reubenalbatross's Reviews (521)

A review on the back of my copy says this book contains 'parables', and I couldn't put it in a better way myself.

Lovely stories with strong moral values, alongside an interesting magic system. A very comforting read.

I just got bored. Picked it up at least three times at the same place and couldn't care less about what was coming next. 

Thoughts I had while reading:

- Breezy claims she's a killer, and it's a huge part of her personality, but she's hardly killed at all which just makes it seem overly melodramatic
- Its not not a very immersive/atmospheric read. Very much surface level - mainly dialogue based with basic visual descriptions of locations.
- The only wizard they know about is harry potter, and it gets mentioned A LOT at the start
- The main character should be more freaked out at the start of the book - it's only been two weeks since everything started happening to her!!
- She's written as half Chinese, but the character is totally white washed. Her Chinese parent isn't in her life at all, so it's a very white character. 

Just what I wanted - a nice, lighthearted, cosy read. Very immersive as well. I always feel so at home reading Katie Fforde.
A few problematic ideas, which are probably due to it being written 20 years ago, but nothing too extreme.

A great romp. Only knocked off .25 stars because I love Rincewind and Twoflower that bit more.

60 pages of casual racism and the use of the n word on every other page just made me too uncomfortable. And as I wasn't interested in the bratty child narrator or the initial story at all, I didn't have any reason to want to continue.

Heart-wrenching

Overall enjoyed it - definitely an easy and cosy read. But, I felt it could have gone deeper with some of the themes. For this long of a book, with a really interesting core idea, it felt a bit shallow in parts.
Also, to echo what many have said, it is a totally white washed book - all the places Addie could have travelled to and its only Europe and the US. 

A dark and gripping portrayal of the reluctant and often traumatic shift into adulthood. 

An uncharacteristically fast paced Shannara installment! Very much enjoyed. Only let down by a rather on the nose 'explain it all' ending, and of course the name Eton Shart which I couldn't take seriously at all.