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10th out of 51 books
—
13 voters
The Wikkeling
by
Steven Arntson (Goodreads Author),
Steven Arnston
In the enormous city of the Addition, all children are SAFE, SECURE, and SUPERVISED, and are watched by cameras even while they sleep. Henrietta is unlikable at her competitive school until she meets Gary and Rose. They all share something in common: headaches with an unknown cause. Then, late one night, Henrietta makes a startling discovery when she finds a wounded cat in...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
June 14th 2011
by Running Press Kids
(first published May 3rd 2011)
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I actually picked this book up for my 15 year old during a library trip. he was not interested. weeks later i found it in a pile behind his bed. realizing it was already overdue i figured somebody should at least read it. So i did. it was very intriguing, at first. It takes place in a time in the not too future where everyone is plugged in all the time, kids watched by computers or their cells in order to be kept safe, ongoing traffic jams everywhere, all houses and cars pre fabricated and the s...more
This book caught my attention the first time I saw it on the shelf, because its appearance, size, shape, art, and graphic design made it stand out. Appealingly so. That impression continued as I cracked it open, examined the interior artwork and design, and began to read. I was very happy with the beginning, intrigued by the somewhat mysterious story, engaged by the vaguely strange tone, and amused by the clever social commentary.
However, the further I read, the less impressed I became. The more...more
However, the further I read, the less impressed I became. The more...more
This book started out as a 5-star delight, but lost steam as it went along. It narrowed from a witty dystopia full of social commentary and interesting story threads to a linear chase scene. If you're wondering about the attic windows, or the Wikkeling's origins, or Henrift Andi ... SPOILER ALERT ... you won't ever really get an answer. And that is incredibly frustrating.
However, I do still love the following lines, because I think American society today is so full of fear and ridiculous safegua...more
However, I do still love the following lines, because I think American society today is so full of fear and ridiculous safegua...more
Henrietta Gad-Fly lives in a world where safety is the number one concern. Her school bus has not only seat belts, but head straps. Her clothes have yellow visibility stripes. Her parents can monitor her 24 hours a day via mobile phone and Bed Cam. That is, until Henrietta's Bed Cam mysteriously breaks, and her adventures into the past begin. Can she and her friends figure out why they get terrible headaches? Or what is going on with the wild house cat in Henrietta's attic? Most importantly, can...more
This is a hard book to describe. Henrietta is a struggling student in a school and a time when everything comes down to the standardized test. OK, so not so far flung, but I love a good satiric rip on standardized testing. Every child in this futuristic world is constantly monitored, and one wonders how the adults in the story are able to fend for not only themselves, but also their families because the children are not allowed any freedom to learn how to take care of themselves. Unless, of cour...more
I picked up this Advance Reader Copy at ALA a few weeks ago and wasn't really sure what to expect, but I'm a sucker for images and illustrations (and free things) so I grabbed it up. And I'm glad I did.
Henrietta is a young girl in the near future, where cell phones tell parents when their children get detention, car horns emit advertisements, and health class is about how everything can (and will) kill you. But when technology in Henrietta's house (the oldest house still standing for miles aroun...more
Henrietta is a young girl in the near future, where cell phones tell parents when their children get detention, car horns emit advertisements, and health class is about how everything can (and will) kill you. But when technology in Henrietta's house (the oldest house still standing for miles aroun...more
Dystopian visions fill Juvenile shelves these days, and my favorite, so far, is The Wikkeling.
With a view of the not-so-distant future (in which there is a computer on every school desk generating instant scores, indicating instant loss of funding/jobs if the scores don't measure up; constant gridlock on the highways; books as curiosities; hyper-vigilant parents, and gps devices as standard equipment in vehicles)and the author's tongue firmly in cheek, we are introduced to Henrietta Gad-Fly, a...more
With a view of the not-so-distant future (in which there is a computer on every school desk generating instant scores, indicating instant loss of funding/jobs if the scores don't measure up; constant gridlock on the highways; books as curiosities; hyper-vigilant parents, and gps devices as standard equipment in vehicles)and the author's tongue firmly in cheek, we are introduced to Henrietta Gad-Fly, a...more
Should not have finished this in the middle of the night. Creeeeeeeeepy.
I loved this book, because it is a rare type for kids' fiction. Very creepy, the Wikkeling moves in flashes - straight our of J-horror movies. But the tongue-in-cheek dystopia where everything is super-safe and wired is just great. It's a little sad too, because the clean, safe, super-connected world they live in is too safe, too clean, and too connected. It made me long for things that I still have, like grass, and books,...more
I loved this book, because it is a rare type for kids' fiction. Very creepy, the Wikkeling moves in flashes - straight our of J-horror movies. But the tongue-in-cheek dystopia where everything is super-safe and wired is just great. It's a little sad too, because the clean, safe, super-connected world they live in is too safe, too clean, and too connected. It made me long for things that I still have, like grass, and books,...more
1 like · like · see review
This is not a story where the girl become beautiful or the boy gets the girl. Henrietta gets House Sick, terrible headaches because she lives in an old house, not like the nice plastic ones that have taken over the neighborhood. Things begin to change as Henrietta finally makes a friend at school and then the camera in her bedroom stops working and she finds a trapdoor to an attic where there is a wounded Wild House Cat. What does the cat's presence mean? How is the mysterious Wikkeling creature...more
an intriguing book. Henrietta lives in a world which seems not so far in the future, where everything is electronic and children don't get to act on their natural curiosity because of all the possible DANGERS involved. Advertisements fill the air so there is little hope of silence, and sidewalks, trees, and grass have given way to roads.
But Henrietta's not your typical child; she meets two other friends who are different, and they discover an attic in her house where relics such as books and ca...more
But Henrietta's not your typical child; she meets two other friends who are different, and they discover an attic in her house where relics such as books and ca...more
Henrietta is always being watched through her cell phone or web cam as are all the other kids in her society. Henrietta is different though because she lives in the old city. Most kids live in the addition with it's new and plastic houses, lawns, and roads. Henrietta house is made the old way out of wood and brick. She gets terrible headaches which she believes are a result of living in such an old house. Then she meets two friends who also live in the old city. Together they learn what is makin...more
A chilling, scary, and entertaining story. Set in a future where people live in new plastic houses, are constantly following the rules, and children are always kept safe, Henrietta is a loner and doesn't quite fit in. Her parents live in an ancient house, the kind with a pitched roof, and Henrietta doesn't do well at her demanding school, where her strange headaches make it hard to focus.
One evening, while doing homework in her room, drops of blood fall from the ceiling and with a little explor...more
One evening, while doing homework in her room, drops of blood fall from the ceiling and with a little explor...more
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This book is AMAZING!It's about these 3 children who get headaches every once and awhile. Thats when they find out who's causing it. THE WIKKELING! A tall man with a disturbing face and wears yellow clothing. When they figure more about it, they find out that nobody else can see it but them! Plus, this creature, when children walk by, it taps them. Whenever THE WIKKELING touches them, they grow a headache and taped again, they fall to the floor unable to wake up. When one of the children find a...more
Compelling for its combination of creepy and humorous. The themes of digital culture and social control are not subtle. There are plucky main characters, a mysterious past, exotic creatures, adventure, and elements of horror. I gasped more than once out of fear and guffawed many times at the ridiculous economic engine of this world. Actually, the advertising methods alone are the real scare as they seem right on the edge of reality.
At times it felt rushed where I wanted more depth to the story...more
At times it felt rushed where I wanted more depth to the story...more
My fourth grade son and I both loved the wit of The Wikkeling. The Addition at times began to resemble our own suburb. The author was so spot-on in satirizing how our over-protective, big brother society feels about children and risk taking. We loved when the crosswalks flashed from scared pedestrian face hurrying to dead pedestrian. As a teacher, all of the parallels to public schools and standardized tests were both hilarious and also dead-on. As for electronically checking you onto and off of...more
"Henrietta is the main character of this story. The whole book will be about her- and it's worth mentioning at the outset a few things that aren't going to happen to her. She will not become beautiful when someone gives her a new hairstyle. She will not find a miracle cure for her pimples when an angel sees she's a good girl inside. She will not find out that she's actually a princess, and she won't become happy forever when a prince marries her. Those books are out there, and your school librar...more
1 like · like · see review
Jun 20, 2011
christina
is currently reading it
I was really sad that I missed the signing for this, as I really wanted to bring Lilly too, as she and are in the middle of this, and I think it would have been a bit of a thrill to meet the real, live author and of course see the toy boats!
We are really enjoying the book very much, and it is gripping very well developed characters an enjoyably vivid (if creepy) description on this other worldly place, we love it.
And Lilly is 12 and I am over 30 lets say, so that just goes to show what a good ag...more
We are really enjoying the book very much, and it is gripping very well developed characters an enjoyably vivid (if creepy) description on this other worldly place, we love it.
And Lilly is 12 and I am over 30 lets say, so that just goes to show what a good ag...more
To be fair, I may have loved this more if I had read it all the way through. I got about 3/4 finished and then I had to read some other books and when I picked the Wikkeling back up, it was hard to get back into it. I loved the way the author crafted a frightening, not-too-distant-future world where you slowly pick up on how slightly 'off' things are in Henrietta's world. Something about the atmosphere reminded me of Skellig and even Fahrenheit 451 at times. The end was not great though- there w...more
Every house on Henrietta's street is identical: each one newly made of vinyl and glue with flat roofs sitting behind plastic lawns in their own soundproof and airtight cocoon. Every house, except Henrietta's. Henrietta's house is made of wood, with a sloping roof and an old-fashioned attic. Henrietta's mother thinks that it must be some contaminant in their old house that is causing Henrietta's blinding headaches. But Henrietta knows it isn't the house at all. It's the Wikkeling. Most people can...more
I wasn't sure what I would think of this book when I accepted it for review. But it being labeled a dystopian got my attention and I couldn't turn it down. I'm very glad I didn't because this was a fun and unique read. It also had a bit of a quirky tone to it that really made it even better!
This is set in our world in the future and everything is computerized and books are actually considered dangerous (mold can grow on them *gasp*). I got the giggles at times when reading because in school they...more
This is set in our world in the future and everything is computerized and books are actually considered dangerous (mold can grow on them *gasp*). I got the giggles at times when reading because in school they...more
The Short of It:
The world that Arnston creates is both scary and magical but most of all…fun.
The Rest of It:
Many of you following me on Facebook or Twitter have probably heard me say (more than once) that The Wikkeling was “strange.” When I first started to read it, I could not shake the creep factor. The cover is freaky and the book itself is not a traditional size. It’s wider, includes lots of handwrtitten script and has creepy illustrations of people without faces. BUT, once I got past the sl...more
The world that Arnston creates is both scary and magical but most of all…fun.
The Rest of It:
Many of you following me on Facebook or Twitter have probably heard me say (more than once) that The Wikkeling was “strange.” When I first started to read it, I could not shake the creep factor. The cover is freaky and the book itself is not a traditional size. It’s wider, includes lots of handwrtitten script and has creepy illustrations of people without faces. BUT, once I got past the sl...more
If you like Sylvia Cassidy's Behind the Attic Wall or Neil Gaiman's Coraline, you will love this book! Not only is it an adventure story that involves magical wildcats, forbidden books, and garbage collectors, it is a commentary on the destruction of nature, individuality, standardized testing, and the overabundance of and over-reliance on technology. The only reason I am not rating this book 5 stars is because I am still unsure of the origin and habits of the Wikkeling itself, but the rest of t...more
This one takes a different spin on the "apocalyptic future" concept in junior & young adult fiction. Instead of a dark, sinister world, Henrietta and her friends live in an ultra-safe, ultra-sterile, ultra-modern place where computers rule. While most of the city is new and high-tech, some remnants of the Old Town remain, such as the houses where two of the main characters live. These old homes seem to hold the key to the mystery of "The Wikkeling."
I gave this one 4 stars because there were...more
I gave this one 4 stars because there were...more
I just got back from a trip to Washington state where this writer is from, and found the safety/signage/intrusiveness, not to mention the speed limit that is slavishly obeyed in that state creepy, so i understand where he's coming from completely. There are some superb moments and elements in this story, and would love to follow the characters in another boook. The story is interesting and complete, and i want more. A couple of minor plot holes but a great first book.
'The Wikkeling' captures beautiful and terrible possibilities with the voice of a smart little girl and a not-unimaginable future. Henrietta, her friends and the world they live in are hyper-analyzed to the point of suffocation, so how could a wild animal be bleeding in the attic? Smart, funny and thought-provoking, with gorgeous illustrations, this mystery unfurls like a plant breaking through concrete: delicate, inevitable, and awesome it its smallness.
1 like · like · see review
This was unexpectedly awesome! I don't know that I've ever read anything so mixed-genre before. It was horror, sci-fi, fantasy and humor all rolled into one. The only reason I didn't rate it higher was because I wanted more. I'd like to have seen more exploration of the world(s) and I really wanted Henrietta to go out of her attic window into the past. If this story continues in the future, I'll probably bump up the rating.
An interesting premise and setting (a future that I hope never happens, but feels all too near sometimes). I wanted it to be creepier, but considering that it's aimed at middle-grade readers, the creepiness level was probably appropriate. My only complaint is that I wanted more--the resolution happened too fast after much build-up. But I enjoyed the characters, and the segment from "The Bestiary" that's included is very cool. Overall, a fun middle-grade fantasy.
Spoilers thru out: I really got immersed in this story from the beginning. I really seem to like dystopian stories. However, the end was a wee bit muddled. I didn't think the purpose of the Wikkeling was clear. And we have no idea how the characters were able to see the past out the attic window. Many questions left. I don't like a first book that is obviously set up for a sequel. Just seems presumptive.
Overall I liked this book and read it instantly. However, the ending was disappointing. It just seemed to tapir off or fizzle out after a lengthy build up... I wish they left more a mystery rather than half assed, nonsensical explanations.
That said, I think it was thought provoking, I liked the characters, the story line, and my imagination was churning. The rating would be a lot higher if not for the last 20 pages.
That said, I think it was thought provoking, I liked the characters, the story line, and my imagination was churning. The rating would be a lot higher if not for the last 20 pages.
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How would you compare it to Coraline?
All it needs now...more
Sep 19, 2011 11:10am