bennysbooks's Reviews (668)

Quite a few standouts in here. Stories that I re-read immediately, or read aloud to my partner, because I just needed to revel in them a little longer. The rest fluctuated in quality for me; most were above average to average, but even when average they were still interesting enough to maintain my stamina throughout the collection, which can be a challenge with short stories. On the whole, it felt fairly easy to get through. If you've enjoyed Jackson's work in the past it's definitely worth a read. 

Standouts:
The Intoxicated 
The Renegade
After You, My Dear Alphonse 
Flower Garden
Colloquy
The Lottery

It was fine, I get why people like it. I can't pinpoint why it didn't work for me, except probably just a combination of preferences and timing. 

The story was slightly uneven - some fantastic moments, some things could have been better fleshed-out, and the ending felt rushed. But the art! There were some spreads in here, particularly in Abby's imagination, that were gorgeous. 

Me and the 5-year old loved this! Read it in one sitting. Creepy and sweet (but not saccharine). The artwork is a standout of course, because Klassen is a wonderful artist, but I did wish for a little more from the text itself. The simplicity was quite folktale-ish, but I think could have used slightly more oomph. It's a minor complaint though, and I already can't wait to re-read this on a cold winter's night. 

I think there was some unique worldbuilding happening here, and that the text had interesting things to say about the nature of anger, power-imbalances, and trauma. However, 30% into the book the over-arching plot established at the beginning has sort of been abandoned. It's become episodic, which I find less engaging, and the reasons given for why Gall needs the kids to do these tangential quests is never clearly established or believable. I'm finding that I don't particularly care at this point, and have read a few reviews that validate my concerns about the plot. 

A relevant note is that I was reading this digitally because my library doesn't have a physical copy, and I find it so much more difficult to push through e-books. I'm definitely interested in reading more by Hardinge though, because I have faith that in more focused texts I could love her storytelling.