written by Neil Gaiman
illustrated by Dave McKean
I think I am one of the very few people who truly disliked this book. It has a slow start, keeps going slowly, coming to a very anticlimactic and predictable ending. Not only that, but it is extraordinarily difficult to understand with the vocabulary used. The target audience is 6th-8th graders. They are not going to understand what is going on. I'm sure it's Newbery material because of this fact, because the award committees want the best written book, but I can't see kids actually picking this up and reading it and liking it. It's not written for kids, in a kid friendly way. If I was a kid, the language in this book would drive me up the wall in confusion, rendering me incapable of focusing on the plot at all. I really feel like this was written for an awards committee rather than the readers themselves. It's a very chaotically unclear and unnecessarily wordy book. The premise is fascinating, but it's not written in a way that takes it to its full potential. It's so overhyped to be this fantastic, amazing book...when it's really quite a bore. The characters are flat, there's no action, it's poorly constructed. All of the action takes place at the very end, with no build up. I honestly think it would have been a better book with just the first and last few chapters. It's just...lame. Not done well. It could just be me, but I don't think Neil Gaiman is as great a writer for this particular audience as he is hyped up to be.
Rating: 1.5/5
I got this book from...:Chatham University--Jennie King Mellon Library
Interesting that you didn't like it. It's nice that you are honest about it.
ReplyDeleteI actually work with one of the librarians who was on that Newbery Committee.
I loved it, but I can appreciate your honesty even if I can't agree with you.