Hi, I'm Erica and I'm a dissenter.
Everyone else, "Hi, Erica..."
I did not love this book.
I should have loved this book. It's a primer to magical realism, getting young readers ready for [a:Alice Hoffman|3502|Alice Hoffman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1390431605p2/3502.jpg], [a:Sarah Addison Allen|566874|Sarah Addison Allen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1372537232p2/566874.jpg], [a:Suzanne Palmieri|5778486|Suzanne Palmieri|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1332694465p2/5778486.jpg], and the like.
It's got sisters, magic, funky aunts, a nifty little town, quirky characters, an ice cream factory, a mysterious benefactor, a curse, a dog, the love of words and all the other things that go together to create a fun, magical, wonderful story.
And yet, I did not love it at all.
I hope that the intended age group enjoys this story. I want it to be a special book, a beloved book, the kind of book that changes a child's viewpoints if only just a little.
Unfortunately, even had I read this as a 10-year-old, I wouldn't have liked it. I could feel the kid in me being pissed off at not being able to engage with the tale. I didn't like the main character, I couldn't trust her. She was always giving out information that would have been nice to have known chapters in advance...like when she freaked out over sevens and storms. It was so sudden, so unexpected, and that made it unbelievable. Why are we just finding this out now? Why wasn't it part of the beginning? There were several instances of just-in-time information which is great in some stories but it didn't work for me in this one.
I didn't care about the mom and her mystery or the greater mystery about the town. I didn't care about quirky Aunt Cleo. Or the bus driver. Or the BFF with the big secret. Or about the ten billion characters who kept showing up. Why were new characters introduced after the halfway point? This isn't Game of Thrones. We shouldn't have to keep track of so many names!
The floating words. It's such a neat idea. I couldn't stand it, though, and I especially hated "spindiddly" (I think another reviewer summed that up nicely with a Samuel L. meme) It rubbed me the wrong way for reasons unknown. Ditto the
Yes Yes Yesall through the book. Maybe I found it all too gimmicky? Maybe I thought it was trying too hard, doing too much, being too disingenuous? I'm not sure but it bothered me a lot.
What is wrong with me?
Regardless of my nearly violent distaste for this story, I recognize it's got a good base. The idea is fun, the plot moves along as it should (mostly), and it's fast. It's all a great package for an enchanting tale.
Again, I really hope this does well with its intended audience because I want kids to love this book even if I could not.