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The large Heap family welcomes an abandoned baby into their home, little realizing that she is in fact the orphaned princess--now queen--of their land. Eventually the evil that killed her mother comes looking for her, and so the whole family (along with an ExtraOrdinary Witch) goes on the run.
I could only get 26% of the way through this before I had to give up. I was too annoyed by the twee phrasing ("Silas felt a lurch in the bottom of his stomach, and it wasn't just the barley cake. It was dr ...more
I could only get 26% of the way through this before I had to give up. I was too annoyed by the twee phrasing ("Silas felt a lurch in the bottom of his stomach, and it wasn't just the barley cake. It was dr ...more
i hate to say this, especially since it was recommended to me by someone whose taste i usually trust implicitly, but this was extremely disappointing. i got about 150 pages in and was very bored by the narration, which consisted of way too much telling, not enough showing. i had no emotional connection to any of the characters, and after almost 1/3 of the book, that's a bad thing. and i know this makes me something of a snob, but i am so very against the idea of boldfacing as stylization-- every
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kind of cute, but the characters aren't grabbing me enough to pick up the rest of the series.
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A 2.5 star review.
Unfortunately I was less than impressed by this book. It was too obviously aimed at children, and read a bit like the author was trying to channel Terry Pratchett (whom I'm not terribly fond of either, so a second strike for me there). It took almost half the book to get me even remotely interested in the main characters.
I did start enjoying it more once Boy 412 got more page-time though, and rather liked the final battle and resolution. So 2 stars for the first 400-something p ...more
Unfortunately I was less than impressed by this book. It was too obviously aimed at children, and read a bit like the author was trying to channel Terry Pratchett (whom I'm not terribly fond of either, so a second strike for me there). It took almost half the book to get me even remotely interested in the main characters.
I did start enjoying it more once Boy 412 got more page-time though, and rather liked the final battle and resolution. So 2 stars for the first 400-something p ...more
Quick easy read. Cute.
fantasy/adventure, babies stolen at birth, mistaken identity, magical talents, evil sorcerers, ghosts, bogarts, brownies, witches, amulets, sailing...this book has it all. A fun read and a natural to hand middle grade/ jr. high fantasy lovers.
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Dec 04, 2009
Nadine in NY Jones
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
did-not-finish,
fantasy-and-sci-fi
I read somewhere that this kids' series would be "the next Harry Potter" and I thought I'd get a jump on the hype and check it out for myself.
Verdict: a bit TOO much like Harry Potter; comes off as a weak imitation and I lost interest. However, the intended audience (adolescents) will probably not have any problems with this. ...more
Verdict: a bit TOO much like Harry Potter; comes off as a weak imitation and I lost interest. However, the intended audience (adolescents) will probably not have any problems with this. ...more
Apr 21, 2007
Amanda
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kids-or-young-adults
Mar 21, 2009
Kira
added it
Apr 17, 2011
Liz
marked it as to-read
May 01, 2011
Jen
added it
Aug 08, 2011
Debbie Barr
marked it as to-read
Dec 31, 2014
Emrys
marked it as to-read
