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x_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Liza sets out with her strangely accessorized companion, the rat Mirabella, to save her brother's soul. She experiences the beauty and the danger of the magical Below. Fan's of Neil Gaiman's Coraline will especially enjoy the creepiness of the spider-like spindlers.
rjdenney's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS!!!
This was such a fun and whimsical read! I really enjoyed reading it with the audio and the narrator was perfect for this story. This is my 4th Lauren Oliver read and I think it's good to say that she has become one of my favorite MG authors. If you enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and Coraline, you will absolutely adore this book. :)
This was such a fun and whimsical read! I really enjoyed reading it with the audio and the narrator was perfect for this story. This is my 4th Lauren Oliver read and I think it's good to say that she has become one of my favorite MG authors. If you enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and Coraline, you will absolutely adore this book. :)
zieepicaricacy's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
gmamartha's review against another edition
3.0
A fitting companion to Liesl and Po - very different but the same feeling.
misspippireads's review against another edition
4.0
Beware the Spindlers. They come at night and steal your soul. How do you know if the Spindlers have stolen a soul? Look in the eyes. The eyes will tell you. As haunting as Coraline or as strange as Alice's Wonderland, that's for the reader to decide.
For this reader, Coraline was way more terrifying than The Spindlers. The association with Wonderland is the location - going below. The book that came to mind to this audiobook lover was The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. (It's all about spiders, too.)
Overall, the concept of The Spindlers can be daunting and a bit terrifying for younger listeners (or readers), so if the reader is open to fantastical fiction with a hint of horror this is an excellent book. I would also highly recommend this title to older siblings and/or young woman. The main characters are ladies - Liza, Mirabella, and the Queen (which isn't a focus until reflecting on this piece.) The older sibling theme is strongest and very relate able. Liza must rescue her brother's soul and she will give it her all. He might be too young to understand or care, but she knows it's her job to watch over him.
Simon Vance narrated The Spindlers. For a female heavy cast, he did an amazing job! Each character had a voice and the female voices were wonderfully different from each other. The Spindler's Queen was my favorite voice.
Reviewed from a library copy.
For this reader, Coraline was way more terrifying than The Spindlers. The association with Wonderland is the location - going below. The book that came to mind to this audiobook lover was The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. (It's all about spiders, too.)
Overall, the concept of The Spindlers can be daunting and a bit terrifying for younger listeners (or readers), so if the reader is open to fantastical fiction with a hint of horror this is an excellent book. I would also highly recommend this title to older siblings and/or young woman. The main characters are ladies - Liza, Mirabella, and the Queen (which isn't a focus until reflecting on this piece.) The older sibling theme is strongest and very relate able. Liza must rescue her brother's soul and she will give it her all. He might be too young to understand or care, but she knows it's her job to watch over him.
Simon Vance narrated The Spindlers. For a female heavy cast, he did an amazing job! Each character had a voice and the female voices were wonderfully different from each other. The Spindler's Queen was my favorite voice.
Reviewed from a library copy.
celjla212's review against another edition
4.0
One spring morning, Liza Elston wakes up and her little brother Patrick is not there. Well, he is there in body, but from the second she sees him coming down the stairs, Liza knows that the Patrick she's seeing is not her real brother. She knows what they've always feared has happened to him: his soul was taken in the night by the giant, evil spider-like creatures known as spindlers. Unfortunately, Liza's parents don't believe a word she is telling them, so it's up to Liza to journey to the mystical world known only as Below to rescue her brother's soul--where her only companion is a makeup wearing rat named Mirabella, and there's danger at every turn.
I read this book in one sitting, and though I am an older reader I liked the magic and innocence that The Spindlers had to offer. Liza (I'm not sure of her age as it was never expressly mentioned, but I'd put her around 10) is a brave girl who is very practical. As soon as her parents dismiss her tale of Patrick not being her real brother as just another story she's telling, Liza knows that she must be the one to save him. And though she's sometimes scared, she never lets anyone know it. I respected her for facing such scary creatures and keeping her head about her!
The author has done a fantastic job at creating the Below environment. The reader has no trouble picturing not only the landscape, but the different critters that live there as well. And there are several: the nocturni, black butterfly/hummingbird hybrids who control the dreams of humans; the nids, who are tiny but quite forceful; and of course the spindlers, who have eight legs ending in human hands, and whose queen can swell to the size of a house! Meeting with all these creatures is quite fun and reminiscent of such tales as Alice in Wonderland and A Wrinkle in Time.
There is one twist towards the end that I didn't see coming at all, and it made the story quite good, in my opinion. I loved how the book ended, and I think middle grade readers will gobble this tale just as quickly as I did.
I read this book in one sitting, and though I am an older reader I liked the magic and innocence that The Spindlers had to offer. Liza (I'm not sure of her age as it was never expressly mentioned, but I'd put her around 10) is a brave girl who is very practical. As soon as her parents dismiss her tale of Patrick not being her real brother as just another story she's telling, Liza knows that she must be the one to save him. And though she's sometimes scared, she never lets anyone know it. I respected her for facing such scary creatures and keeping her head about her!
The author has done a fantastic job at creating the Below environment. The reader has no trouble picturing not only the landscape, but the different critters that live there as well. And there are several: the nocturni, black butterfly/hummingbird hybrids who control the dreams of humans; the nids, who are tiny but quite forceful; and of course the spindlers, who have eight legs ending in human hands, and whose queen can swell to the size of a house! Meeting with all these creatures is quite fun and reminiscent of such tales as Alice in Wonderland and A Wrinkle in Time.
There is one twist towards the end that I didn't see coming at all, and it made the story quite good, in my opinion. I loved how the book ended, and I think middle grade readers will gobble this tale just as quickly as I did.
libwinnie's review against another edition
2.0
A world-building novel with just not quite enough detail to evoke the Below, where Liza has to travel to rescue the soul of her brother.
lilyw_2014's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
christajls's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted at Hooked on Books
Liza needs to save her brother, Patrick, from the spindlers. A mysterious, spider like group of people, who are determined to steal his soul. Despite the fact that she doesn't know where they are, is lost in a completely new world and is forced to travel with a talking rat (of all things!) she presses onwards. Determined to see her journey through to the end.
There are many things to love about the new middle grade novel, The Spindlers. For starters there's the loveability of it's protagonist Liza. She knows her brother has been taken, and even though he drives her crazy a lot of the time, she's determined to bring him home. Why? Because he's her brother and she loves him. No hesitation. No dragging of the feet. She see's what needs to be done and she's sets off to do it. I found her brave, and intelligent and just generally a joy to read about.
And I love that Lauren Oliver touched on the idea of sibling love. I know, even as an adult, I can relate to Liza's feelings about her brother. My own brother can sometimes drive me up the wall, but at the end of the day there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. This is an especially important message to reinforce with children, who are potentially still getting used to having a sibling or at a time when siblings can be at their most mischievous.
The world underneath our own world, the one Liza ventures into, is really a testament to Lauren Oliver's creative mind. It's a world reminiscent of The Borrowers or Roald Dahl. It's full of strange but interesting creatures. Case and point, Mirabella, the talking rat that accompanies Liza on part of her journey. She certainly is a bizarre character and at times you really won't know what to make of her. But she is guaranteed to make you laugh and tug at your heartstrings.
Final recommendation: Lauren Oliver's The Spindlers is the stuff good middle grade is made out of. It's an adventure to a new world, filled with imaginative and bright characters and it'll keep you hanging on, cheering for Liza and Patrick right until the very last page.
Liza needs to save her brother, Patrick, from the spindlers. A mysterious, spider like group of people, who are determined to steal his soul. Despite the fact that she doesn't know where they are, is lost in a completely new world and is forced to travel with a talking rat (of all things!) she presses onwards. Determined to see her journey through to the end.
There are many things to love about the new middle grade novel, The Spindlers. For starters there's the loveability of it's protagonist Liza. She knows her brother has been taken, and even though he drives her crazy a lot of the time, she's determined to bring him home. Why? Because he's her brother and she loves him. No hesitation. No dragging of the feet. She see's what needs to be done and she's sets off to do it. I found her brave, and intelligent and just generally a joy to read about.
And I love that Lauren Oliver touched on the idea of sibling love. I know, even as an adult, I can relate to Liza's feelings about her brother. My own brother can sometimes drive me up the wall, but at the end of the day there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. This is an especially important message to reinforce with children, who are potentially still getting used to having a sibling or at a time when siblings can be at their most mischievous.
The world underneath our own world, the one Liza ventures into, is really a testament to Lauren Oliver's creative mind. It's a world reminiscent of The Borrowers or Roald Dahl. It's full of strange but interesting creatures. Case and point, Mirabella, the talking rat that accompanies Liza on part of her journey. She certainly is a bizarre character and at times you really won't know what to make of her. But she is guaranteed to make you laugh and tug at your heartstrings.
Final recommendation: Lauren Oliver's The Spindlers is the stuff good middle grade is made out of. It's an adventure to a new world, filled with imaginative and bright characters and it'll keep you hanging on, cheering for Liza and Patrick right until the very last page.