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e_pp's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ebenelephant's review
4.25
Happy I finally got around to reading this one. The Children of the King offered a fairly insightful and nuanced take on war, especially for a children's book, while still retaining a solid anti-war stance.
The story-within-the-story was charming, and fitted seamlessly into the overall narrative rather than slowing it down, as often happens in similarly constructed stories. The brother-sister relationship is absolutely sending me, to be honest. Its just... far more genuine than I feel like you get a lot of the times. The descriptions of childishness are lovely – whimsical and innocent but also nowhere near as stupid as they first appear. Similarly, Jeremy is an absolute gem. He can be selfish and mean, but also helpful and kind in the sweetest ways; his aggravation is understandable even when it is unreasonable. Much love for him, and also for May, who deserves the world
The descriptions of the settings are gorgeous and the worldbuilding is vivid, really helping the reader to feel immersed in the time period. It's the little things, I think. The smell of toast and dog hair, Uncle Peregrine having a limp from when he had polio as a kid, an assortment of bones and oddities in his study. While it's not really explicitly addressed, I do sort of appreciate the classism being subtly shown throughout, often through the characters of Cecily and Heloise.
This is a charming and emotional tale, which while clearly aimed at a younger audience is, I think, suitable for all ages.
The story-within-the-story was charming, and fitted seamlessly into the overall narrative rather than slowing it down, as often happens in similarly constructed stories. The brother-sister relationship is absolutely sending me, to be honest. Its just... far more genuine than I feel like you get a lot of the times. The descriptions of childishness are lovely – whimsical and innocent but also nowhere near as stupid as they first appear. Similarly, Jeremy is an absolute gem. He can be selfish and mean, but also helpful and kind in the sweetest ways; his aggravation is understandable even when it is unreasonable. Much love for him, and also for May, who deserves the world
The descriptions of the settings are gorgeous and the worldbuilding is vivid, really helping the reader to feel immersed in the time period. It's the little things, I think. The smell of toast and dog hair, Uncle Peregrine having a limp from when he had polio as a kid, an assortment of bones and oddities in his study. While it's not really explicitly addressed, I do sort of appreciate the classism being subtly shown throughout, often through the characters of Cecily and Heloise.
This is a charming and emotional tale, which while clearly aimed at a younger audience is, I think, suitable for all ages.
nicehotcupoftea's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful multilayered writing, I thought the characters were wonderful and I loved the interwoven history of the Tudors.
avrilhj's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book for older children set during World War Two, containing within it a retelling of the story of Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. Would prompt discussions of war and power and right and wrong, and I think would also be enjoyed.
shogins's review against another edition
2.0
Cecily and her brother Jem are sent to the country with their mother during World War 2. They take in an evacuee around Cecily’s age, and all of them worry about their family members still in London. While exploring the countryside, Cecily and the evacuee, May, find two mysterious boys hiding in ruins, and May begins to find a connection between the boys and the story Cecily’s uncle Peregrine tells nightly about the history of the ruins.
I didn’t like this much! The end was much better than the beginning though. It just feels like one of those books written for adults rather than actual children. I know Cecily is supposed to be annoying and useless, but I didn't enjoy her perspective.
Anyway, book 1 of my read 15-20 middle grade novels project for FY19 down!
I didn’t like this much! The end was much better than the beginning though. It just feels like one of those books written for adults rather than actual children. I know Cecily is supposed to be annoying and useless, but I didn't enjoy her perspective.
Anyway, book 1 of my read 15-20 middle grade novels project for FY19 down!
polyhy_14's review against another edition
4.0
This beautifully written book for children concerns three young people who are evacuated north from London during the war. The two girls have a mysterious encounter with a couple of boys, and the teenage lad has a coming of age adventure. All this while soaking up the history of the area via a local ruined castle. There are the usual squabbles of people living together under tension but the character development is superb and the insights of the children take the reader by surprise.
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Nuanced, absorbing historical fiction - although with a probably limited child audience. I probably would have dug it as a middle schooler, but a lot might have gone over my head.
caryleliza's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting middle grade novel. Main character is not always very likable, and the story is a mix between historical fiction (of two different time periods) and a sort of fantasy. It's also a coming-of-age story. I loved its creativity and beautiful use of language. I expect I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.
axellesbooks's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
backonthealex's review against another edition
5.0
With the fall of France and the war becoming worse for Britain, it was time for the Lockwood children, 12 year old Cecily and Jeremy, 14, to leave London. So it was off to Heron Hall, to their Uncle Peregrine Lockwood's estate, with their mother, Heloise.
Traveling on the train to the same village were groups of school children also being evacuated from London by the government. These school children are taken to the town hall and as Cecily watches them leaving one by one with women who were to care for them for the duration, she asks her mother if they couldn't also have a child. May Bright, 10, seems to fit the bill, despite her indifference towards Cecily.
Feeling powerless and picked on by her brother, Cecily wants someone that she can control and have power over. But May is an independent child with a mind of her own. And though she isn't impressed that her new luxurious surroundings at Heron Hall are more than she is accustomed to, it is the vast fields and woods that attract her. And in among it all are the remains of Snow Castle, a once beautiful castle made of white marble, where she meets two young oddly dressed boys. At first, believing they are evacuees running away from an unpleasant placement, it soon becomes apparent that something else is going on with these two boys.
When May and Cecily ask Uncle Peregrine about the castle, he begins to tell them, little by little each evening, the haunting story of Richard III, of his brother King Edward IV's death, of his two sons, the eldest of whom is next in line for the throne and how Richard had hidden the two boys in the Tower of London in order to make himself King.
Meanwhile, Jeremy, frustrated that he can't do anything to help the war effort but hid out in the country, he wants so very much to make his mark on the world. Each day, Jeremy reads the newspaper accounts of the war, becoming more and more exasperated that he is not there help. And so one night, he runs away to London. There, he discovers a burning, war torn London that he could never have imagined. Stunned by what he sees, feeling smaller than ever, Jeremy manages to do the very thing he sets out to do - help the war effort. It is his coming of age moment and Jeremy returns to Heron Hall a very different boy.
No one can turn a phrase, creating a hauntingly brilliant story quite like Sonya Hartnett can. Gracefully creating lyrical phrases, and characters that are hard to forget as you begin to recognize parts of yourself in each of them. There is spoiled, selfish Cecily, who, the reader thinks, will grow up to be just like her shallow, socialite mother, Heloise, but who surprises us so often; May, quiet and thoughtful, careful but unafraid, she becomes a favorite of Uncle Peregrine (kindred souls? maybe); Jeremy, on the cusp of becoming a young man and wanting to get there way too soon - all so realistically and captivatingly drawn.
The Children of the King is the story of the powerlessness of children and the people who want to control them - of the two princes at the hands of Richard III who craves power and control, of England's children at the hands of German bombs, sent by a dictator who also craves power and control. But it is on a smaller scale that we see how little power and control others really have over us unless we let them. Despite all Cecily's attempt at controlling May, she is the one who remains an independent spirit. And it is by running away, that Jeremy discovers the power each of us has to change another person's life.
Just as she did in The Midnight Garden, Hartnett once again uses the device of magical realism and of a story within a story. Here, they is used as a means of connecting past and present, reminding us that the past is never past, it lives in the present or as May tells the two boys in the castle "Everything is connected…We are here because you are here."And the dialectic that Hartnett creates in The Children of the King is just wonderful.
I should tell readers that there are a few graphic descriptions when Jeremy goes back to London, giving a sense of realism, but not graphic enough to scare away middle grade readers. And one does not need to already know the story of Richard III to understand Uncle Peregrine's story, he weaves in enough of it for readers to understand it perfectly well.
I put off reading this novel because I was afraid that I would be disappointed. The Midnight Garden was such a brilliant book, had Hartnett set her own bar too high? No, the bar is high but The Children of the King is right up there. But, in the end, all I can says is fans of Sonya Hartnett, rejoice! To those who will be reading her for the first time with this novel, you are lucky ducks.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was and eARC from Net Galley
The Children of the King will be available on March 25, 2014
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
Traveling on the train to the same village were groups of school children also being evacuated from London by the government. These school children are taken to the town hall and as Cecily watches them leaving one by one with women who were to care for them for the duration, she asks her mother if they couldn't also have a child. May Bright, 10, seems to fit the bill, despite her indifference towards Cecily.
Feeling powerless and picked on by her brother, Cecily wants someone that she can control and have power over. But May is an independent child with a mind of her own. And though she isn't impressed that her new luxurious surroundings at Heron Hall are more than she is accustomed to, it is the vast fields and woods that attract her. And in among it all are the remains of Snow Castle, a once beautiful castle made of white marble, where she meets two young oddly dressed boys. At first, believing they are evacuees running away from an unpleasant placement, it soon becomes apparent that something else is going on with these two boys.
When May and Cecily ask Uncle Peregrine about the castle, he begins to tell them, little by little each evening, the haunting story of Richard III, of his brother King Edward IV's death, of his two sons, the eldest of whom is next in line for the throne and how Richard had hidden the two boys in the Tower of London in order to make himself King.
Meanwhile, Jeremy, frustrated that he can't do anything to help the war effort but hid out in the country, he wants so very much to make his mark on the world. Each day, Jeremy reads the newspaper accounts of the war, becoming more and more exasperated that he is not there help. And so one night, he runs away to London. There, he discovers a burning, war torn London that he could never have imagined. Stunned by what he sees, feeling smaller than ever, Jeremy manages to do the very thing he sets out to do - help the war effort. It is his coming of age moment and Jeremy returns to Heron Hall a very different boy.
No one can turn a phrase, creating a hauntingly brilliant story quite like Sonya Hartnett can. Gracefully creating lyrical phrases, and characters that are hard to forget as you begin to recognize parts of yourself in each of them. There is spoiled, selfish Cecily, who, the reader thinks, will grow up to be just like her shallow, socialite mother, Heloise, but who surprises us so often; May, quiet and thoughtful, careful but unafraid, she becomes a favorite of Uncle Peregrine (kindred souls? maybe); Jeremy, on the cusp of becoming a young man and wanting to get there way too soon - all so realistically and captivatingly drawn.
The Children of the King is the story of the powerlessness of children and the people who want to control them - of the two princes at the hands of Richard III who craves power and control, of England's children at the hands of German bombs, sent by a dictator who also craves power and control. But it is on a smaller scale that we see how little power and control others really have over us unless we let them. Despite all Cecily's attempt at controlling May, she is the one who remains an independent spirit. And it is by running away, that Jeremy discovers the power each of us has to change another person's life.
Just as she did in The Midnight Garden, Hartnett once again uses the device of magical realism and of a story within a story. Here, they is used as a means of connecting past and present, reminding us that the past is never past, it lives in the present or as May tells the two boys in the castle "Everything is connected…We are here because you are here."And the dialectic that Hartnett creates in The Children of the King is just wonderful.
I should tell readers that there are a few graphic descriptions when Jeremy goes back to London, giving a sense of realism, but not graphic enough to scare away middle grade readers. And one does not need to already know the story of Richard III to understand Uncle Peregrine's story, he weaves in enough of it for readers to understand it perfectly well.
I put off reading this novel because I was afraid that I would be disappointed. The Midnight Garden was such a brilliant book, had Hartnett set her own bar too high? No, the bar is high but The Children of the King is right up there. But, in the end, all I can says is fans of Sonya Hartnett, rejoice! To those who will be reading her for the first time with this novel, you are lucky ducks.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was and eARC from Net Galley
The Children of the King will be available on March 25, 2014
This review was originally posted on The Children's War