Amanda’s Comments (group member since Mar 13, 2022)

Amanda’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Team! I need help being creative to use The Wishing Game for a door, any thoughts?

10. We read something that moves us, touches us, speaks to us and it... it changes us?"

Do you agree with that quote? Are there any books that changed you personally?
Yes definitely. I can't think of a specific book, but I'd say all this is true of reading generally

11. We finally get the first riddle. Did you guess it before Lucy did?
I didn't, but I think the riddles are a little harder with audio.

12. What did you think of The City of Secondhand and of Markham showing up like that? Is he just a sleezy lawyer, or is there something more sinister going on?
I think there's definitely something more sinister! Is this billed as a Willy Wonka retelling? I feel like it should be!

13. do you have to keep reminding yourself that the "contestants" are adults, not children?
Nope, but I do feel like the tone has a YA feel

DQs Day 2 Chapter 6 - 11

6. Jack replied to Lucy's letter and Lucy decided to run away from home. What did you think of his letter and would you have done the same as Lucy?
I thought it was a sweet letter at first, but I think Hugo made a good point too that you can't expect kids to know that you're exaggerating. I wouldn't have done the same, because I was a little rule follower, but maybe if my life was as hard as Lucy's I would have.

7. We get more insights on Clock Island. Every 'hour' is its own section like for example a beach. Would you like to visit the island? Do you find the idea of it fascinating or could you not care less?
I think it's interesting and would like to visit!

8. Every part starts with a quote from Jack's book. Do you think these parts are important for the story? Just showing off Jack's work? Something else?
I think they're important to set up the fantasy world that Lucy and Christopher know

9. It seems like there will be a deeper connection between Lucy and Hugo. Do you agree? And would you approve of it given that Hugo had first met her when she was still a child
I agree. i think it's fine since Hugo never had any power over Lucy and it's not like they kept in contact.

Discussion Questions : Day 1 (Prologue - Chapter 5)

1. We have been introduced to a few important characters - Lucy, Christopher, and Hugo. Plus the off-page persona of Jack. What do you think of the characters so far?
I like all the characters we've met so far, although I'm not sure I agree with how Lucy is acting with Christopher. I get she wants to adopt him, but it seems like it's probably not a good idea to give a newly orphaned kid a parental relationship that you're not certain you can maintain...

2. We get a riddle right away in the Prologue:

"Two men on an island and both blame the water
for the loss of a wife and the death of a daughter
but neither ever married, and neither's a father.
What is the secret of the girls and the water?"

Then Hugo thinks to himself that "Five years ago, it [the ocean] had brought low the small, strange kingdom of Clock Island." Do you think the riddle is related to what happened five years ago? Any speculations on what it all means, assuming you haven't read ahead?
I definitely think the two are related, but I have zero speculation!

3. At the beginning of Chapter Two, Hugo says that he used to dream about living in Greenwich Village, but now that he can actually afford it, it doesn't hold the same appeal. He basically says that success kills motivation. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
I can see how it can be true, but it's a very privileged take. I think it's easy to say when you've got a lot, but for most it would not be true at all.

4. What do you think of the wishing game Lucy plays with Christopher? Do you think this game and mindset are healthy? Do you agree with Lucy that it gives them hope, or do you agree with the social worker that it just gets their hopes up?
As I said in question 1, I don't think this is a healthy relationship at all. Christopher obviously lost his family in a traumatic way and I don't think Lucy should be acting like a parent before she is one so that he doesn't lose another family.

5. Why do you think Jack finally started writing again? And what might be his motive in holding a contest for the only copy of the new book?
This is called "The Wishing Game" and is MPG Fantasy, so maybe Christopher's wish brought to life!

DQs Day 3
Chapters 14-19

11. Starling House reminded me up to a point with some vibes of Beauty and the Beast, although lesser now as the story progresses. Is the book reminding you of any other stories you have read before?
Not anything in particular, but it feels way more like a YA fantasy novel than I was expecting. If you told me this was written by Holly Black, I would not be surprised.

12. Ch 14-19 have answered a lot of questions about Opal, the house, Arthur, the history of the place and what's going on. Has anything revealed in this section been surprising to you? Does the explanation so far of everything that has happened ring true?
I don't think there was any big shock, the author does a pretty good job at slowly releasing info and a pretty bad job at big surprises lol

13. Jasper and Opal are clearly close, although he is sometimes moody and surly. He seems resentful at times of Opal going out so far on a limb to take care of him and get him out of Eden. What do you think of the character now that he has more fleshed-out scenes and more has been revealed about him and their relationship?
I think this is exactly what I would expect when one sibling has to parent. The other wants a sibling and wants to help, they don't want their sibling to be a mom or control anything.

14. Arthur and Opal have heated a few things up. Do you think they fit each other well with these developments?
Yeah, they're fine. I'm not really an Opal fan, but I like surly moody Arthur.

15. There is humor in the book that is overshadowed by genuinely creepy horror like tales, What do you think about Underland "beasts" revealed so far?
I thought they were creepy enough!

This is not an end of the round update, just an update so the mods can look at everything and try to make sure everything is even/fair. Just have what you've read updated by that time, no need to rush anything or drop anything and you can continue adding after that time to the same round. (Hope that makes sense!)

DQs Day 2 - Chapters 8 - 13

6) The narration is using dual POVs: 1st person for Opal, 3rd person for Arthur. Does it work for you? Do you think this suits the story?
I’m going to be honest, I very very rarely notice if it’s 1st or 3rd person and did not at all notice it here. It does make sense to me as I think Arthur is a little more removed.

7) Opal goes to the Library to find out more about Starling House and finds her mother's phone number among the Gravely family's documents. What implications can it have? Do you think it could be a hint about Opal's parentage?
I did not think it was a hint of parentage, but more maybe some scheme that Opal’s mom had running at some point. Parentage would make more sense though since Starling House wants her.

8) After Bev's story about the relationship between Eleanor Starling and the Gravely brothers, we get a totally different perspective from what Nathaniel Boone went through. What do you think about the Gravely family and their "hold" over the town of Eden? What do you think Nathaniel may have discovered in the dark? I think the hold totally makes sense since they control most of the jobs. I agree with others that Nathaniel probably discovered some sort of portal/entryway

9) Finally we learn some more about about Arthur's role (warden) and his connection to the House. What do you think about their "relationship"? What is your opinion about Starling House as a sentient being? Could it be good or evil?
I thought this was interesting! I especially think the choice of the word “warden” rather than caretaker. I think SH could easily be either good or evil, I wonder if it matters who the warden is.

10) On "characters not communicating
In Chapter 12 we find out that Opal has not told Jasper about the fact that she arranged for him to go to a different school and she actually managed to put together the fee for the 1st year already. Opal doesn't tell his brother about her working in Starling House and she doesn't tell Arthur about her spying on the House for Elizabeth Baine and getting more and more demands.
What do you think of all this?
I think it sucks but makes sense. She became an adult way too young so is only used to relying on herself and doesn’t want to share the burdens with anyone else.

DQs Day 1
Ch 1 to 7

1.) Have you read other books by Alix E Harrow? Was this on your tbr list before it was a BOM selection? Any expectations going in?
I have not read any but I did keep seeing this one so I was excited to try it

2.) Did you read the footnotes as you went along? Find them helpful? Annoying?
I'm listening to the audiobook, so I feel like the footnotes are more seamlessly woven in. I like them because it just feels like a 4th wall break


3.) The discussion of E.Starling's book being too scary for children reminded me of some interviews with M.Sendalk when the Where the Wild Things movie came out several years ago about books, etc that scare children (when children are the target audience). His response was basically children should be scared sometimes and there's nothing wrong with that. And has further said, it's better to have a book full of fears than one pretending there's nothing to be afraid of. What are your thoughts on this topic?
I'm a fairly new mom but I can see the logic behind it.

4.) What are your thoughts so far on Eden and Starling House? Has the author done a good job so far of creating an atmosphere and setting for a good gothic story?
I'm enjoying the atmosphere! It's not really my usual genre, but all the nightmares are definitely giving it a creep factor.

5.) Any favorites so far in our motley cast of characters? Opal, Arthur, Jasper, Bev, and Starling House.
I like Jasper

I'll backup D12

Also, for clarification so please correct me if I'm wrong, we can read in any order and books have to be started and finished during that week right?

Lisa does want to do one she's just on a business trip and is extremely busy until Wednesday or Thursday! I'd feel comfortable speaking up for her though when one comes around. Like right now it looks like they're looking at a book that ends with ENT and Lisa has Entangled: The Omega and the Bounty Hunter on her TBR so might be a good time to put her down!

I’ve been peeking too and I think it’s ANCE not once.

What if, in the interest of turning over a new leaf for this round, we give D4 a choice between "Tonight I'm Someone Else" (Insiyah) and "Tonight I Said Goodbye" (Jackie)

Yes at first they really focused on the end letters and now have decided not to so I’m totally on board with doing the same!

I'm all done with my round 1 books :)

I don’t want to overstep but just wanted to make sure you saw that the George E Ohr book is an illustrated hardcover so the word count will need to be verified (so sorry!!)

Ball is back in your court :)

We went with Arthur & George

Kirsten wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "I don’t entirely understand how this works, but I’ve got Earthflown on my tbr and would be really happy to read that it it was useful.

[book:Arthur &..."

Okay I will save it for my day when I'm angriest with men then! 😂

Am I good to put on spreadsheet then let District 4 know? I think we have a majority vote

Beth wrote: "My Round 1 books are all posted. Amanda or Insiyah, you can check mine in any time!"

All checked!

Kirsten wrote: "I don’t entirely understand how this works, but I’ve got Earthflown on my tbr and would be really happy to read that it it was useful.

Arthur & George is on my tbr as ..."

Kirsten do you want to read Arthur & George or would you like me to?