lory_enterenchanted's Reviews (582)

It seemed a bit silly to use the conceit of the labyrinth speaking for itself, but it mostly worked and I learned some useful information. The translation (done by machine with human assistance) was not great.

Along with Moominland Midwinter, this is my favorite of the Moomin series. Wry and tender and magical stories.

Better than the first book, mostly because of not trying to write as a teen male. But the hero was too good to be true. And by the last quarter the obstacle keeping the main couple apart didn’t make sense at all. I learned a little about Chinese Indonesian culture but still nothing about other Indonesians. I think I’ll pass on future books. 

Read as a change of pace, hoping for something lighter than my usual Around the World reading but still with some substance. I was interested in the Indonesian setting, but though I learned a bit about Indonesia it was very much a tourist and rich person's perspective. Chinese Indonesians are the 1% of the country, as they took over where the colonizers left off, which seems very unfair but we only get their point of view. I would rather have read a tourist brochure or article about Bali.

As for the story, George's voice was not believable to me as a teenage boy. Nor could I believe that  two smart teens would not twig to how they had been tricked -- the misunderstanding went on way too long. Did George not notice that Sharlot texted in broken English while her speech was perfect? Could they not both at least suspect that the other had also been an impersonation?

Then the plot about Sharlot's mom and Eighth Aunt (do they not have real names???) -- it just felt shoved in to provide some LGBTQ interest. They did not come alive for me as characters.

I'm thinking of trying the sequel because I would like to read more about Indonesia, but I'm hoping it is an improvement on this one.
 

A tale of an feisty orphan adopted by a horrid witch and her menacing companion, it was a delightful sketch, but also slight in comparison with the author’s more substantial work. I wish it could have gone on a bit longer — I especially wondered what happened to the person who dropped Earwig off at the orphanage with a note promising to return — but we have to be grateful for what we have.