I asked my friend Leslie if she had read anything good lately, and she didn't have an immediate response. But when she thought about it, she suggested this one. Good Kiddie Lit is always enjoyable, she said, and I agree. She said she enjoyed the writing style of this author and she thought I would too.
And I did. Very clever and often funny. Delightful prose and real dialogue. And the story is built around these very strange, old, black and white photographs. It's all very clever, but it's also very dark, and sometimes violent. It's not a world I would want to inhabit, and it's really kind of creepy for this to be something recommended for young people to read. I suspect they would like it because it's real, it's about alienated parents, and a fantastical world....but it's not a pleasant, uplifting, or wholesome place to be. If I'm going to engage in a fantasy, I want it to be sweet! This is not.
And...the worst part...the book doesn't conclude. It just gets you ready for a sequel. This is maddening--in the same way that The Rithmatist was maddening. I felt cheated and frustrated. This one's going to the used bookstore so I can trade it in for something better.
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