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The Forgotten Book
by
Emma is used to things going her way. Her father is headmaster of her prestigious boarding school, her friends take her advice as gospel, and she's convinced that a relationship with her long-time crush is on the horizon.
As it turns out, Emma hasn't seen anything yet. When she finds an old book in an abandoned library, things really start going Emma's way: anything she wri ...more
As it turns out, Emma hasn't seen anything yet. When she finds an old book in an abandoned library, things really start going Emma's way: anything she wri ...more
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Audio CD
Published
January 2nd 2018
by Macmillan Young Listeners
(first published February 13th 2017)
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This cover is an actual gift to the world and blessing to my eyeballs. ok ok but cover judging aside, this was a really nice magical story. I didn't realise it was also a Pride and Prejudice retelling because (1) I haven't READ P&P but I've watched the Lizzie Bennet Diaries vlogs so that probably is the same thing, and (2) the protagonist's name is Emma...which made me wonder if this was an Emma retelling? But the dude is Darcy. So. I have actually no idea if it's close to P&P or takes liberties
...more

Ahoy there me mateys! I wanted to read this book ever since I saw the wonderful cover. I requested it from NetGalley as an eArc and was denied. And then I kept forgetting about this book (Hardy har har!). But no matter, I have finally managed to read this and I am glad that I did.
This book has been described as a Jane Austen inspired YA fantasy involving a magical book. It certainly has pride & prejudice and emma vibes. The author is German and so I was also interested in it because I love ...more
This book has been described as a Jane Austen inspired YA fantasy involving a magical book. It certainly has pride & prejudice and emma vibes. The author is German and so I was also interested in it because I love ...more

Jan 11, 2018
☆Dani☆ ☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
I give this book 4 out of 5 Magical Stars! I really enjoyed this book! First off, the cover is absolutely GORGEOUS! This was slow at first but once I got into it, I couldn’t get enough of its magic!

This book was a retelling of not one but two Jane Austen books and I couldn’t help myself but to try and figure out who was compared to whom at certain points. When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I crossed my fingers and toes that I would get approved for this title.

I mean what bibliophile woul ...more

This book was a retelling of not one but two Jane Austen books and I couldn’t help myself but to try and figure out who was compared to whom at certain points. When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I crossed my fingers and toes that I would get approved for this title.

I mean what bibliophile woul ...more

Yeah, I'll read it. These covers are stunning, and also, I quite liked The Book Jumper.
...more

Updated (January 4, 2018) with full review:
My reaction: I was on the fence for the first 5 or 6 chapters of this book, but really ended up enjoying it (and polishing it off in a day!). Initially I kept trying to figure out which character was supposed to represent which Austen character (as I knew the book was Austen-inspired) and I was seeing all the parallels. This was kind of distracting for me, especially considering that it pulled from both Emma and Pride & Prejudice, which seemed discordan ...more
My reaction: I was on the fence for the first 5 or 6 chapters of this book, but really ended up enjoying it (and polishing it off in a day!). Initially I kept trying to figure out which character was supposed to represent which Austen character (as I knew the book was Austen-inspired) and I was seeing all the parallels. This was kind of distracting for me, especially considering that it pulled from both Emma and Pride & Prejudice, which seemed discordan ...more

This was definitely a new twist on Pride and Prejudice for me. I've seen zombies, but I've never seen magical books.
Emma discovers an ancient tome in her boarding school's abandoned library and soon finds that everything written in it comes true. Whether she likes it or not, the things she writes can't be un-written (believe her, she's tried to cross them out), and while some situations she finds herself in are unbelievable (like the lion in the middle of the forest in Germany), some are very g ...more
Emma discovers an ancient tome in her boarding school's abandoned library and soon finds that everything written in it comes true. Whether she likes it or not, the things she writes can't be un-written (believe her, she's tried to cross them out), and while some situations she finds herself in are unbelievable (like the lion in the middle of the forest in Germany), some are very g ...more

*I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway* 3.5/5 When I read the summary for this book, I was super excited to read it- a magical book and a boarding school in Europe, what could be better? I had a really hard time getting into it at the beginning- Emma came off as a shallow, whiny teenager at the beginning and I hated her voice, but as the book got more plot heavy, I either got more used to her voice or she got less annoying. All in all, I think this is one of those 2017 reads you shouldn't miss
...more

Wow! Let me just say, wow. I have never read a book like this, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it.
Okay, the reason I took 1 star off is because I didn't care much for the quality of the writing. There were a lot of run-ons, unnecessary information, and parentheses. At first, this annoyed me quite a bit, but then I got used to it and I started to enjoy it.
The plot was very unique. It was about a girl who found a book. And whatever you wrote in the book came true. I know, I know, that does so ...more
Okay, the reason I took 1 star off is because I didn't care much for the quality of the writing. There were a lot of run-ons, unnecessary information, and parentheses. At first, this annoyed me quite a bit, but then I got used to it and I started to enjoy it.
The plot was very unique. It was about a girl who found a book. And whatever you wrote in the book came true. I know, I know, that does so ...more

This book was so good and nearly as good as its companion novel. The book is so magical and whimsical and I'll definitely be looking out for more books by this author.
...more

3.5
Roommate: "Pride and Prejudice."
Me: "Say no more!"
*reads synopsis*
"Just kidding! Say more! What?"
Despite the slightly odd description, I gave this book a try and found it rather charming. It reminded me of a Kerstin Gier book, minus Gier's super immature heroines. (Yay!) Is it just the nature of German YA to sound similar? IDK, GO READ THE BOOK AND TELL ME.
I loved the heroine, Emma. She's spunky & sunny and somehow breaks the usual YA heroine mold. She felt like a real extrovert. She also ...more
Roommate: "Pride and Prejudice."
Me: "Say no more!"
*reads synopsis*
"Just kidding! Say more! What?"
Despite the slightly odd description, I gave this book a try and found it rather charming. It reminded me of a Kerstin Gier book, minus Gier's super immature heroines. (Yay!) Is it just the nature of German YA to sound similar? IDK, GO READ THE BOOK AND TELL ME.
I loved the heroine, Emma. She's spunky & sunny and somehow breaks the usual YA heroine mold. She felt like a real extrovert. She also ...more

Gets a star for just its gorgeous looking cover. It’s so bright and colourful and detailed and amazing. Whoever designed the cover should get a medal. Beyond the beautiful cover and the hint of magic and romance was what made me read this book. Okay, it was mainly the amazing cover. Does the book live up to the cover. Uhh… not really? I mean, it’s not that bad, but I’ll explain why I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to.
First off, I have not read Austen’s Pride and Prejudice(though I’ll get to ...more
First off, I have not read Austen’s Pride and Prejudice(though I’ll get to ...more

I like the beginning, it was little mystery and magic. But when I come to the middle, it has just been destroyed by too much love drama and high school drama. And I had hard to find some Jane Austen relative chapter, the only relative was the main character name is Emma and That is. I was really disappointed because I love "the book Jumper" so I thought that I also like this book.
...more
...more

The premise, extremely interesting: A girl who goes to a boarding school finds a magical book that has the power to bring to life anything she writes down: I immediately felt Harry Potter vibes. Add in a Jane Austen Retellings, I'm there! But something about this book fell flat. The plot dragged and as someone who loves Pride and Prejudice, I felt the comparison felt forced. The author should have used these characters as inspiration but then created more rather than model off the original. The
...more

Apr 26, 2018
Khristina Chess
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ya-pretty-good
I don't read books in the YA fantasy genre, but I loved the cover on this one and found the premise intriguing, so I thought I'd give it a go. It started slow. I thought I'd made a mistake. Then it grabbed me and took off! I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and magic, the light romance, and the pacing after the initial delay. Glaser's novel makes me think that I could enjoy more YA fantasy.
...more

3.5
This was an interesting take on Pride and Prejudice! And the magic was amazing! But there were some aspects I didn't quite like.
Full Review to Come! ...more
This was an interesting take on Pride and Prejudice! And the magic was amazing! But there were some aspects I didn't quite like.
Full Review to Come! ...more

This review was originally posted on The Moonlight Library
With a secondary character named Darcy De Winter, who is a rich snobby boy with a sister named Gina and who immediately dislikes our heroine, Emma, you would think that this book has something to do with a Pride and Prejudice retelling, right? Especially since the blurb says "Jane Austen reigns supreme" at the boarding school.
But no. Because of this reference, and the name choices, I really thought this would be a much closer retelling of ...more
With a secondary character named Darcy De Winter, who is a rich snobby boy with a sister named Gina and who immediately dislikes our heroine, Emma, you would think that this book has something to do with a Pride and Prejudice retelling, right? Especially since the blurb says "Jane Austen reigns supreme" at the boarding school.
But no. Because of this reference, and the name choices, I really thought this would be a much closer retelling of ...more

DNF - I heard that it was a retelling on Pride and Prejudice. I felt this the whole time. I just couldn't get into it! 😭
...more

Review also on Christina Reads and Blogs
When I heard that this book was Jane Austen-inspired, I immediately wanted to read it. Plus I really enjoyed the author's previous book, The Book Jumper. However, this story really fell short for me and left me with more questions and confusion than resolutions. Because it's full of plot twists and mentioning different sections might spoil something, I won't get into too much detail about what happens in the book other than having a brief overview. Emma, t ...more
When I heard that this book was Jane Austen-inspired, I immediately wanted to read it. Plus I really enjoyed the author's previous book, The Book Jumper. However, this story really fell short for me and left me with more questions and confusion than resolutions. Because it's full of plot twists and mentioning different sections might spoil something, I won't get into too much detail about what happens in the book other than having a brief overview. Emma, t ...more

*Source* NetGalley
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Mechthild Gläser's The Forgotten Book is a Jane Austen inspired novel about a 16-year old girl named Emma Morgenroth who finds a magical book with a strange figure on the cover. She discovers that anything she writes inside the chronicle comes true. Except sometimes the things she writes in the book actually have consequences for those around her. And, to make things even more twisted, someone else is interested in the chronicle ...more
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Mechthild Gläser's The Forgotten Book is a Jane Austen inspired novel about a 16-year old girl named Emma Morgenroth who finds a magical book with a strange figure on the cover. She discovers that anything she writes inside the chronicle comes true. Except sometimes the things she writes in the book actually have consequences for those around her. And, to make things even more twisted, someone else is interested in the chronicle ...more

So heads up, this is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a dash of Emma and some other cool things: the main plot is a book that makes whatever is written in it come true, and the story is set in a gorgeous boarding school in Germany. (HP, anyone?)
Unfortunately, it fell SO flat for me. About halfway through I decided to flip through the rest of it. I didn’t like any of the characters, and the storyline was pretty much verbatim P&P, but minus the sparkling wit and fiery characters that makes ...more
Unfortunately, it fell SO flat for me. About halfway through I decided to flip through the rest of it. I didn’t like any of the characters, and the storyline was pretty much verbatim P&P, but minus the sparkling wit and fiery characters that makes ...more


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It's quite hard for me to review this book, because while there were some things that I liked, overall I feel pretty neutral about it. Both books by Mechthild Gläser have some bookish and magical elements in them and on top of that, this one promised a Pride and Prejudice retelling, so I was really excited to read it. The overall story was very creative and intriguing, but I think there was a bit too much teenage drama for me.
What I loved ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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4.5 Stars
I had enjoyed Ms. Gläser's debut, The Book Jumper, but The Forgotten Book was even better! The writing was solid and the story was riveting. Who wouldn't love a book about a book making things come true?
The Forgotten Book was engaging with mysteries that paced the story. From the pages of the magical book we glimpse its past, present and future. All of which, pieced together, form a story of its own. Every journal entry, despite their jumping timelines, made me feel like I was that much ...more
I had enjoyed Ms. Gläser's debut, The Book Jumper, but The Forgotten Book was even better! The writing was solid and the story was riveting. Who wouldn't love a book about a book making things come true?
The Forgotten Book was engaging with mysteries that paced the story. From the pages of the magical book we glimpse its past, present and future. All of which, pieced together, form a story of its own. Every journal entry, despite their jumping timelines, made me feel like I was that much ...more

This was a fun YA read about a girl who finds an old book that makes things written in it come true. It is also a mash-up of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Rebecca. It was an interesting story, but the elements from the other books definitely bumped it up a notch for me.
Content: drinking (with consequences), some swearing. Overall, something I would be fine handing to my teen.
Content: drinking (with consequences), some swearing. Overall, something I would be fine handing to my teen.

That cover though 😍😍

Now that's interesting: The Forgotten Book is inspired by Jane Austen, but not by only one book: rather than sticking to a Pride and Prejudice retelling, Gläser mixes things up: a bit of Pride and Prejudice, a bit of Emma, a bit of Northanger Abbey. It keeps things moving better than they might otherwise, because the story isn't quite as tied to a single very well-known plot. (The love interest and villain's identities, however, are pretty durn clear early on.)
One odd thing: it occasionally star ...more
One odd thing: it occasionally star ...more
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Mechthild Gläser wurde im Sommer 1986 in Essen geboren. Auch heute lebt und arbeitet sie im Ruhrgebiet, wo sie sich ihrem Studium widmet und ab und an unfassbar schlecht Ballett tanzt – aber nur, wenn niemand hinsieht. Sie hat früh mit dem Schreiben begonnen und ihr Laptop steht noch immer auf der rosafarbenen Schreibtischunterlage, auf der ihre ersten Geschichten entstanden. Inspiration findet si
...more
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“Now and then they would tell old legends and fairy tales about the castle, the way people always do about old castles. But they would be just that: fairy tales.
Nothing more, and nothing less.”
—
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Nothing more, and nothing less.”
“That was close," I said at last. My heart was still hammering so hard, it felt as if it might burst. We'd snuck into someone else's house and nearly been caught. We'd committed a crime! The adrenaline coursed through my veins. But we'd escaped! We'd pulled it off! I suddenly felt wonderfully light.
Darcy looked at me. "Yes." He grinned. The twinkle in his eyes made him look much younger than usual. "We did a pretty good job. Maybe we should turn professional."
"Professional housebreakers?" I asked, and now I found myself grinning, too. "Sounds cool."
"I reckon we've got what it takes. How about we try a bank robbery next?"
"Or a roast dinner?"
Darcy glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "Oh, crap!" he exclaimed.
Then he started the engine.”
—
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More quotes…
Darcy looked at me. "Yes." He grinned. The twinkle in his eyes made him look much younger than usual. "We did a pretty good job. Maybe we should turn professional."
"Professional housebreakers?" I asked, and now I found myself grinning, too. "Sounds cool."
"I reckon we've got what it takes. How about we try a bank robbery next?"
"Or a roast dinner?"
Darcy glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "Oh, crap!" he exclaimed.
Then he started the engine.”