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dsullivan's review
3.0
An entertaining quick read. It was good to see the main character grow. The writing wasn't great, but I've read worse in YA.
joshhansonhorror's review
2.0
Sleator's weird, distant tone can be effective sometimes, but here it's very difficult to see past. Mostly, that's due to the fact that the distant tone belongs to our protagonist, a 13 year old girl.
I love the moral complexity that's introduced early on, but the book doesn't have any way of dealing with the moral questions once they've been posed.
And the ending is not an ending at all but a beginning to the next book in the series, which I doubt I'll be reading.
I love the moral complexity that's introduced early on, but the book doesn't have any way of dealing with the moral questions once they've been posed.
And the ending is not an ending at all but a beginning to the next book in the series, which I doubt I'll be reading.
madaboutmemoir's review
4.0
Annie's self-absorbed friends and relatives rely on her to act as their messenger, a role she begins to resent when she realizes how seldom they take an interest in her problems. After opening THE BOXES, Annie becomes the "nervous system" in a symbiotic relationship between a society of insect-like creatures and the device they revere as their deity. Sleator is like the YA version of Dean Koontz, with horrific plots that hinge on scientific or paranormal phenomena.
lemon_drop's review
2.0
As a Young Reader's Choice winner, I expected more from this one. It was ok, but somewhat predictable and not as 'thrilling' as I'd been led to expect. Interesting ideas, but clunky writing, and forgettable characters. He could have done so much more with the concept.
melziethegreat's review
4.0
This book was completely different than what I thought it would be. It wasn't the whole Pandora's box, it had a nice twist.
dlustig's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
leafilippi's review
Although I have seen this pitched as young adult science fiction, it works equally well for younger students. My second grader picked this book out at the school library and happily plowed through it in a single evening. I liked that the unusual elements and events weren't explained away as "magic" but were instead presented just as the facts of what happened. I liked that the plot and characters included loose ends that were never fully explicated, in contrast to the tidy wrapping up that you tend to find in books aimed at the middle grades.
iceangel9's review
4.0
This is a fun story about Annie whose strange Uncle Marco gives her two boxes and tells her not to open them whatever she does. Like Pandora, she is overwhelmed with curiosity and opens the boxes. She finds a strange clock and even stranger little creatures. Enter some evil property developers and a budding friendship with her neighbor Henry and the story is off and running. This book begs for a sequel.
ederwin's review
3.0
Pretty fun. Cool aliens. Characters are 2-dimensional at best. Definitely for younger readers. Ends with the perfect set-up for a sequel, but that will never happen now.
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