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200th out of 1,054 books
—
1,117 voters
Beasts of New York: A Children's Book for Grown-Ups
by
Jon Evans (Goodreads Author)
A violent, epic, action-packed urban quest full of very eccentric, often hilarious, extremely dangerous characters who also happen to be animals — the wildlife of New York City, to be exact. Winner of a 2011 ForeWord Book Of The Year Award. Published by the prestigious literary press The Porcupine's Quill.
"Fascinating ... humorous, horrifying ... artfully imagined and cons...more
"Fascinating ... humorous, horrifying ... artfully imagined and cons...more
ebook, 465 pages
Published
October 19th 2007
(first published 2007)
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I really enjoyed this story. It's exactly what it says it is, a children's book for adults. If you like action, adventure, and lovable animals all rolled into one you'll love this book. It's well worth the read. Two thumbs up :)
Update Dec/11
When I read this book a year ago it was a free download. I think of this book quite often and smile. How often do you read a book and a year later still think of the antics of the characters involved? Now that the author has finally found a publisher and it i...more
Update Dec/11
When I read this book a year ago it was a free download. I think of this book quite often and smile. How often do you read a book and a year later still think of the antics of the characters involved? Now that the author has finally found a publisher and it i...more
95/100 This could quite possibly go down as one of my favorite books of all time. The characters, the way the book was written, the tie-ins with New York City and the Point of View all come together to create a literary masterpiece.
I loved this book because of it's world, and it's complexity. Even though the book is set in New York, Evans has created a completely different way of looking at it. In a squirrels eyes, cars become death machines. The sewers and drains become a kingdom beneath. Skys...more
I loved this book because of it's world, and it's complexity. Even though the book is set in New York, Evans has created a completely different way of looking at it. In a squirrels eyes, cars become death machines. The sewers and drains become a kingdom beneath. Skys...more
In some ways this book makes my think of Watership Down, but a lighter version ... and with squirrels instead of rabbits. We follow young Patch, son of Silver, of the Seeker clan, of the Treetops tribe, of the Center Kingdom. The Center Kingdom is Central Park in New York City. It is late winter and Patch can't find any of the nuts he buried, and he's not the only one either. Something is going on and Patch is determined to get to the bottom of it. The rats seem to be up to something. In his que...more
EPIC!
Beasts of New York is about a squirrel named Patch who, out of desperation and need, adventures beyond his home in Central Kingdom to try and save it. While it seems that fate is conspiring against him, taking him further from his home than any squirrel has traveled, his journey is a necessary step to saving all of Central Kingdom from the evil trying to consume it.
What did I love about this book? Well, first of all, Patch is an amazingly brave squirrel. No one can read this book and not ad...more
I greatly enjoyed this fantasy of the life and adventures of a Central Park squirrel in NYC - although I was a little uncomfortable with the occasional violence. Evans is an excellent story-teller and the various strands of the story are skillfully woven together in such a way that you want to keep reading to find out what is going to happen next to the hero of the story. I can see this book being made into an animated feature film -- it's filled with adventure but also has realistic character d...more
I loved this book, in the end; it is exactly what its subtitle says. I couldn't put it down. Although I thought in the beginning the morality lessons were a bit heavy-handed (Kingdom of Madness, dangers of pollution, etc.) for grown-ups, the story just kept sucking me in. After the first hundred pages or so, I stopped noticing the things that had earlier broken my suspension of disbelief. I wish that a few things had been more fleshed out -- the details of the squirrel kingdoms, for example -- b...more
This story of the adventures of a Central Park squirrel is far darker than you might anticipate. At times it's downright grizzly, when rats and crows engage in a genocidal war against all squirrels. I could have done with a bit less of that because the main thread, a fascinating and realistic portrayal of the human world from its animal occupants' point of view, is quite excellent and even nearly believable, especially early on before the the Great Quest takes over and turns the whole thing into...more
I would recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series. While that might seem a bit of a leap, one of the most beloved components to Harry Potter is the wonder that is inspired by the imagination of an entirely different world within our world. Here you find that same wonder by experiencing New York City as seen by squirrels- and it is a completely different world. I cannot stress enough the enjoyment I recieved reading about Patch's adventures and seeing the worl...more
This is a wonderfully imaginative, entertaining, heart-warming, engrossing and thrilling read that follows Patch a squirrel of the Centre Kingdom as he battles against the army of rats, crows and the many other creatures found in the five boroughs of New York to protect his homeland and his family and friends. This does have some morales woven into the story but so do all of the traditional fairytales we are told as children and this definitely fits into that genre (although this is definitely o...more
I thought this book was surprisingly long for the subject matter, but then the book does say it’s written for grownups despite the child-like genre, so I guess it does what it says on the label! It did make me wonder whether the story would feel dragged out for the sake of extending it but I didn’t find this at all when reading – the plot carried you well from start to finish. The vocabulary was simple which fitted with the feel of a children's story and allowed you to read without it being taxi...more
Apr 05, 2011
Cathy Speight
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Cathy by:
Emma Tyre
This book is superb ! Think Watership Down and this is the squirrel version. Not the sort of book I would have normally chosen to read, but I read it by recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed it. It really was a page turner (or page clicker if you read it on your Kindle!). It's well written and extraordinarily well observed - the view of the world from a squirrel's perspective is ingenious. Without doubt, you will view squirrels quite differently after reading this. It's crying out for a film ver...more
It's hard to believe Evans couldn't find a publisher for this book -- it's such a well-written and engrossing story. But because it was so different and not easily placed into any genre, a well-established author couldn't sell this book.
The story follows Patch, a squirrel of Central Park, on his quest to return home, win a war, save his home, and rescue his mother. What a scrappy little thing! Along the way, he makes some unconventional friends who all have their role to play in Patch's ultimate...more
The story follows Patch, a squirrel of Central Park, on his quest to return home, win a war, save his home, and rescue his mother. What a scrappy little thing! Along the way, he makes some unconventional friends who all have their role to play in Patch's ultimate...more
I wasn't really sure I wanted to read a book told from the perspective of a squirrel, especially when I realized it was about squirrel politics... a few more pages in and I was hooked! This was a great read about adventure, belonging, community and courage - and yes, it's from the perspective of a squirrel.
Think the Secrets of Nim for adults with lots of power politics, wars and interspecies relations thrown in. Lots of fun, I'm missing Patch already.
Think the Secrets of Nim for adults with lots of power politics, wars and interspecies relations thrown in. Lots of fun, I'm missing Patch already.
Fell in Love. Wanted to hold the book close after I finished it. The characters stole my heart.
If you are in love with New York City and revere wildlife, get wrapped up in adventure and are enamored of brave heroes with big hearts, you won't want to miss this one.
Brilliantly written. Took me away in that I-totally-forgot-where-I-was way that fabulous prose does.
If you are in love with New York City and revere wildlife, get wrapped up in adventure and are enamored of brave heroes with big hearts, you won't want to miss this one.
Brilliantly written. Took me away in that I-totally-forgot-where-I-was way that fabulous prose does.
The Changes in pace was annoying. They changed how they acted making things different then the other chapters in the book. The main idea of the book was that main character Patch has to tell the kingdom about what is happening and on the way he meets tons of other friends and soon he helps them out and in the end they find a way to return the favor
I enjoyed the book. However, I stand by my first review, although the storyline was very neat, the characters lacked depth. For a story to be great for me, I really need the characters to come alive for me. I want to think about them even when I'm not reading the book. This just didn't happen for me. Overall an interesting read, but I feel my time would have been better spent reading something else.
So this is the story of a young squirrel who goes on the best adventure EVER! It starts in, from what I can tell, Central park aka The Center Kingdom. Patch is transported all over New York it seems meeting unforgettable friends and terrible foes. I really enjoy seeing the world from a squirrel's prospective. One of the best parts is figuring out the things he describes because of course he does not know the human names. Heroic to the end this tale has captured my heart.
This was written by cousin and it is very different from his other books (which tend to be murder/mystery/travel/thrillers). Lise, I think Asa would enjoy this...it's available through the library :-)
I really enjoyed this book. Even though it got pretty farfetched (I mean, come on, (view spoiler)), it was really easy to get sucked in!
I really enjoyed being a kid again and allowing my imagination flow with the story. Lots of creative adventures with the animals of ny
Sep 19, 2012
Sunset Sealy
added it
Interesting read to say the least. I'm gonna read it again. I'd be interested to hear what others who've read it have to say about it. :)
Read this on my kindle. Free from feedbooks.com.
Lovely story, nice to read!
I LOVED this story. It's dark, but so creative and original.
Best of my 2011.
I'm really enjoying Evans' writing style.
This book reads like a fresh wind, for how often do you get to witness the world from a squirrel's perspective. It's an epic tale of adventures taken, friendships made and wars fought. It's a gripping story that kept me wondering how the squirrels were doing during the day and kept me glued to the actual pages at night. I loved reading it!
This book reads like a fresh wind, for how often do you get to witness the world from a squirrel's perspective. It's an epic tale of adventures taken, friendships made and wars fought. It's a gripping story that kept me wondering how the squirrels were doing during the day and kept me glued to the actual pages at night. I loved reading it!
This book was perfect for me. It had animals as the main characters, lots of action and heroic creatures, and best of all it was all based in the best city in all the world... New York City.
I loved the story and hope it gets made into a real book, this is one I'd buy and keep for sure.
I loved the story and hope it gets made into a real book, this is one I'd buy and keep for sure.
I was very impressed with this book. I loved Patch and the fact that he wanted to be friends with the birds and learn to talk to them and that idea helped him help the rest of the squirrels. I was drawn into this story and had a hard time leaving it when I needed to. Great book!
I'll try to make this short just in case your trying to read the reviews of this book, while reading it(like i do).The book is ... just amazing the ending is convoluted but its satisfying at the same time. Its a fast read and trust me(a stranger on the internet) you'll love it.
A lovely story to read! Lots of adventure, a captivating,well-written read to the end.
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“Always abandon your enemies,
and never abandon your friends.”
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3 people liked it
and never abandon your friends.”
“Humans serve cats as dogs serve humans. And sometimes, I fear, as ineptly.”
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2 people liked it
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Apr 03, 2011 06:12pm