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sonofthunder's review against another edition
4.0
After my last rather intense read (J. Strange & Mr. Norrell!) I decided I needed a bit lighter of a fictional read. And this one definitely fit the bill! A most delightful children's story - set in olden times England (well, late 19th/early 20th century at least) with a lovely story of a boy who accidentally steps into a fantastical adventure! This story has it all - magical animals and evil enchanters and seasons personified and a beautiful account of a boy and a girl who seek to do what is right. The story is simple yet oh so well told! The descriptions of Sebastian and Melissa's adventures make me almost feel as if I was alongside them. Sometimes it is nice to read a beautiful tale of sweetness and decency, and this is one such.
justasking27's review
4.0
An absolutely delightful children's story of magic where nothing really bad happens. Will likely read again, over and over.
chally's review
5.0
I wish I'd had this book as a child; the imagination and taste that had me devouring Narnia, Carbonel and The Magic Faraway Tree would've had me riveted to this book too.
The story follows Sebastian, a thirteen-year-old boy somewhere in late Victorian London. He finds an enchanted mirror in a dusty furniture shop and in it he sees Melissa, an unhappy girl who, he learns, has been trapped in an ensorcelled house for a hundred years. Sebastian sets out to rescue her, with the help of a teapot, the mirror and a magic cat. Along the way he'll meet the Wind and the Four Seasons, pluck a glorious emerald from the heart of a vicious, timeless forest, and ride a noble white stallion right into the heart of the evil Enchanter's beautiful, enchanted garden.
The writing is beautiful, too, bringing this colourful world very vividly to life. Nothing's impossible in Sebastian and Melissa's world-beyond-the-world, and there are new wonders on every page. The next thing I wish to do is get hold of the sequel, and when I've read it I'll put these two books away somewhere safe against the day I have children of my own to read them to.
The story follows Sebastian, a thirteen-year-old boy somewhere in late Victorian London. He finds an enchanted mirror in a dusty furniture shop and in it he sees Melissa, an unhappy girl who, he learns, has been trapped in an ensorcelled house for a hundred years. Sebastian sets out to rescue her, with the help of a teapot, the mirror and a magic cat. Along the way he'll meet the Wind and the Four Seasons, pluck a glorious emerald from the heart of a vicious, timeless forest, and ride a noble white stallion right into the heart of the evil Enchanter's beautiful, enchanted garden.
The writing is beautiful, too, bringing this colourful world very vividly to life. Nothing's impossible in Sebastian and Melissa's world-beyond-the-world, and there are new wonders on every page. The next thing I wish to do is get hold of the sequel, and when I've read it I'll put these two books away somewhere safe against the day I have children of my own to read them to.
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