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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
5 stars for the level it's written at. I know it's a kids book but it is a delightfully fun read. Much more interesting than I gave it credit for when my friend asked me to read her favorite childhood book. Brb, boutta finish the whole series
A very well written and captivating children’s book. May Bird is a great protagonist, with very lovable and personable sidekicks.
I first read this in the fifth grade and fell in love with it. I've read in countless times since then and know it practically by heart. It has the same flare even though the dark side of it has died slightly in the years. Jodi Anderson has a great eye for this kind of thing.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
May Bird and the Ever After, the first book in the Ever After trilogy, tells the tale of a 10-year-old girl named May, her kitty named Somber Cat and the horrifying adventures they have in Ever After, the world of the dead.
This was a truly fantastic tale of adventure and friendship. I've read many children's books and May Bird and the Ever After is most definitely one of the most imaginative books I have read. The author created an entirely unique and amazing world, one that was both fascinating and terrifying.
According to Amazon this book is meant for grades 5-8 and while reading this book I kept thinking, "there is no way a little 5th grader can read this and not get scared." The book is about ghosts and other surprisingly dark and eerie beings, so I can see a kid being creeped out by the story. However, that doesn't mean I don't think it's a great book for children. It does in fact tell a wonderful tale of self discovery, personal growth and true friendship. Will some of the darker moments give a few kids nightmares - possibly, but it's still an incredible book that ends on a somewhat positive note.
I loved this book and fully plan on buying the rest in the series. It was imaginative, fast-paced and wonderfully eerie. It may not be a great book for all children, but I know that I would have loved this book when I was in 5th grade, but then 90% of the books I read back then were horror. It really depends on kid I suppose.
This was a truly fantastic tale of adventure and friendship. I've read many children's books and May Bird and the Ever After is most definitely one of the most imaginative books I have read. The author created an entirely unique and amazing world, one that was both fascinating and terrifying.
According to Amazon this book is meant for grades 5-8 and while reading this book I kept thinking, "there is no way a little 5th grader can read this and not get scared." The book is about ghosts and other surprisingly dark and eerie beings, so I can see a kid being creeped out by the story. However, that doesn't mean I don't think it's a great book for children. It does in fact tell a wonderful tale of self discovery, personal growth and true friendship. Will some of the darker moments give a few kids nightmares - possibly, but it's still an incredible book that ends on a somewhat positive note.
I loved this book and fully plan on buying the rest in the series. It was imaginative, fast-paced and wonderfully eerie. It may not be a great book for all children, but I know that I would have loved this book when I was in 5th grade, but then 90% of the books I read back then were horror. It really depends on kid I suppose.
This book has aaaaaall the spooky season vibes. It's like Tim Burton's Wizard of Oz. It is Spirited Away and Corpse Bride and Coco and Coraline... It is a dark and dreamlike adventure, with an Every Girl (and an Every Cat!) at its core who must discover what courage, compassion, and ingenuity they truly possess when put through a trial-by-fire.
I have to say, though, for as much as I'm a fan of sinister stories, I had to knock off a star for false advertising. Labeling this a middle grade book is generous, and the fact that the protagonist is 10 is disturbing; I wouldn't recommend this book to a younger audience. From the front covers, and the title, you might expect this to be a fantasy book with some classic fantasy violence, like goblins and wicked witches and such. It. Is. Not. The realm May is transported to is one of haunting spirits, both nightmarish creatures of folklore AND the souls of the dead. It is their job to trick, scare, and harm people. The depictions of these spirits is more traumatizing than fantastical. There are a shockingly large number of suicide and murder victims, floating about in gory detail. The ever-smiling, dead-fish-eyed, skeletal-faced bogeyman who dissolves your soul into nothingness. An eyeless bee-person. A dead pirate covered in maggots, cockroaches, and other creepy-crawlies. I could go on. This book is not a fairytale, it is a ghost story. This book is for the young horror aficionado, someone old enough for Pirates of the Caribbean or The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Goosebumps crowd will love it!
I admit too - and this is personal bias - that I'm inclined to knock off another half a star for the whole dreamscape thing. Some people love an odyssey, they don't mind a children's book with a series of D&D-esque random encounters in a loopy setting with little internal logic. I had a hard time keeping straight what was happening, where was it happening, why was it happening. There are a lot of homages to folklore and superstitions and ancient practices, all around how we treat the dead or other spirits. But there are also nightmare physics, like hallways that go on forever, or a teleporting bad guy who is always inexplicably right behind you giving chase. It's the afterlife, but it's also a spirit realm where every ghoul and ghostie and thing that goes BUMP in the night is real, but it's also another planet in another galaxy! The capital city is inside a wormhole! It has a massive sewer system, even though ghosts shouldn't need to excrete? Well maybe, ghosts DO eat sacrificial cakes that muggles on Earth leave out for them, even though we shouldn't know that spirits are real because we lose the gift of True Sight when we're children! Bodies of water, mirrors, telephone booths, and graves are all portals, but none of them can take you home. Pets are outlawed by the most evil man in all the land; his name is Bo? It was very hard to A) Keep track of what was happening, B) Believe in the stakes, or C) Sympathize with the random barrage of characters. I wish the book had been a little firmer in its lore, and had exposited more to May/the audience, and I wish the characters had been connected to May in a deeper, less random, way. I never felt an ambience, or message, or sympathy for the protagonist's arc, the way I did reading a V.E. Schwab novel. There was just something about jumping frequently from thing to thing was like trying to keep up with a kid's imaginary play. It was thematically appropriate, but I didn't connect to it.
You got me though, book. That cliffhanger ending got me. I need to find out what happens! So, I'm here for the long haul. We'll see what becomes of May in book 2...
I have to say, though, for as much as I'm a fan of sinister stories, I had to knock off a star for false advertising. Labeling this a middle grade book is generous, and the fact that the protagonist is 10 is disturbing; I wouldn't recommend this book to a younger audience. From the front covers, and the title, you might expect this to be a fantasy book with some classic fantasy violence, like goblins and wicked witches and such. It. Is. Not. The realm May is transported to is one of haunting spirits, both nightmarish creatures of folklore AND the souls of the dead. It is their job to trick, scare, and harm people. The depictions of these spirits is more traumatizing than fantastical. There are a shockingly large number of suicide and murder victims, floating about in gory detail. The ever-smiling, dead-fish-eyed, skeletal-faced bogeyman who dissolves your soul into nothingness. An eyeless bee-person. A dead pirate covered in maggots, cockroaches, and other creepy-crawlies. I could go on. This book is not a fairytale, it is a ghost story. This book is for the young horror aficionado, someone old enough for Pirates of the Caribbean or The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Goosebumps crowd will love it!
I admit too - and this is personal bias - that I'm inclined to knock off another half a star for the whole dreamscape thing. Some people love an odyssey, they don't mind a children's book with a series of D&D-esque random encounters in a loopy setting with little internal logic. I had a hard time keeping straight what was happening, where was it happening, why was it happening. There are a lot of homages to folklore and superstitions and ancient practices, all around how we treat the dead or other spirits. But there are also nightmare physics, like hallways that go on forever, or a teleporting bad guy who is always inexplicably right behind you giving chase. It's the afterlife, but it's also a spirit realm where every ghoul and ghostie and thing that goes BUMP in the night is real, but it's also another planet in another galaxy! The capital city is inside a wormhole! It has a massive sewer system, even though ghosts shouldn't need to excrete? Well maybe, ghosts DO eat sacrificial cakes that muggles on Earth leave out for them, even though we shouldn't know that spirits are real because we lose the gift of True Sight when we're children! Bodies of water, mirrors, telephone booths, and graves are all portals, but none of them can take you home. Pets are outlawed by the most evil man in all the land; his name is Bo? It was very hard to A) Keep track of what was happening, B) Believe in the stakes, or C) Sympathize with the random barrage of characters. I wish the book had been a little firmer in its lore, and had exposited more to May/the audience, and I wish the characters had been connected to May in a deeper, less random, way. I never felt an ambience, or message, or sympathy for the protagonist's arc, the way I did reading a V.E. Schwab novel. There was just something about jumping frequently from thing to thing was like trying to keep up with a kid's imaginary play. It was thematically appropriate, but I didn't connect to it.
You got me though, book. That cliffhanger ending got me. I need to find out what happens! So, I'm here for the long haul. We'll see what becomes of May in book 2...
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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:
No
This is a book that I adored as a child and it still holds up in writing and storyline! Sweet book about friendship and strength with a wonderful kitty!
The atmosphere in this book is so cool and immersive, glad I picked it up at the book fair when I was in elementary school lol
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. It kind of reminded me of Alice in Wonderland...with a twist. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.