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semperlunaris's review against another edition
4.0
4 star average across all 6 books; I favoured books 1,5, and 6.
Soman Chainani had me at "Sophie had waited her whole life to be kidnapped". I enjoyed his style of writing, the twists and turns, writing a fresh-feeling story in what is a very saturated genre, and I did catch myself growing fond of the characters as I went through the series (I even got a bit teary at some points!)
The first trilogy has been criticised by other reviewers in the past as being a bit queerbaity - and I can definitely see that interpretation the second trilogy is less subtle in its LGBT relationships and characters (I wonder if it had to be 'toned down' or more coded in earlier books in order to get a foothold in publishing? Not that that would've been a good reason but it could have played a part nonetheless). I think Chainani's writing improved over the course of the series, but yeah, a lot across these books could have been better.
Used the 1st chapter in a P5/6 class to inspire creative writing which was successful, the kids enjoyed the opening page the most for setting the scene.
Soman Chainani had me at "Sophie had waited her whole life to be kidnapped". I enjoyed his style of writing, the twists and turns, writing a fresh-feeling story in what is a very saturated genre, and I did catch myself growing fond of the characters as I went through the series (I even got a bit teary at some points!)
The first trilogy has been criticised by other reviewers in the past as being a bit queerbaity - and I can definitely see that interpretation
Spoiler
I was excited at the end of 1 to have a lesbian relationship which then in 3 became a 'star wars but make them both women'; and 2's fridging of a transgender-coded characterUsed the 1st chapter in a P5/6 class to inspire creative writing which was successful, the kids enjoyed the opening page the most for setting the scene.
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