Rating: 3.5/5
Author: William Joyce
Pages: 228
Genre: Children’s Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis:
Everyone loves a good dream, but the thing children fear the
most as they drift off to sleep is that nightmares will be waiting for them
instead of dreams.
There was a war fought long ago that not many on Earth know
of, a war of light versus dark. At the peak of the war, the dark armies of
fearlings and nightmare men were led by Pitch, a sinister creature who wants
nothing more than to fill the world with fear and nightmares. But the legions
of the moon fought back with great forces of light that the darkness could not
withstand. It was a close call, but in the end Pitch was trapped and peace was
restored.
Until now…
Join Ombric, a wizened old wizard, Katherine, an imaginative
and loving child, and North, a notorious outlaw who had no plans whatsoever of
being anyone’s hero as they face the renewed forces of darkness and fight with
their might to restore peace once more.
My Reaction:
Let me say first of all that I’m not one of those people who
will be disgusted in a book/movie because it’s not a copy and paste version of
the book/movie. I’m a weirdo who likes to look at both mediums and telling of
the story and compare and contrast and sometimes get more meanings and morals
out of things (can you tell I was an English major and had to write papers on
this sort of thing?). Anyway, we won’t go on a soap box about that.
Even though I’m not bothered if a movie based on a book is
completely different from the book, I do think it’s important to note that this
book is nothing like the movie at all (perhaps that’s a little ironic as the
author co-directed the movie). I only bring that up because a story can be dashed
by your expectations or preconceived notions. So don’t go in thinking this book
is exactly like the movie or you may be disappointed. It’s very different. It
is possible that there will be more similarities as the series continues. Time
will tell.
Aside from all that, I thought this was a good, adventurous
book that would appeal to a variety of readers. There are themes of friendship
that I enjoy. I think my favorite idea of the story is the idea of becoming a
better version of yourself because someone already sees you as that better
version—they believe in you.
I feel like the jacket flap of the book is deceiving, making
the book sound almost like an origination story of St. Nick, but it doesn’t
really feel like that at all. In the movie we clearly see him as a
swashbuckling, Russian version of Santa Claus. In the book he’s definitely a
swashbuckling rogue turned wizard’s apprentice and inventor, but there’s no
clear connection to Santa except for that his full name is Nicholas St. North. Perhaps
there will be clearer ties to an unconventional Santa Clause later as North is
still a character moving forward.
I’m curious to see how this series plays out in its
entirety.
Reader Guidance:
There’s not really anything I could think of that may be of concern.
There’s nothing graphic. I would feel comfortable with letting a child read it.
A guy is swallowed whole by a bear, but (spoiler) he’s
saved. That same bear is also stabbed by North. When Pitch is first mentioned
in captivity, the thing that’s keeping him from escaping is a dagger he was
pierced with at some previous time.
Similar Books:
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Orbert Skye
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Next Book:
Up next is the second book in the series: E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core! That sounds pretty exciting! Adventure awaits!
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