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christieb123's review
4.0
Shannon Hale is just a really fun storyteller. My 10 year old had me read these books and they're light, silly and fun. I think this is my favorite of the first three. The Wonderland characters are just interesting and fun.
fbrady's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.5
this book (quite strangely! in comparison to the previous two) overwhelmed me with emotion??? Lizzie and Cedar were such wonderfully brilliant characters (much more so interesting to read through the eyes of than Apple and Raven) and the only reason it isn’t five stars is because of the stupid stupid ending in which no one remembered any of the plot. I WANT MY BELOVED CHARACTERS TO BE ABLE TO GROW AND CHANGE FOR GOOD!!! SILLY SILLY COP OUT!! (I am so beyond devastated that Cedar no longer remembers the sensation of taking a breath. That quite possibly ruined me.)
ahauntedzombie's review
4.0
Honestly I loved the creativity and the writing of the book, I loved the voices (audiobook) but the one thing that ruined it for me is right at the end where they all forget everything!!!
ALL THAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOR WHAT??
ALL THAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOR WHAT??
idkyimhere4's review
5.0
This is the most mature book out of the original trilogy. Readers can experience the horrors and the curses that haunt the Ever After High students. In this book, the main characters are Lizzie Hearts and Cedar Woods, two characters that had not been explored as much in the series. Overall a great closure for the trilogy.
jameyanne's review
3.0
I am of two minds on this book, hence the only average rating. On the one hand, as a story by itself it was fabulous. I loved learning more about Cedar and Lizzie and Wonderland, and I loved the character arcs, watching everyone grow and discover themselves and their destinies was such a joy. The jabberwock is a fabulous villain. Finally, I adore everything to do with narration and storytelling. That was really clever. On the other hand, I feel like parts of the ending (I won't give spoilers) invalidated that journey and the fact that the same results came out of it felt like a cheap trick to me. Also, while I enjoyed Cedar's and Lizzie's stories, I feel like we weren't done with Raven and Apple, like they were left hanging, and I can't tell if there is or there's going to be another novel or if this was supposed to be the ending. (I kbnow there's a show this series is based on but I haven't seen it yet.) So on the whole, I'm really torn about how I feel about this book, even though I'd probably recommend the series and even just this book.
amalies's review
3.0
This book was not a great end to the series. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but I didn't like it very much overall. This book delves into the smaller characters from the 1st two books. We deal with wonderland and the sickness that took over and made all the characters have to leave wonderland. The way the author creates this world between the narrator of the story and the characters in the story interacting with each other was interesting. In that sense I am glad that I listened to the book as an audiobook. However, it just wasn't the best ending of a trilogy.
lemons_and_uwus's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
booksnorkel's review
3.0
Not a very strong finish and nothing was really resolved. The best part was when the book broke the fourth wall and not in a narrator acknowledging the reader way but in a character having to become the narrator and having to take a pledge sort of way.
Cute fun and wondlandiful. This series is Fairy Great
Cute fun and wondlandiful. This series is Fairy Great
sierra_color's review
4.0
Do you ever read a book that is just-- perfect?
This was it.
UNTIL THE END.
Okay, so let's just, get the positives out the way-- the writing is beautiful, yet creative, and really challenges the conceptions of the third person narrator, it's also engaging, making you an integral part of the story, while making you feel for these characters by using vivid descriptions of what they're feeling. It's also so immersive, because of the descriptions and writing style, you get smells described to you, sights, feelings. Hale describes things ranging from the smell of wonderlandian flowers to the beating of a heart, and it is all truly wonderful. It adds more to the story.
The characters grow and change in this story, Lizzie develops into an empathetic character, they actually expand on her character here (unlike in the show) and have her mature. Cedar learns to love herself, and learns about who she is in the process, making friends along the way. Madeline learns that she can be a hero too, that she's more than a background character, or the side kick. Shit, even KITTY learns to be braver, and to care about her friends.
~SPOILERS NOW~
But then the story just.. makes it so that the students of ever after high dont remember anything?
Which.. makes NO LITERAL SENSE?
Like, did they do this for show purposes or what? They take away all that lovely development and now, the characters are back to square one. Only Maddie remembers.
Who.. WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Honestly, it makes that whole adventure feel like a waste of time. Everyone thought the whole thing was a dream! And that is SO DUMB!
Like, LITERALLY WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
It takes away from the whole heart of the story. Turns Lizzie from being independent, or gaining independence, learning that her mother isn't always right, that grownups don't always save the day, she turns from a grounded complex character to-- OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
It defeats the whole purpose of the story!
Cedar becomes braver, louder, finds her voice, is able to lie, and I see why she had to turn real again, but also-- why did she have to lose all that came with the journey? Why did she have to lose the heart she gained?
It's so.. just, disappointing, when you get to the end, because you've grown with these characters in a way. You understand how Lizzie learns that her mom isn't always right, and understand how Cedar now has hope, is now resilient!
But then that all gets taken away. I just can't understand why. And it's so saddening. Shannon Hale is such a wonderful author, and to see her craft these beautiful complex characters who go from isolation to acceptance, and then see said characters fall back to isolation, is just so.. heart breaking. It's so.. sad, to be honest. And it just makes me wonder how much of the author's freedom was limited, and why Mattel thought this was a good idea. This book (at least for me) shows that they don't give a fuck about their creations, only about the money, and it's really sad.
The whole memory wipe
This was it.
UNTIL THE END.
Okay, so let's just, get the positives out the way-- the writing is beautiful, yet creative, and really challenges the conceptions of the third person narrator, it's also engaging, making you an integral part of the story, while making you feel for these characters by using vivid descriptions of what they're feeling. It's also so immersive, because of the descriptions and writing style, you get smells described to you, sights, feelings. Hale describes things ranging from the smell of wonderlandian flowers to the beating of a heart, and it is all truly wonderful. It adds more to the story.
The characters grow and change in this story, Lizzie develops into an empathetic character, they actually expand on her character here (unlike in the show) and have her mature. Cedar learns to love herself, and learns about who she is in the process, making friends along the way. Madeline learns that she can be a hero too, that she's more than a background character, or the side kick. Shit, even KITTY learns to be braver, and to care about her friends.
~SPOILERS NOW~
But then the story just.. makes it so that the students of ever after high dont remember anything?
Which.. makes NO LITERAL SENSE?
Like, did they do this for show purposes or what? They take away all that lovely development and now, the characters are back to square one. Only Maddie remembers.
Who.. WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Honestly, it makes that whole adventure feel like a waste of time. Everyone thought the whole thing was a dream! And that is SO DUMB!
Like, LITERALLY WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
It takes away from the whole heart of the story. Turns Lizzie from being independent, or gaining independence, learning that her mother isn't always right, that grownups don't always save the day, she turns from a grounded complex character to-- OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
It defeats the whole purpose of the story!
Cedar becomes braver, louder, finds her voice, is able to lie, and I see why she had to turn real again, but also-- why did she have to lose all that came with the journey? Why did she have to lose the heart she gained?
It's so.. just, disappointing, when you get to the end, because you've grown with these characters in a way. You understand how Lizzie learns that her mom isn't always right, and understand how Cedar now has hope, is now resilient!
But then that all gets taken away. I just can't understand why. And it's so saddening. Shannon Hale is such a wonderful author, and to see her craft these beautiful complex characters who go from isolation to acceptance, and then see said characters fall back to isolation, is just so.. heart breaking. It's so.. sad, to be honest. And it just makes me wonder how much of the author's freedom was limited, and why Mattel thought this was a good idea. This book (at least for me) shows that they don't give a fuck about their creations, only about the money, and it's really sad.
The whole memory wipe