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izumisano's review against another edition
4.0
I really didn't know what to expect from this book. I mainly bought it because I am a fan of Jones's. It makes me sad that only a handful of people have read his work because it is clever and refreshing. I would recommend him for fans of Jonathan Stroud.
Jones is not afraid to keep things real and dark for his middle grade readers. There's death, abuse, manipulation, alcohol, and all of those other things that happen in the real world, especially during the 1890s. I can see some of the subjects touched in this book could make parents squeamish to give to their children, but I think Jones is bold in doing this. He doesn't gloss over the realities of the Victorian period and he knows that children, preteens if you will, aren't as delicate as we have made them out to be in recent years. He states in his interview at the end of the book his adult readers are much more scared of these topics than the intended readers.
That aside, the story starts innocently enough, there are some orphan pickpockets (a la Oliver Twist) running around London when they get enlisted into the service of a Lord Ringmore. He is trying to prove magic exists and with the recent discovery of a book, he believes that his search might be over. The orphans are supposed to be invisible nobodies, but through ease-dropping they discover what this secret society is up to. Through the influence of a conjurer-turned-magpie, the orphans find themselves transformed by magic and able to weld it themselves. I thought I had this story figured out in terms of the characters and what their part was going to be. I thought I knew who was the good witch and the bad wizard and place of all the other characters, but I turned out to be dramatically wrong. This would be a good book to have a sequel too. There are enough loose ends to do it efficiently.
Jones is not afraid to keep things real and dark for his middle grade readers. There's death, abuse, manipulation, alcohol, and all of those other things that happen in the real world, especially during the 1890s. I can see some of the subjects touched in this book could make parents squeamish to give to their children, but I think Jones is bold in doing this. He doesn't gloss over the realities of the Victorian period and he knows that children, preteens if you will, aren't as delicate as we have made them out to be in recent years. He states in his interview at the end of the book his adult readers are much more scared of these topics than the intended readers.
That aside, the story starts innocently enough, there are some orphan pickpockets (a la Oliver Twist) running around London when they get enlisted into the service of a Lord Ringmore. He is trying to prove magic exists and with the recent discovery of a book, he believes that his search might be over. The orphans are supposed to be invisible nobodies, but through ease-dropping they discover what this secret society is up to. Through the influence of a conjurer-turned-magpie, the orphans find themselves transformed by magic and able to weld it themselves. I thought I had this story figured out in terms of the characters and what their part was going to be. I thought I knew who was the good witch and the bad wizard and place of all the other characters, but I turned out to be dramatically wrong. This would be a good book to have a sequel too. There are enough loose ends to do it efficiently.
linnjbookis's review against another edition
5.0
En väldigt spännande ungdomsroman, med många mörka twistar och händelser. I början så är det mer mysterier, och funderingar om vem Ringmore är, då han är en väldigt underlig man redan från introduktionen - han påstår att magi är äkta och att det finns mer än just illusioner, hans observationsförmåga är också amazing.
Iallafall så är Esther och Tom ute och försöker sno till sig plånböcker från rika folket i London, attans att de träffar på Ringmore, för han fångar dem, men de är fria att jobba åt honom. Tillit och sånt är väldigt svag i denna roman, allt beror på mat, omständighet och så... Så Tom har inga problem att sälja Ringmore och hans pengar när han blir hotad, överlevnad är prio här! Lite teman om ärlighet, moral och religion uppstår... väldigt fascinerande och sant.
Men jo jag älskade nog denna roman. Den var spännande, mystisk, och magisk. Man visste inte riktigt vart detta skulle leda och värsta plot twisten när den *spoiler* elaka avslöjar sig, inte för att jag litade på hen, hen var en skummis från den stunden hen introducerades.
Om man gillar Spiderwick, Harry Potter, Familjen Addams eller liknande, ska man helt klart läsa denna bok ;)
Iallafall så är Esther och Tom ute och försöker sno till sig plånböcker från rika folket i London, attans att de träffar på Ringmore, för han fångar dem, men de är fria att jobba åt honom. Tillit och sånt är väldigt svag i denna roman, allt beror på mat, omständighet och så... Så Tom har inga problem att sälja Ringmore och hans pengar när han blir hotad, överlevnad är prio här! Lite teman om ärlighet, moral och religion uppstår... väldigt fascinerande och sant.
Men jo jag älskade nog denna roman. Den var spännande, mystisk, och magisk. Man visste inte riktigt vart detta skulle leda och värsta plot twisten när den *spoiler* elaka avslöjar sig, inte för att jag litade på hen, hen var en skummis från den stunden hen introducerades.
Om man gillar Spiderwick, Harry Potter, Familjen Addams eller liknande, ska man helt klart läsa denna bok ;)
ceramicelephant's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bluewithstars's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
I wish I had read this sooner. Deliciously dark and twisted.
treereader's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't even really hold up to [b:The Considine Curse|10752566|The Considine Curse|Gareth P. Jones|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328967060l/10752566._SY75_.jpg|15663795], let alone [b:The Thornthwaite Inheritance|6382796|The Thornthwaite Inheritance (Thornthwaite, #1)|Gareth P. Jones|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349075197l/6382796._SY75_.jpg|6570805] :(
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