Reviews

Pencilvania by Stephanie Watson

jesslikesbooks394's review

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lazygal's review against another edition

2.0

Let's start with the blurb, a "modern take on The Phantom Tollbooth meets Harold and the Purple Crayon" - NO. It's not. Ok, maybe a little. I mean, the girls travel to a new world, and there is drawing and some adventures. But beyond that, there are two girls in real pain following the death of their mother and this is a way of dealing with that (the whole "anger" step). There's no real whimsey here, more dark thoughts and figuring out how to live in this new reality.

ARC provided by publisher.

kareycrain's review

5.0

I picked this up at the library based solely on the beautiful cover, and didn’t read anything about it before I dove in with my 7 year old. If I had known what was coming in the first two chapters (the death of Zora’s mom), I probably wouldn’t have read it to him, but I’m glad I did! He had lots of questions about cancer and death, but couldn’t wait to keep going. Zora’s journey through the world of her drawings is a journey through her own grief, anger, guilt and fear. We found this really engaging and read several chapters each night and several during a thunderstorm to finish in record time (for us on a read aloud!).

hnmoore's review against another edition

4.0

This would make an absolutely fantastic animated children's tv series.

emilybaker27's review

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.0

sd10243's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

danadoesbooks's review

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

Thank you to Sourcebooks Young Readers for the gifted ebook of Pencilvania!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Pencilvania was described as a cross between The Phantom Tollbooth and Harold and the Purple Crayon.  These are two of my childhood favorites so I was immediately excited to read it.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to that comparison for me.  While I liked the concept of Pencilvania, the world felt underdeveloped.  I was expecting Zora and Frankie to spend more time in Pencilvania, but a lot of the story is told in the real world and in flashbacks.  I wanted to like it, but it just wasn't for me.

mlinamman's review

4.0

It's a great tale about overcoming grief and about family. Zora's journey through Pencilvania helps her overcome the all-encompassing grief left over from her mother's death and helps in accepting the changes in her life.

For a more detailed review check out my blog : https://mlinamman.blogspot.com

*This review is based on a copy I received from NetGalley for an honest review.

hnmoore's review

4.0

This would make an absolutely fantastic animated children's tv series.