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silea's review against another edition
3.0
I took a Childrens' Lit course in college, and one of the first things the professor told us is that if we re-read the books we loved as a child, we'd hate them now. Little House on the Prairie was his favorite example, a series of books that young girls (at least used to) read and love, but going back as an adult, they're nearly impossible to get through. The focus is narrow, and very concrete. It's nearly an instruction manual at times.
Bracelet of Bones is in a similar vein. It's the story of Solveig's journey to find her father, but it stays very much grounded in the present, even when she's telling a story of her past or imagining her future. There's a lot of 'what', a little 'how', but almost no 'why'.
I suspect that kids will like this book, and parents can certainly read along, but it's not a book i'd recommend to an adult to read for their own entertainment.
Bracelet of Bones is in a similar vein. It's the story of Solveig's journey to find her father, but it stays very much grounded in the present, even when she's telling a story of her past or imagining her future. There's a lot of 'what', a little 'how', but almost no 'why'.
I suspect that kids will like this book, and parents can certainly read along, but it's not a book i'd recommend to an adult to read for their own entertainment.
readinginthegarden's review
2.0
Couldn't click with this book and found it way too boring -gave up- after about 50 pages this book isn't even on my book shelf anymore :(
denizyildiz's review against another edition
4.0
I am not quite sure what's going on with me lately, but I keep on having completely wrong exceptions of books. The Bracelet of Bones is no exception. Although I did read the blurb before requested the ARC, for some reason I kinda had in the back of my mind that this was a fantasy. Ok, so admittedly knowing my memory for names is bad at best, I should have known that I wouldn't necessary connect the right name with the right blurb. But see books come with covers, so I remembered the pretty cover was a story about a girl from Norway, during Viking times. Which it is! Since it was quite clear from the beginning that this is what The Bracelet of Bones is about, I was sure I am reading a fantasy book. When I was about a third in, I had the suspicion that I might be wrong and read the blurb. So long story short. This is not a fantasy but a historical novel.
It's an epic story about friendships, clash of religions, coming of age and fathers-and-daughters. The best part about this is definitely the way the story is told. Crossley-Holland knows how to tell an epic story. Though this isn't told over thousands of pages, no it's in a average sized book. Still in this relatively short span, Crossley-Holland brings across many subject and brings many thoughts to mind.
While this is a great journey, with many adventures, the novel is somewhat slow paced, not boring, but more reflective. So very much my kinda thing; I was enchanted by the prose and enjoyed the story, but mostly loved the thoughtful and subtle aspects of the novel.
The plot is interesting, but possibly my least favorite bit of the story. The entire way it was written, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, made this somewhat slow. Let me warn you this is not a sugar-glossed version of the past, no it's rather realistic. So it's not only not your HEA but be prepared for heartbreak and sorrow, but also for loss. The plot lets you quiver between despair and hope, which I guess is to a great credit to the writing of Crossley-Holland. But also no doubt due to the wonderful character building.
At the beginning of the book is an inventory of character names and who they were. It's several pages long and holds many unfamiliar names. Can you imagine how worried I was? See me, mrs. crapy-name-memory, staring at the list in utter despair? Well, though at time I had to concentrate on who was who, not once did I go back to check who I was dealing with. So yes, there are a rather big amount of characters all with not exactly familiar names, but the character building is so well done, I feel like I know them. I know who is who- and most importantly I connected with them. And yes, I said them, because I connected with every one of them. This is told from Solveigh's POV, but I got to know most of the characters, the left impressions on me, and though I saw them through Solveigh's eyes, I cared for them (even the slightly more unpleasant ones) and felt like I knew who they were.
The world building is absolutely amazing. I know quite a bit about ancient history. I also am quite clued up on the Norse gods and their mythology. And I have traveled through some of the area's this is set. So I was pleasantly surprised to find things, I didn't know. In fact after finishing the novel, I dashed to our library checking out dates, names of hero's and brushing up on my history of that time. Then I hit google. Honestly Crossley-Holland did an amazing job at bringing the time to life.
A beautiful book, that inspires thought, bring the past to life and is full of subtle wisdom.
It's an epic story about friendships, clash of religions, coming of age and fathers-and-daughters. The best part about this is definitely the way the story is told. Crossley-Holland knows how to tell an epic story. Though this isn't told over thousands of pages, no it's in a average sized book. Still in this relatively short span, Crossley-Holland brings across many subject and brings many thoughts to mind.
While this is a great journey, with many adventures, the novel is somewhat slow paced, not boring, but more reflective. So very much my kinda thing; I was enchanted by the prose and enjoyed the story, but mostly loved the thoughtful and subtle aspects of the novel.
The plot is interesting, but possibly my least favorite bit of the story. The entire way it was written, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, made this somewhat slow. Let me warn you this is not a sugar-glossed version of the past, no it's rather realistic. So it's not only not your HEA but be prepared for heartbreak and sorrow, but also for loss. The plot lets you quiver between despair and hope, which I guess is to a great credit to the writing of Crossley-Holland. But also no doubt due to the wonderful character building.
At the beginning of the book is an inventory of character names and who they were. It's several pages long and holds many unfamiliar names. Can you imagine how worried I was? See me, mrs. crapy-name-memory, staring at the list in utter despair? Well, though at time I had to concentrate on who was who, not once did I go back to check who I was dealing with. So yes, there are a rather big amount of characters all with not exactly familiar names, but the character building is so well done, I feel like I know them. I know who is who- and most importantly I connected with them. And yes, I said them, because I connected with every one of them. This is told from Solveigh's POV, but I got to know most of the characters, the left impressions on me, and though I saw them through Solveigh's eyes, I cared for them (even the slightly more unpleasant ones) and felt like I knew who they were.
The world building is absolutely amazing. I know quite a bit about ancient history. I also am quite clued up on the Norse gods and their mythology. And I have traveled through some of the area's this is set. So I was pleasantly surprised to find things, I didn't know. In fact after finishing the novel, I dashed to our library checking out dates, names of hero's and brushing up on my history of that time. Then I hit google. Honestly Crossley-Holland did an amazing job at bringing the time to life.
A beautiful book, that inspires thought, bring the past to life and is full of subtle wisdom.
kayleighofhobbiton's review against another edition
3.0
Mmh, I had an entirely other story in my mind. It was nice but not the best book ever written about vikings.
I couldn't relate to the characters. They were all so far away form me. It was distracting all those time jumps.
I think it had a realistic view on the vikings, no horned helmets here. And that was a good thing. You could feel that the author knew what he was writing about.
I couldn't relate to the characters. They were all so far away form me. It was distracting all those time jumps.
I think it had a realistic view on the vikings, no horned helmets here. And that was a good thing. You could feel that the author knew what he was writing about.
nigellicus's review
5.0
Solveig's father leaves her with her step-mother and step-brothers to rejoin his old leader Harald in Miklagard. Solveig sets out to follow him, an impossible journey across half the world. Crossley-Holland is one of the best story-tellers out there, with an instinctive appreciation for the role of myth and spirituality and poetry in everyday lives. Therefore the journey is vivid and fraught and wonderful, full of living, breathing characters and sudden, horrible dangers, hidden threats and tensions amidst joy and laughter and fellowship. Beautifully written and thoroughly alive, this is a gem of a book.
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