by Karen Foxlee
Pub Date: Jan 28th, 2014
A modern-day fairy tale set in a mysterious museum that is perfect for readers of Roald Dahl and Blue Balliett.My Rating:
Unlikely heroine Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard doesn't believe in anything that can't be proven by science. She and her sister Alice are still grieving for their dead mother when their father takes a job in a strange museum in a city where it always snows.
On her very first day in the museum Ophelia discovers a boy locked away in a long forgotten room. He is a prisoner of Her Majesty the Snow Queen. And he has been waiting for Ophelia's help.
As Ophelia embarks on an incredible journey to rescue the boy everything that she believes will be tested. Along the way she learns more and more about the boy's own remarkable journey to reach her and save the world.
A story within a story, this a modern day fairytale is about the power of friendship, courage and love, and never ever giving up.
My Thoughts:
Maybe a bit closer to 3.5 stars
In the end, I rather enjoyed this children's story. It took me quite a few chapters to get into, but I ended up getting into Ophelia's mission to help the boy defeat the Queen (who reminded me a bit of the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia). The ending really picked up quite a bit and I was sorry it ended. I wished it would have been a BIT longer.. I felt like the ending was a tad sudden.
It was obvious who "the one other" was the whole story, but then again, this IS a children's story. I wasn't a huge fan of the chapter titles that spoiled what was about to happen in the upcoming chapter, but perhaps children will like that.
One thing that I enjoyed in this book were the pictures at each "part" in the story. They were so beautiful and I wish there were more throughout the story!
I rather liked that the main character, Ophelia, had to overcome her skepticism of magic. In many of the stories I've read, the main character just jumps right into this magical world they find themselves in without a second thought. Ophelia was a bit more grounded (and stubborn) and had to figure things out for herself, and that was kind of fun to read about. I also thought that her mother was a nice touch to this story and enjoyed learning more about her.
I enjoyed that this story took place in a museum as well. It was fun to have Ophelia running into random rooms with all sorts of oddities.
Overall, this was a light, enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend this story to children.
2 comments:
I've recently been looking for books like this to read to my five-year-old sister, so thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one! Despite your problems, which do sound annoying (Chapter titles that spoil the chapter's events? Why?), this sounds like a cute read. I'm glad to hear the pictures were beautiful, and the idea of a story that takes place in a museum is intriguing. I may have to check this out and see if my sister likes it!
You're welcome! I hope that you and your sister enjoy it! :D
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