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A review by hazelalaska
Blackbriar by William Sleator
3.0
This was a bit of a disappointment to me. I had originally found this book by chance when I was in middle school, and I totally ate it up. For 13 year old me, this had just the right amount of creepiness. I can never read or watch anything that’s too scary because I have an overactive imagination, especially at night. Back then, I would have given this a rating of 4 or 5 stars, but reading it again as an adult, it doesn’t hold up. It wasn’t that creepy, maybe because even though I couldn’t remember exactly what happened, I remembered it all was resolved pretty well. However, there were certain things that bothered me this time around, reading more critically, including some plot conveniences. It gets 3 stars from me now because I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it, it was pretty average.
I really wish Philippa was more likable. At times, she was downright nasty to Danny, and I wouldn't blame him for wanting to get away from her. She seems like one of those people who always has something negative to say even if you compliment them. For example, Danny praised her cooking, and then she came back with something like "Oh, so you don't like how I usually make it?" She is also incredibly controlling, telling Danny not to hang out with certain people, to the point where she ended any friendships he had. In fact, I think part of her desire to move to the country was so she could continue to control Danny, as he would be more isolated than he was in the city, and thus less likely to leave her. I think she was starting to realize he was getting older and more independent, and she wanted to prevent him from gaining independence from her even though it is a natural part of growing up. I disliked Philippa and her whole attitude throughout the book, and I found nothing to really redeem her. She was just rude to other people, including Lark, making her feel guilty for wanting more food after she had offered her some. It's not like she was at all witty or funny, which might have redeemed her, but she was just generally nasty and controlling.
I think a preteen or someone in their early teens would like this, though nowadays it might be a bit outdated because kids would have no idea what things were like back then. They would be too young at this point to probably remember card catalogs, which is something Danny uses when he is at the library. This ending felt a bit Scooby Doo-ish to me, and I don't think it would really stand up for adult readers.
It was okay for me, but I'm not sure if I would reread it again after re-experiencing it as an adult. I had been looking forward to revisiting it after having read it years ago, but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much now as I did then.
Spoilers!
Throughout the book, I was questioning why Danny and Philippa had to bring the cat everywhere with them. If they went to buy things at the store, they brought the cat, and once when they were getting ready to leave and couldn't find him they stopped to look so they could bring him with them. I could understand that maybe in the city it was a way to get him out of the small apartment into the fresh air, but in the country there wasn't the need for it. It later became clear it was for plot convivence so the bad guys would know about the cat who became central to the final scenes.
I found the ending, especially the epilogue, unsatisfying. Both Philippa and Danny leave Blackbriar to rot and fall into ruin? I get Danny had to leave because the lawyer, his legal guardian, considered Philippa irresponsible, which I kind of agree with, but then he goes back to London only to want to go to school in the country. I was expecting that they would say they weren’t scared of staying there anymore and that Danny didn't hear the laughter of Mary Peachy anymore. I don't disagree that Philippa was irresponsible in moving Danny out to the country without informing the lawyer who is his legal guardian, because I think that falls under the definition of kidnapping. I was just hoping for a better ending involving Blackbriar, and it is a shame that it was allowed to fall into ruin after being at least somewhat taken care of for several hundred years.
I really wish Philippa was more likable. At times, she was downright nasty to Danny, and I wouldn't blame him for wanting to get away from her. She seems like one of those people who always has something negative to say even if you compliment them. For example, Danny praised her cooking, and then she came back with something like "Oh, so you don't like how I usually make it?" She is also incredibly controlling, telling Danny not to hang out with certain people, to the point where she ended any friendships he had. In fact, I think part of her desire to move to the country was so she could continue to control Danny, as he would be more isolated than he was in the city, and thus less likely to leave her. I think she was starting to realize he was getting older and more independent, and she wanted to prevent him from gaining independence from her even though it is a natural part of growing up. I disliked Philippa and her whole attitude throughout the book, and I found nothing to really redeem her. She was just rude to other people, including Lark, making her feel guilty for wanting more food after she had offered her some. It's not like she was at all witty or funny, which might have redeemed her, but she was just generally nasty and controlling.
I think a preteen or someone in their early teens would like this, though nowadays it might be a bit outdated because kids would have no idea what things were like back then. They would be too young at this point to probably remember card catalogs, which is something Danny uses when he is at the library. This ending felt a bit Scooby Doo-ish to me, and I don't think it would really stand up for adult readers.
It was okay for me, but I'm not sure if I would reread it again after re-experiencing it as an adult. I had been looking forward to revisiting it after having read it years ago, but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much now as I did then.
Spoilers!
Throughout the book, I was questioning why Danny and Philippa had to bring the cat everywhere with them. If they went to buy things at the store, they brought the cat, and once when they were getting ready to leave and couldn't find him they stopped to look so they could bring him with them. I could understand that maybe in the city it was a way to get him out of the small apartment into the fresh air, but in the country there wasn't the need for it. It later became clear it was for plot convivence so the bad guys would know about the cat who became central to the final scenes.
I found the ending, especially the epilogue, unsatisfying. Both Philippa and Danny leave Blackbriar to rot and fall into ruin? I get Danny had to leave because the lawyer, his legal guardian, considered Philippa irresponsible, which I kind of agree with, but then he goes back to London only to want to go to school in the country. I was expecting that they would say they weren’t scared of staying there anymore and that Danny didn't hear the laughter of Mary Peachy anymore. I don't disagree that Philippa was irresponsible in moving Danny out to the country without informing the lawyer who is his legal guardian, because I think that falls under the definition of kidnapping. I was just hoping for a better ending involving Blackbriar, and it is a shame that it was allowed to fall into ruin after being at least somewhat taken care of for several hundred years.