The Goblin’s Puzzle

Rating: 2/5

The Goblin’s Puzzle is an interesting MG novel: shades of those absurdist/satirical-lite stories that seem a little self-indulgent, but manage to be at least marginally entertaining. It’s not at all what I was expecting, and because of that, I think I viewed this novel more unfavorably. I also had a very hard time focusing while reading it, so maybe that contributed as well.

What this book seems: a quirky puzzle book where characters join together to solve a puzzle set up by a goblin.

What this book is: an absurdist take on fantasy tropes with a plot involving a kidnapped princess; the goblin is along for the ride and to provide logical thinking puzzles for our plucky protagonists to solve.

I’m honestly reallynot sure why this book is titled the way it is.

Anyway, the book is fun, mildly humorous, and full of some witty conversations revolving around logic. It does seem horrendously self-indulgent and I think only a very mature MG reader would actually understand half of the topics discussed and poked at. As an adult, I chuckled in several places, but I don’t know how appealing this book would be to the actual age level it’s trying to reach. And it was so wildly unlike what I was expecting that I had a very hard time getting involved with the characters and their problems. It just wasn’t a great time for me to read this book, I guess.

That being said, it’s a great book for those niche readers that would really thrive from and love this style of writing, so there’s that. But I can’t really pinpoint the type of audience besides “readers who like a little bit of quirky, a little bit of wit, and a fairly entertaining plot, who won’t get bored halfway through like I did.”

Info: Andrew S. Chilton; published 2016 by Alfred A. Knopf

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy

Notes: None.

Recommended Age Range: 11+

The Dragon’s Promise

Rating: 2/5

The Dragon’s Promise follows the trend of previous Elizabeth Lim stories (and other similar duologies in general) with a sequel to a fairy tale retelling that is less reliant on the fairytale and more expansion of the world. And, like other books of this kind, I found the sequel to be far less interesting. I really enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes, but I struggled to get through The Dragon’s Promise.

One of the reasons is that the book ping-pongs back and forth between plot points and can’t seem to settle on what, precisely, it’s trying to do. What I thought was the main plot point ended 80 pages before the actual end of the book, and I was honestly surprised to discover that there was still so much left. This meant that the final, final plot point felt tacked-on, undeveloped, and flat despite its connection to the rest of the book.

In addition, a lot of what Shiori does simply doesn’t seem that interesting. Her relationships with other characters lack vibrancy; the novel starts with a nonserious love triangle and ends as predictably as you might expect with such a lukewarm, unexciting character as Takkan. Lim is clearly focusing on Shiori for the book, which is not a bad thing, but as a result, it means that Takkan barely has anything to do, making his scenes with Shiori fairly boring, not to mention predictable.

I also think the resolution of the book didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but I do sort of like how Lim consistently undermined initial exceptions and impressions, most notably in the character of Shiori’s stepmother. However, it didn’t really work as well with Shiori’s decision at the end in regard to magic and the demons, in my opinion.

It’s unfortunate that Six Crimson Crows is not a stand-alone book; it does end with a hook to this one, which in my opinion is the weaker of the two by a lot. There’s still lots of good writing to experience, but the execution is not as good.

Info: Elizabeth Lim; published 2022 by Knopf

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Notes: None

Recommended Age Range: 14+

The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken

Rating: 2/5

The Cuckoo Tree is my least favorite of the Wolves books so far, even counting the later filler books. It’s dense and obscure, with the different dialects only making things more garbled, and there’s so many characters that it’s hard to keep track of them all.

The main plot follows another Hanoverian conspiracy to overthrow James III—or in this case, his successor, Richard the Fourth (or “Davie Jamie Charlie Neddie Geordie Harry Dick Tudor-Stuart,” as he calls himself). Dido Twite stars again, returning from her adventures in Nantucket and other islands, as she stumbles into a complicated family plot involving an heirloom, hidden twins, and curses. She’s as great as ever, but even her implacability and spunk can’t lift up this book from its convoluted mess of knots. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that my reading the two filler books, written years later, actually contributed to my sense of confusion, as I spent the majority of the book wondering if how Dangerous Games ended fit with how this book began.

The book does get a little better towards the end as the Hanoverian plot gets full steam and all the good characters unite to save the day. Par for the course, the plot is overly ridiculous and yet somehow still fits within the premise and world of these books, delivered seriously enough to seem threatening rather than ridiculous, but also with a bit of cheek and humor. There’s also quite a bit of humor with the appearance of the Prince of Wales, and a promise of a heartwarming reunion between Dido and Simon, the protagonist of Blacks Hearts in Battersea.

The Cuckoo Tree does get better as it goes along, but the slow start, convoluted circumstances, and multiple characters makes the book very difficult to wade through in the first half, and while the second half is better, I still came away with an overall negative impression.

Info: Joan Aiken; published 1971 by Doubleday

Genre: Children’s, Historical Fiction

Warnings: None

Recommended Age Range: 10+

Anacaona by Edwidge Danticat

Rating: 2/5

Anacaona, like Weetamoo, begins with an author’s note that reiterates the non-written communication of the people of the time and gives another interpretation of the pages of this book rather than a traditional diary format. It’s a nice touch and a good lesson on the way Anacaona’s people (the Taíno of early Hispaniola) passed down stories throughout the generations.

The story sheds light on a little-known (in mainstream history) people group and the early history of a Caribbean island (Haiti), though of course most people going into this book will guess where it’s heading (the book covers 1490 to1492, the year the Spaniards arrived). I wish Danticat had been more vocal about the sources utilized, but these books, while obviously researched, never actually give a list of that research, unfortunately. I suppose they think that children won’t care. It was interesting the way all the different cultural groups were described and though there was an obvious Most Evil group (I mean, is anyone going to be surprised if I say it’s the Spaniards?), some of the contrasts I found interesting. For example, the Taíno man who killed himself because he lost a game and the sad acceptance of it contrasted to the fear of the Kalinas (or the Caribs, who were notoriously violent and possibly even cannibalistic) stealing and killing and conquering the Taínos contrasted to the rough and coarse Spaniards who take control over an entire village and commit harmful acts on the innocent inhabitants in search of gold.  Clearly Danticat wants our sympathy lying fully on the side of the Taínos (and Anacoana), but I couldn’t help but be reminded of the total general brutality of all life in all places at that time.

However, despite many concepts that I found interesting, and the knowledge I gained about a relatively unknown culture, once again I find another Scholastic/Royal Diaries book that just fails to be particularly remarkable. But I do appreciate how this series has done things in a more well-rounded, expansive way than the Dear American series did, and how through these books more knowledge of various cultures and people groups can be gained.

Info: Edwidge Danticat; published 2005 by Scholastic

Genre: Children’s, Historical Fiction

Warnings: None.

Recommended Age Range: 10+

Dangerous Games by Joan Aiken

Rating: 2/5

Dangerous Games is another “filler” book about Dido’s adventures between the events of Nightbirds on Nantucket and (presumably, since I’ve never read it) The Cuckoo Tree. I have chosen to read these books chronologically, though I wonder if it might have been better to read them in publication order, as Aiken once again incorporates a much more magical world than was in any of the first three books. This makes me wonder if fantasy elements are more prevalent in the later books, or if Aiken decided to play off the “magical exotic island” trope.

Anyway, Dido once again finds herself caught up in political forces as she finds herself caught in the middle of a feud between the island king and his brother, the natives and the settlers. Dido is much more of a passive onlooker in this book than she was in any of the previous, as most of the action is off-screen, and the action conducted on-screen involves other characters. In addition, the plot is fairly similar to the previous book, with another “long lost” islander returning to their home and fighting against forces set against them. In this one, it’s Dr. Talisman, who doesn’t have much of an issue with anything in this book (the villain in general is mostly just menacing—there’s never any indication that he will actually win, especially once the general power of the “witches” of the island is made known).

While I wouldn’t necessarily call this book “bad,” I did find it a little tiresome. I’m not a huge fan of the written-years-later “filler” books, as they’re usually unnecessary, and I felt this one in particular did nothing to contribute to Dido’s characterization. It also was a little too similar to the previous filler book in terms of plot. I’m very ready to move back to the “main” arc and hopefully the books don’t get too tired in plot as unfortunately these side stories suggested.

Info: Joan Aiken; published 1999 by Delacorte

Genre: Children’s, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Warnings: None.

Recommended Age Range: 10+

The Secret of the Skeleton Key by Penny Warner

Rating: 2/5

The Secret of the Skeleton Key is the first book in a code-breaking-themed series aimed for young readers, full of codes to crack (and a helpful reference guide and key in the back). The reader is invited to solve the mystery along with the characters and to decode the various messages (and chapter titles) along the way. It’s a fun, interactive book that code-loving readers would probably really enjoy, with a mystery simple enough and villains comical enough to draw them in.

However, it’s a pretty juvenile book for an adult to read, so I didn’t really enjoy it. The villains are bumbling, cackling miscreants who crack fart jokes and are deterred by obvious tricks and ploys; the trail of clues to Mr. Skelton’s will are perhaps believable, but the fact that said villains didn’t immediately find the will considering where it was (and since we’re supposed to believe they are constantly searching the house looking for it) is unbelievable. And the lead-up to the kids actually getting on the case is so obviously engineered (Skeleton Man just HAPPENS to like codes and JUST HAPPENS to live across from the street from someone else who loves codes who JUST HAPPENS to be looking out the window at just the right moment)…I mean, it’s a children’s book, so nothing here is unusual, but my favorite children’s books are the ones that are clever and nuanced and this is not that.

If you know a child who loves codes, they will probably really enjoy this series. There’s suspense, the requisite school bully, an interesting enough mystery, and a large cast of characters, plus an entire website to supplement everything in the book. But this is not one of those children’s books that adults would also enjoy just as much. In fact, I think The 39 Clues likely did the whole code-breaking thing a whole lot better (though perhaps it’s unfair to compare them).

Info: Penny Warner; published 2011 by Egmont

Genre: Children’s, Realistic

Warnings: None

Recommended Age Range: 8+

Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger

Rating: 2/5

Horton Halfpott, or The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor, or The Loosening of M‘Lady Luggertuck’s Corset is a humor/absurdist/quirky/satire/not really sure what to call it novel about the young kitchen boy, Horton Halfpott, the Terrible Smugwicks, a girl named Celia, and a Lump. Everything, from the illustrations to the plot to the narration, is exaggerated and tongue-in-cheek. There’s a plethora of absurd characters and absurd situations, resulting in a chaotic tale with basic elements and obvious endings.

As an exaggerated story, I can see why the characters would be so black-and-white and cartoonish in design. Yet what I liked least about this book was just that. The bad guys are so obviously Bad, and the good guys are so obviously Good. The Smugwicks starve their servants and pay them a penny a week, and it’s treated as something amusing, when instead it just seems, well, absurd…which may seem like the point of the book (and it probably is), but I found it dissatisfying and annoying. This is, I think, clearly an indication of how some books just do not work with certain audiences. Kids would probably love the absurd nature of this book—I just found myself shaking my head at it.

In addition, I found many of the jokes to be distasteful and inappropriate for the age group. This is a book for children; should there really be wisecracks about women’s underwear and the nature of romantic relationships in it?

I like a good absurdist book, but I thought Horton Halfpott was simply not enjoyable. I wasn’t really rooting for Horton, or any of his friends, and the plot was simplistic and barebones. It’s definitely a book that was written to be a little bit more indulgent on the absurd, exaggerated side than on the complex plot mechanics side, and I would rather read a book that has the latter.

Info: Tom Angleberger; published 2011 by Amulet

Genre: Children’s, Realistic

Warnings: Some inappropriate jokes, though nothing vulgar or crude.

Recommended Age Range: 8+

Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine by Kristiana Gregory

Rating: 2/5

Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine is one of the earlier settings in the series, which is pretty interesting to read about if only to see how the author deals with communicating the time period. And in this regard, Gregory did a passable job, though I’ve always felt that many of the European Royal Diaries all seemed to take place in a similar time period despite taking place centuries apart. It’s probably because the authors fear making it too alien for younger readers, but I think books like Catherine, Called Birdy do a much better job of communicating time period.

Anyway, this book is fairly interesting and does a good job of communicating the politics of that time: Eleanor is heir to more land than even the king of France, so when her father dies, it’s inevitable that she ends up marrying the prince of France. Gregory even, in the epilogue, mentions the drama of the marriage, the annulment, and then Eleanor’s reign as Queen of England and the fighting amongst her sons for the throne.

There’s also a great deal about religion, and I found the portrayal of Eleanor’s father to be intriguing, with his overall change in demeanor and his desire to go on pilgrimage. Gregory dealt with the topic very well, though I think she missed the mark on the overall religious air of the day—I think the characters talked too little about religion, but I’ve always found that the case in books set in more religious time periods/places.

Children might find the marriage between two teenagers, essentially (though of course they would have been considered adults), strange, though I think Gregory was brave to include that when other Royal Diaries have left out the marriages of their royals. And of course Eleanor’s marriage is likely what we know most about her, so Gregory as likely operating solely from the majority of reference material there.

I did only rate this a 2 because I liked it, but three days later I can’t really remember much about it. Nothing lingered with me except the father’s religious conversion. And I’m trying to maybe not just automatically give everything a 3. 

Info: Kristiana Gregory; published 2002 by Scholastic

Genre: Children’s, Historical Fiction

Warnings: None

Recommended Age Range: 8+

Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim

Rating: 2/5

Unravel the Dusk is a tepid, boring follow-up to the decently-good Spin the Dawn. While the beginning starts out well, the plot very quickly spirals into a deep, dank pit of slowness as the characters strive for hundreds of pages to defeat the shansen and his demon. Maia struggles with her own inner demon, literally, as the curse from the first book takes hold here, and there’s talk and talk and talk and talk about how she must resist her demon voice, and how she must harnass the power of Amara’s dresses, and how she must not let her anger take control, and how she won’t be the same person ever, and how she must keep Edan away from her, etc. etc. for hundreds of pages.

It gets very exhausting, very quickly. And Lim, in her dedication to making Maia a powerful, strong demon magical girl, just simply starts breaking all the rules that she established at once to show how great Maia is. There’s a point in the book where Maia doesn’t remember her brother and father—but then treats them as if she remembers exactly who they are. There’s continuous talk about resisting her inner demon, but then she ends up embracing it because that’s what’s needed for her to ward off ghost armies—and it doesn’t end up affecting anything in the slightest.

I liked Spin the Dawn because it was an interesting take on a common fairy tale trope. But Unravel the Dusk was an uninteresting take on a common war trope, and the characters are not interesting enough on their own to carry the day. Edan is completely unnecessary as he’s relegated to Maia’s cheerleader; there’s a somewhat interesting side character named Ammi who gets some of the limelight, but only to illustrate how Maia is changing. The only character who doesn’t exist solely to show off Maia is Lady Sarnai, who really is just there to fit Lim’s “women can fight, too” message, especially when Sarnai recruits women to help fight. I think Lim wanted to make me feel empowered and inspired, but all I felt was bored.

Also, I don’t understand why the shansen started a war over his daughter when he tried to kill her later on. And why he even tried to negotiate a peace in the first place when his ultimate goal was war (though perhaps that was just a front?). And why is Edan constantly referred to as a boy when he’s thousands of years old?

Anyway, while I don’t think Unravel the Dusk was terrible, I don’t think it was as good as the first book, and I didn’t really enjoy reading it. It read much more like a mediocre YA fantasy war romance book than a clever, somewhat unique fantasy.

Info: Elizabeth Lim; published 2020 by Alfred A. Knopf

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Warnings: None

Recommended Age Range: 14+