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johnnymacaroni's review
3.0
I liked this one more at the beginning than towards the end... it's always so intriguing to me when that happens! Anyway, it was a good audiobook-loved the British narrator and she was terrific with varying voices and creating atmosphere. The story itself just waned for me at the end and had some confusing bits but overall I liked it and I liked the characters. It does have a cliffhanger ending though and that doesn't float my boat either. I'm not much of a series person so I like when books end in a satisfying way even if there are going to be sequels. Still, overall I did like it and I could see recommending it to certain readers, especially those who like a thrilling fantasy!
beastreader's review
2.0
I picked up this book for my nephews thinking they might enjoy this book. I do a audit prior to giving them books to make sure it is age appropriate. Luckily I do this as this book was way darker than I expected it to be. Seeing as this book was labeled a children's book. The magic was not just a little cute magic but almost like dark magic. There was even talk of death and killing. Which in the end of the book someone gets killed not to mention that in the beginning of the story Kara's mother is killed as well. Not just be a brief moment of her hanging but in detail including a evil creature. For me I did not mind the darkness but again as I was looking at this book as a prospective for my nephews I did not feel it was a good choice. I will not be giving it to them to read. Also, while all of the townsfolk were horrible, I found Kara attitude to be awful as well. She was bitter and not the type I want to see in a younger audience story. I agree with other readers that the ending was bad. To read though this book to get to the ending that we got was disappointing.
jenniferreads2's review
5.0
Great book. The story was entertaining, the characters likable, and a satisfying ending (even if it did end on a cliff hanger) looking forward to the rest of the series.
brandypainter's review
1.0
The Thickety is an interesting fantasy world with a fast-paced and engaging plot. Kara is a strong sympathetic main character and the life she lives is not easy. I can't really love this book for reasons that are such a personal bias that I don't even feel it is important to share them, but I can see how it would appeal to a lot of young readers.
*REVISED REVIEW: After a recent conversation with a friend, I have decided to drop this book's star rating. While there was much I found problematic with it originally, I realize now that I glossed over something I should not have. This is why I love the book and blogging community. Because discussions with friends help me find strengths in books I had not previously seen, and they also open my eyes to my own privilege and how I could allow a serious issue to slide by without commenting. The villain in this story is a girl born with a disability, a disability that she uses to manipulate other and be generally mean, spiteful, and specifically plot awful things toward the protagonist. While her environment can be blamed for how she turned out, the way she is portrayed ties her disability too closely to the evil machinations of her mind. Also, the word "cripple" is used to describe her, which is not acceptable in anyway.
Do I understand that evil and cruel intentions are something that people with disabilities can have? Of course! I'm not naive. However, kids with disabilities see themselves so little in books as it is. When they do have the opportunity to see themselves in a book, do we want them to see themselves as the villain? That is worse than them being the sympathetic sidekick (looking at another popular MG book from this year). We need more books like [b:Handbook for Dragon Slayers|13624404|Handbook for Dragon Slayers|Merrie Haskell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351519080s/13624404.jpg|19228262] where these kids get to see themselves as the heroes.
This combined with the issues I already had means I can't endorse this book in any way. Upon further thinking of the book, I've also decided that the writing isn't of the quality enough to save it from it's weaknesses.
*REVISED REVIEW: After a recent conversation with a friend, I have decided to drop this book's star rating. While there was much I found problematic with it originally, I realize now that I glossed over something I should not have. This is why I love the book and blogging community. Because discussions with friends help me find strengths in books I had not previously seen, and they also open my eyes to my own privilege and how I could allow a serious issue to slide by without commenting. The villain in this story is a girl born with a disability, a disability that she uses to manipulate other and be generally mean, spiteful, and specifically plot awful things toward the protagonist. While her environment can be blamed for how she turned out, the way she is portrayed ties her disability too closely to the evil machinations of her mind. Also, the word "cripple" is used to describe her, which is not acceptable in anyway.
Do I understand that evil and cruel intentions are something that people with disabilities can have? Of course! I'm not naive. However, kids with disabilities see themselves so little in books as it is. When they do have the opportunity to see themselves in a book, do we want them to see themselves as the villain? That is worse than them being the sympathetic sidekick (looking at another popular MG book from this year). We need more books like [b:Handbook for Dragon Slayers|13624404|Handbook for Dragon Slayers|Merrie Haskell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351519080s/13624404.jpg|19228262] where these kids get to see themselves as the heroes.
This combined with the issues I already had means I can't endorse this book in any way. Upon further thinking of the book, I've also decided that the writing isn't of the quality enough to save it from it's weaknesses.
carbolicious's review
4.0
I can't believe this is a children's book. It is extremely dark, dealing with pain and cruelty. It's a marvelous adventure story, but I wouldn't read it to young children, or to particularly sensitive ones.
beforemyway's review
1.0
I had to skip through parts of this book. I liked some parts of the story, and wanted to know how it ended, but I was not interested in going through it in any detail.
sleepgoblin's review
3.0
The story itself is very interesting. It's surprisingly dark for its intended age group, so adult readers shouldn't be bored. The narrator for the audiobook is not great though, and I would recommend against it unless you want to hear every single sentence spoken in the baited cadence of a movie trailer announcer. It was extremely distracting.
It wraps up the book's central plot, but runs headlong into the next, so it feels like a cliffhanger.
It wraps up the book's central plot, but runs headlong into the next, so it feels like a cliffhanger.
aylea's review
3.0
This review originally posted at The Children's Book and Media Review
Kara’s mother is killed for witchcraft when Kara is only six years old. She grows up as an outcast, doing her best to take care of her little brother, Taff, and her distant father. The villagers believe that nothing is more evil than magic except the Thickety, the forest where Sordyr lives. One day a bird lures Kara into the Thickety and she discovers a book that may have belonged to her mother. In spite of the danger that she is in from associating with magic, Kara can’t stop feeling drawn to the book and discovering new ways to use the new magic she is exposed to. Kara has to discover the secrets behind her mother’s witchcraft to save her little brother and the village from another more devious magic user. Kara learns that magic is power, and power often kills.
This book has a dark tone of grief and death that is uncommon for fantasy books in this age range, but it still manages to be wonderfully magical. Kara deals with an addiction to magic, and her horrible treatment from the villagers make her bad decisions seem justifiable. She realizes that her bad actions in the end are not okay, but other characters do not and the ending is as dark as the rest of the book. Kara’s character development is interesting, but some of the other characters have gaps that might bother older readers but younger readers will likely fill in with their own enemies. The first part of the book is interesting, but it seems to drag out for part of the book and sometimes it seems dark just for the sake of being dark. For readers who like darker stories about witchcraft, this book will likely be thrilling.
Kara’s mother is killed for witchcraft when Kara is only six years old. She grows up as an outcast, doing her best to take care of her little brother, Taff, and her distant father. The villagers believe that nothing is more evil than magic except the Thickety, the forest where Sordyr lives. One day a bird lures Kara into the Thickety and she discovers a book that may have belonged to her mother. In spite of the danger that she is in from associating with magic, Kara can’t stop feeling drawn to the book and discovering new ways to use the new magic she is exposed to. Kara has to discover the secrets behind her mother’s witchcraft to save her little brother and the village from another more devious magic user. Kara learns that magic is power, and power often kills.
This book has a dark tone of grief and death that is uncommon for fantasy books in this age range, but it still manages to be wonderfully magical. Kara deals with an addiction to magic, and her horrible treatment from the villagers make her bad decisions seem justifiable. She realizes that her bad actions in the end are not okay, but other characters do not and the ending is as dark as the rest of the book. Kara’s character development is interesting, but some of the other characters have gaps that might bother older readers but younger readers will likely fill in with their own enemies. The first part of the book is interesting, but it seems to drag out for part of the book and sometimes it seems dark just for the sake of being dark. For readers who like darker stories about witchcraft, this book will likely be thrilling.