisoner of war internment he has retreated into drinking and madness. The last of a crumbling, great lineage and certainly not the best, 14 year old Flora has been left tr More...
It's a fantasy YA novel different from any other I've read.
Despite its delightful whimsy, it deals with some very harsh issues.
Flora Secunda is the daughter of a great general (her mother)who is a workaholic and absent most of the time, and a war hero (her father) so debilitated by his prisoner of war internment he has retreated into drinking and madness. The last of a crumbling, great lineage and certainly not the best, 14 year old Flora has been left tr More...
Jun 23, 2010
James
rated it:
Ysabeau Wilce’s Flora Segunda is surprisingly compelling reading. The secret lies in the perfectly normal narrator of Flora herself, as she deals in perfectly normal fashion with the very strange world that Wilce has created. It’s a richly detailed world — an alternate version of California, with elements of Spanish, Latin and modern English popping up in the language as if it has always been there, such as Flora’s Catorcena ceremony, or the fact that Flora’s home is near the “Pacifica Playa”. T
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Jun 03, 2009
S.N.Arly
rated it:
This was my introduction to Ysabeau S. Wilce and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is well written and left me wanting to read the next one as soon as I can get my hands on it.
The world and magic system are well developed through an economy of words. Crackpot Hall is delightfully amazing and run down at the same time. There is a wonderful lack of gender specific roles. Strength, wisdom and emotion are not dependent on the character's gender, likewise with clothing and occupation.
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The world and magic system are well developed through an economy of words. Crackpot Hall is delightfully amazing and run down at the same time. There is a wonderful lack of gender specific roles. Strength, wisdom and emotion are not dependent on the character's gender, likewise with clothing and occupation.
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Jun 16, 2009
Parisa
rated it: 
I couldn't wait to be done with this book but it kept going and going. Flora Segunda was around 400 pages long, and I'm not sure it really needed to be that long. Not much happened. I was intrigued with all the talk of Flora wanting to be a Ranger and then stumbling upon a Ranger. And that particular story-line, at least in this first book, fell flat. Instead the book focused on her loss of Will. Also interesting, but not what I was expecting or hoping for. It seems like maybe this book was just
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Feb 04, 2012
Saralena
rated it:
Summary:
Flora Segunda is about a girl living with the weight of a family tradition on her shoulders-- while her mother expects her to become a soldier, she desperately wants to become a Ranger, which is a spy of sorts. The books takes place in the author's made up world, and as the novel progresses, Flora gets tangled up in a mess with her family's banished butler and has to sacrifice everything to try and make everything work out.
Opinion:
I've honestly lost count in how many More...
Flora Segunda is about a girl living with the weight of a family tradition on her shoulders-- while her mother expects her to become a soldier, she desperately wants to become a Ranger, which is a spy of sorts. The books takes place in the author's made up world, and as the novel progresses, Flora gets tangled up in a mess with her family's banished butler and has to sacrifice everything to try and make everything work out.
Opinion:
I've honestly lost count in how many More...
Nov 30, 2011
Soybean
rated it:
Imagine a Hogwarts-style world set in old Spain. Flora Segunda (Flora the Second), of the House Fydraaca, lives in this world. Her house, Crackpot Hall, is one of the Great Houses of the land, and has over 11 thousand rooms but only one loo, which can either appear right next to one's bedroom, or suddenly stretch far away. The elevator can also be fickle at times, taking its occupant to places unknown, depending on the strength of the occupants' Will. Flora lives here mostly by herself, taking c
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Mar 29, 2010
Lightreads
rated it:
Check it out, it’s fantasy not Europe! As opposed to fantasy not!Europe, I mean. Young adult story of thirteen-year-old Flora’s magical exploits in alternate, militarized California.
You know how sometimes a young adult book can surprise you with its subtlety, its emotional complexity and maturity springing from a simple story? Yeah, this one went exactly the opposite direction: from a rich, textured, fascinating background world, and a well-drawn familial mess, and a lot of interesti More...
You know how sometimes a young adult book can surprise you with its subtlety, its emotional complexity and maturity springing from a simple story? Yeah, this one went exactly the opposite direction: from a rich, textured, fascinating background world, and a well-drawn familial mess, and a lot of interesti More...
Aug 18, 2009
Alec
rated it:
Flora Segunda really really wants you to see just how gosh-darned whimsical it is.
To say That it is baiting for a movie deal would be an understatement on a scale for which I do not currently possess a simile.
Flora segunda is the story of a semi-misunderstood 13 year old girl, with a troubled but loving family background and burgeoning magic powers. I know I know, you've heard this one before, so have I. It is, of course, flora's hook. Without that somewhat hackneyed set-up, th More...
To say That it is baiting for a movie deal would be an understatement on a scale for which I do not currently possess a simile.
Flora segunda is the story of a semi-misunderstood 13 year old girl, with a troubled but loving family background and burgeoning magic powers. I know I know, you've heard this one before, so have I. It is, of course, flora's hook. Without that somewhat hackneyed set-up, th More...
Jan 31, 2009
Philip
rated it:
This was a book that I really liked, but was always one step shy of being the sort of book I could fall in love with.
So, the gripes first: A lot of it, I think, was the language. Frequently I found it obnoxious, contrived, nearly unintelligible, or superfluous. But...much of the time it also served as a vital tool for painting this alternate California and making it real. (But "real" and "readable" are not always mutually compatible). The Nini Mo thing gets harpe More...
So, the gripes first: A lot of it, I think, was the language. Frequently I found it obnoxious, contrived, nearly unintelligible, or superfluous. But...much of the time it also served as a vital tool for painting this alternate California and making it real. (But "real" and "readable" are not always mutually compatible). The Nini Mo thing gets harpe More...
Dec 14, 2010
Lobelia
rated it:
Flora Segunda is a hilarious, moving, whimsical, refreshing, and original young adult fantasy novel set in an alternate reality version of California, a country called Califa. Flora is so-named because the first Flora, her oldest sister, died well before she was born. Flora Segunda grows up with a sense of inferiority toward the original, golden-haired Flora. At the age of fourteen, Flora does all the domestic chores in her dysfunctional family because her father is a reclusive alcoholic and her
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Jul 08, 2009
Kim
rated it:
I am still not sure how I feel about this book. I may not be completely sure until I finish book 2, which is next. Flora, I will not attempt to spell her last name, lives in a "free state" and comes from a family with a heavy background in military service. Her mother is a general and is working to keep them a "free state". Magic exists and is mostly used by house butlers and non-army types. She gets herself into magial trouble and needs the help of her best friend and cr
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Apr 21, 2010
Kater
rated it:
This fantasy novel has some of the most creative worldbuilding I've read since Garth Nix's Mister Monday series. I loved the names. I loved the relation between the great houses and their butlers, and I loved that some of the cultures resemble ancient Mexico.
Flora herself has a distinctive voice, though it occasionally lapses too cutsey for my taste. She's trapped between her hard-as-nails General mother and her crazy alcoholic father, being pushed towards a career she doesn't want.
Flo More...
Flora herself has a distinctive voice, though it occasionally lapses too cutsey for my taste. She's trapped between her hard-as-nails General mother and her crazy alcoholic father, being pushed towards a career she doesn't want.
Flo More...
Mar 03, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
This book was pretty good. I very much enjoyed the setting & culture of the book: the house with the shifting rooms, the ominous butlers, the women in charge, the male best friend obsessed with fashion, etc. (Although I sort of have qualms about Udo because he had all these feminine mannerisms that sort of implied some sort of latent queerness to me, but it seemed like at the end the author was setting him up to be a manly-man romantic lead in a future book, which just seems really unbelievable
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Jan 11, 2011
Ithlilian
rated it:
I had the impression that this book was about discovering lost areas in a big house. The story fit the mold for about 20 or 30 pages, but it lost focus after that. We are thrown details about the military, a prisoner, soul stealing, and other houses. I was interested in the childish butler and Flora exploring, but I was less intrigued by the rescue attempt and the long solutions to restoring Flora's diminished soul. I wanted to the like book and I did finish it, but I skipped large sections wher
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Nov 13, 2011
Jackie
rated it:
Flora Nemain Fyrdraaca ov Fyrdraaca is a young girl about to enter into adulthood. Her mother, Juliet the General, will arrive back from her travels just in time for Flora's Catorcena. But, Flora does not want to enter the Barracks, as all Fyrdaacas have traditionally done, but wants to be a ranger like her hero, Nini Mo.
Days before the Catorcena, Flora meets Valefor, an abrogated butler who has been banished by The General and is fading...FAST. Flora allows him to siphen off a litt More...
Days before the Catorcena, Flora meets Valefor, an abrogated butler who has been banished by The General and is fading...FAST. Flora allows him to siphen off a litt More...
Oct 16, 2011
Jess
rated it:
Well... I am debating whether or not to give this book a 2 star rating because it took me For. Ev. Er. to get into it. I just didn't care about the world, the characters, the language (sandwies... really? can you be anymore annoying?), or the plot. Nothing. But I kept on reading it because other reviewers gave it some pretty good ratings. And finally, FINALLY, I got into it towards the end.
It is about a girl named Flora, who is about to turn 14 and become a legal adult and be (unwil More...
It is about a girl named Flora, who is about to turn 14 and become a legal adult and be (unwil More...
