A review by dragonlilly
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A wildly creative and beautiful ode to the magic of books and reading. Strangely, the book felt long, but not in a bad way at all. This is the type of story that goes on and on, and it turned out to be enjoyable for me, because I liked riding this constant wave of one little story (as part of a whole) after another, but it might not interest everyone and make the book feel longer for them. The book is essentially split into two parts, starting with Atreyu's journey and then Bastian's journey in the second part. A lot of morals and ideas about humanity are elegantly discussed throughout the entire book. There are some wonderful quotes like, "the moment is forever," which was stated by the Childlike Empress and seems to illustrate the eternal and yet constantly changing nature of stories which is expressed in both the minds' of storytellers and listeners/readers. 

Atreyu is an easily loved character in this story because of his good heart, and while it is easy to become upset at Bastian for making mistakes, the difference between the two boys is that Bastian is specifically a human boy. The faults of humanity are made clear throughout Bastian's arc, and the City of Old Emperors is a brilliant addition to this exploration of human character. However, this book is also full of hope and love that made for such a heartwarming and tearful ending. I liked how Argax from the City of Old Emperors comedically struck some deserved fear into Bastian, but I also appreciated the help of Dame Eyola who was motherly to Bastian, which he also deserved and needed greatly as he is only a child. The second half of the book is summed up in Dame Eyola's description of Bastian, saying he "always wanted to be someone other than he was, but he didn't want to change," and gosh, isn't that such a human thing? But Bastian proves that changes can happen, and he demonstrates this beautifully. Such a wonderful ending for sure.