“She said it so convincingly that Spittleworth believed her. He tried a different threat, and told her he’d kill her parents if she didn’t marry him, “She said it so convincingly that Spittleworth believed her. He tried a different threat, and told her he’d kill her parents if she didn’t marry him, but Lady Eslanda reminded him that she, like Captain Goodfellow, was an orphan. Then Spittleworth said he’d take away all the jewelry her mother had left her, but she shrugged and said she preferred books anyway. Finally, Spittleworth threatened to kill her, and Lady Eslanda suggested he get on with it, because that would be better than listening to him talk.” (p. 148).
Hahahahahahahahaha—
So this began as very cute middle grade-ish fare, perhaps even younger, then plunged into much more mature, dark, and overall beautifully developed socio-political commentary on the nature of corruption and tyranny...and then went back to cute middle grade-ish fare with a conventional ending. In short, another Harry Potter, kind of, except more pleasant, less sophisticated, and with some vinegar and sly humor to offset the sweetness. Some of the artwork by actual kids was also sweet, even impressive; it certainly impressed upon me, once again, my longstanding conviction that grade schoolers are and will always be better than me at anything art.
Pacing-wise, though, it was patchy and jerky, with my engagement ebbing and flowing along the narrative; could have been better, methinks. Overall, Spittleworth was the best; he was eerily convincing villain for a middle school book. Read for him, the under-the-radar themes, Rowling's trolling humor re:above, and if your reading palate can accept some middle school cuteness and some slow set-up. ...more
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