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Bruce

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30,000 ratings can't be wrong

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-07-25

Clear storyline. The characters tell you everything you need to know (narrator really unnecessary). And they explain everything to each other as we listen in. Unlike 19th century lit, this one is easily accessible to the anyone who can read The Hobbit. Good for listening when you are prone to distraction. Strong on humor and action, anemic on tragedy, subtlety and elevated language, A great yarn.

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Wrong Audience

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-17-25

Classic example of a Newbury winner that the average young reader would quickly put down; in other words, one and done - one chapter and look for something more interesting; unless such a reader had read and survived Cushman's "Alchemy and Meggie" first. Cushman's world building has created a world in which I would not like to live; makes C Dickens' worlds more a joyful walk in the park. College nursing students or abused orphans would be the target audience I would think.

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I loved the series

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-05-24

But when this book finished I thought, is that all? It seems like there was no climax, at least not one that follows rising tension.
So maybe there could be more, but I am not aware of any follow up. I do appreciate the realism - real life stories do not wrap up nicely. And these kids do have many more years ahead of them.

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Better than the last book

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-05-24

Usually a middle book is weaker, But I think this middle book has more to offer, and while third book is less than I hoped for it was a good story.

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A rare example of YA literature

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-05-24

Literature, not fast paced one liners and superkid hero. Gerard Doyle turns gold into platinum. If there is something that I would have wished for is more reason to reread to discover any gems hidden in the early chapters, pointers to how the story goes. There are some, but mostly the story just moves forward as the young lad slowly grows. One does, in the series, gain more sympathy for those who pillage and plunder, It's just the way they are raised. And we learn that the greedy christian monks are also stupid - they fool themselves into not believing their eyes, when trolls, elves, dragons and whatnot stand right in front of them..

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Good series, but just a bit shallow for me

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-19-24

In the series, the multiple characters, each with their own agenda, create the tension. Makes the story more than a mere quest. The series-story moves forward nicely, but I was never once prompted to go back and consider a clue that I missed. I felt like a re-read provides no benefit or reward. The various revealings just happened, without a sense that the storyteller tickled us with a sense of foretelling. A great young YA story, but not nearly has deep as some of Fisher's other work.

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A great, formula story

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-13-24

Wizard; apprentice; a Wookiee stand-in; mystery girl; a quest. Like young Star Wars; like Flanagan's Rangers Apprentice. Like Delany's Last Apprentice. Like the classic L. Alexander's Prydain Chronicles (but without the humor). Like a half dozen lost space colonists series, such as Angie Sage's Tod Hunger Moon series. These series are the upper half of YA series,

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Beyond the mirror you will need a Kindle

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-12-24

A fine book. Multiple characters who all want the mirror for different reasons: children who want to save their parents; lost love; lost freedom; save-the-world time-travel conundrums. Late 19th century London. So far no romance. Mystery but no subtle clues or misunderstanding -just straight forward action. But the book series morphs from audio to Kindle, The next two books available at Amazon. So for us listeners, story is left unresolved.

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Drew me in completely (not easy to do)

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-01-24

I kept thinking of bits and pieces of other stories - I really enjoy that. A cross between the uplifting Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) and the gothic darkness of Elizabeth Gaskell. And Catherine Fisher's Incarceron series; in fact all Fisher's works. Thankfully Schwab did not dwell on the meanness of the orphanage staff, or I might have had to deduct a star. Too many stories like that.

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Liked it better than Raven Cycle

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-28-24

With Raven Cycle, I had to keep going away and coming back. This one is much more pleasant. Just like a shorter version of Charles de Lint's Forests of the Heart. But the zingers kept reminding me of Terry Pratchett. I loved how environmental features are personified. Like, you go to the mountain to see the beautiful sunset and once your intentions are clear, the mountain is so happy to see you.

For a Boomer like me, the sprinkling of 1950 60s pop culture added meaningful spice. Not sure how a Gen X or millennial would respond, except as maybe I felt in reading Rudyard Kipling, Edith Nesbit, or PL Travers.

Feel more inclined to press on to other Stiefvater works.

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