Scan barcode
A review by kenzee06
The Basque Dragon by Jesse Casey, Adam Gidwitz
2.0
*I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway*
So I entered this giveaway in hopes of winning it for my niece (she's 8), and though Amazon says this is for 8-12 year old kids, I would say it's not for a child older than 9. It's cute - mostly - but it has some issues. There's some pretty big plot holes - and yes, even a child would recognize them. The primary one is of course the fact that they fly to Europe after school from New Jersey, and still arrive home by 5:30 PM. There is no explanation of how this happens and I'm sorry but the teacher would not be able to park his plane in the school parking lot. Now my big problem with this is the author literally has the kids point out this won't work...but then never explains! If you're not even going to attempt an explanation (a simple "it's magic" would work for kids), don't bring up the plot hole. Just because someone is young, doesn't make them stupid. My other big issue is that neither of our main characters trust the adult "Professor" who takes them on these adventures. They describe him as scary, and at one point, think he is going to kill them. But they still go with him. There's something really cringey about that to me and honestly, a bit concerning, that the author would promote running off with a strange adult you don't trust. It may just be a story - but that's not really a great message.
Overall, I wasn't thrilled. I did like the two main kids - Uchenna was brave and spunky and Elliot had a great sense of humor, and I also liked the concept. I just wish the execution was a bit better. I'll give it to my niece and see what she thinks.
Also, because it was an ARC, the art work was all missing - completely fair - and while I didn't take away any points for it not being there, I will say if it was good that might've increased the rating.
So I entered this giveaway in hopes of winning it for my niece (she's 8), and though Amazon says this is for 8-12 year old kids, I would say it's not for a child older than 9. It's cute - mostly - but it has some issues. There's some pretty big plot holes - and yes, even a child would recognize them. The primary one is of course the fact that they fly to Europe after school from New Jersey, and still arrive home by 5:30 PM. There is no explanation of how this happens and I'm sorry but the teacher would not be able to park his plane in the school parking lot. Now my big problem with this is the author literally has the kids point out this won't work...but then never explains! If you're not even going to attempt an explanation (a simple "it's magic" would work for kids), don't bring up the plot hole. Just because someone is young, doesn't make them stupid. My other big issue is that neither of our main characters trust the adult "Professor" who takes them on these adventures. They describe him as scary, and at one point, think he is going to kill them. But they still go with him. There's something really cringey about that to me and honestly, a bit concerning, that the author would promote running off with a strange adult you don't trust. It may just be a story - but that's not really a great message.
Overall, I wasn't thrilled. I did like the two main kids - Uchenna was brave and spunky and Elliot had a great sense of humor, and I also liked the concept. I just wish the execution was a bit better. I'll give it to my niece and see what she thinks.
Also, because it was an ARC, the art work was all missing - completely fair - and while I didn't take away any points for it not being there, I will say if it was good that might've increased the rating.