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laila4343's review against another edition
2.0
Subject matter a little heavy, writing not that great.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
5.0
(7/28 off the 2022-specific TBR)
I LOOKED. FOR THIS BOOK. FOR TEN YEARS. imagine being thirteen and you’re like “yeah i read this book when i was nine and there was, like, a pirate who strangled people and a toppled princess and they all lived in this girl’s apartment building” and getting a complete blank stare AND THEN FINALLY FINDING IT . AT THE AGE OF NINETEEN AMERICAN YEARS. anyway it is EXCELLENT. the apartment building as the perfect structure to explore stories within the main story! the wildness of it all! and i forgot how honestly and poignantly this book handles grief. hoogh.
my one (1) singular complaint is that this employs the Feminine Mean Girl trope, and the two feminine mean girls are drawn in the illustrations as black even though nothing in the text suggests as such (i feel like even suggests opposite?) and the main character and all the sympathetic characters seem to be white. which feels. like a weird choice. making your only black girls bullies who steal stuff is a weird choice. but that’s, again, my only complaint; overall this is a really really good children’s book but also just a really really good book overall.
I LOOKED. FOR THIS BOOK. FOR TEN YEARS. imagine being thirteen and you’re like “yeah i read this book when i was nine and there was, like, a pirate who strangled people and a toppled princess and they all lived in this girl’s apartment building” and getting a complete blank stare AND THEN FINALLY FINDING IT . AT THE AGE OF NINETEEN AMERICAN YEARS. anyway it is EXCELLENT. the apartment building as the perfect structure to explore stories within the main story! the wildness of it all! and i forgot how honestly and poignantly this book handles grief. hoogh.
my one (1) singular complaint is that this employs the Feminine Mean Girl trope, and the two feminine mean girls are drawn in the illustrations as black even though nothing in the text suggests as such (i feel like even suggests opposite?) and the main character and all the sympathetic characters seem to be white. which feels. like a weird choice. making your only black girls bullies who steal stuff is a weird choice. but that’s, again, my only complaint; overall this is a really really good children’s book but also just a really really good book overall.
blakehalsey's review
4.0
This book took a few chapters to get going, but it ended up to be a pretty good book. Seemingly unrelated stories pulled themselves together in, some predictable, some not, ways.
mrs_gale's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A book for children but I really enjoyed it! More fantasy based than I expected, but I loved the quirkiness.
sandraagee's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite what I was expecting, but definitely excellent. Olivia has moved for the fourth time in two years and is feeling sad and alone. When she is locked out of her aparement, she begins to have a series of adventures as she uncovers the extraordinary and amazingly interconnected lives of her new neighbors. Olivia is also coping with a death in her family and is desperately trying to get in touch with her brother in the afterlife.
Olivia's adventures are zaney and flow one right into the next, kind of like Alice in Wonderland. Very cool book. Not quite a transition novel, but very, very close.
Olivia's adventures are zaney and flow one right into the next, kind of like Alice in Wonderland. Very cool book. Not quite a transition novel, but very, very close.
wiseowl33's review against another edition
5.0
What an imaginative story! Love Olivia. We listened to the audio version and my kids were totally enthralled! Wonderful characters. Great story!
jdiedrichs628's review
3.0
We all liked it but there's a rather ruthless pirate that likes to drown people and a couple of ghosts and it was a bit scary for my daughter who's a bit sensitive. It's all very absurdist and I think most kids would probably find it okay.
kevinhendricks's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book to this kids and it took about 75 pages before the story started to make any sense. The beginning is just too random and disconnected. It all starts to come together in the end, but you have to put up with a lot of randomness until then. That kind of put a damper on the story.
jane_denn's review against another edition
5.0
Ellen Potter has been one of my favourite authors since I was about eight years old (I'm 14 now). I believe I started with Olivia Kindey and my oh my is it ever magical. The cast of characters are so unique and beautiful and Olivia herself has just the best personality. And by best I mean she's snarky and stubborn and hilarious. I love all the other characters and their stories too. The lady with the glass apartment and the lady with lizard house that's set at 100 degrees. How does she come up with this stuff? Totally recommended this and the two other companions!