TheXezza: fantasy

Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts

Title: The Terrible Thing That Happened To Barnaby Brocket
Author: John Boyne
Amazon Link: Buy now
Book Depository Link: Buy now
Genre: Children Fiction/Contemporary/ Fantasy
Buy: Yes
Review: Goodreads

Synopsis

There's nothing unusual about the Brockets. Normal, respectable, and proud of it, they turn up their noses at anyone strange or different. But from the moment Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it's clear he's anything but ordinary. To his parents’ horror, Barnaby defies the laws of gravity - and floats.

Desperate to please his parents, Barnaby does his best to keep both feet on the ground – but he just can't do it. One fateful day, the Brockets decide enough is enough. They never asked for a weird, abnormal, floating child. Barnaby has to go . . .

Betrayed, frightened and alone, Barnaby floats into the path of a very special hot air balloon – and so begins a magical journey around the world, with a cast of extraordinary new friends.

Review

This book started with the introduction to Barnaby's family. His family is perfectly normal and Mr and Mrs Brocket hated all those abnormal and weird people. Both are them have these ideal life where everyone should be normal. That include doing average in class, working in normal job, live in a normal house and have a perfectly normal family. Mr.Brocket especially hate people who made show of themselves in public (loud and crazy people in the train for example) and he love normal routine such as eating at the normal restaurants, ordering normal menus and so on. Same goes to Mrs. Brocket. She is a normal tidy women that not impressed with people behaving unusual and you know..not normal. They fall in love and got married (which is very normal) and have two normal children. But then, came Barnaby the third child of the family and the funny thing is, he is the exact opposite of normal. He floats and that is not normal.

This book is pretty funny and sad at the same time. I really dig on children fiction because there are so many important things that I can learn from it. And the story can be really interesting and unique because it's children book. Anything can happen..like a boy who can float.

The main character, Barnaby is really a sweetheart. From the beginning, he learns that he is not normal and somehow feeling unwanted by his parents. But his older brother and sister accept him the way he is and really find him as interesting little boy. Looking at him, they actually learn that there are so many extraordinary things they want to try but they can't. Because it's not normal according to their parents.

Throughout his journey of finding himself, Barnaby met lots of different person that have a different story of being abnormal,unusual and unique just like himself. From there he learns that normal is not really a good thing. You can be different and be yourself if that is who you are. To change and to be somebody that is not yourself because that is what people want, is not worth it. Love the awkward you or the floating you or whatever state you are.

This book is very close to my heart and I learn a lot from this book. It's good book to read whenever you feel sad and lonely or just want to be remind that being you is okay. For a children book, the plot is interesting and really fit children perspective. The story about a boy who can float and his journey in finding himself throughout all the confusion and acceptance is really a good story for children and for me of course.

Book Quotes

(may contain spoilers)

Just because your version of normal isn't the same as someone else's version doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you.

It is possible, you know, to drift off to an unknown world and find happiness there. Maybe even more happiness than you've ever known before.

We all are. Their idea of normal just happens to be different to some other people's idea of normal. But this is the world we live in. Some people simply cannot accept something that is outside of their experience.

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Amazon Link: Buy now
Book Depository Link: Buy now
Genre: Children/Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Buy: Yes
Review: Goodreads

Synopsis

After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family...

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Book Review

I've read one of the Neil Gaiman’s book before which is The Ocean at The End of Lane and I love it so much. Thinking of it, make me wanna read the book again. Okay, back to the review of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Obviously I love it so much as I gave this book 5 stars. I really interested in fantasy-mystery children book for adult. Even if the book is indeed for children, I think it suit my taste more. I find that this kind of book is mystery yet fantasy and fairy tale like that I prefer more than young adult fantasy.

The Graveyard Book starts with a very heart-racing and tear-jerking scene. I was very much rooting for the baby. Bod to be save by the ghost cause his life pretty much destroyed as his family being murdered by Jack. It was sad because he just a baby and I hate that he lost his family just in one night. Fast forward, he then lives with the graveyard family that so interesting and so many things happen in his life while living there. I can vividly see the life he’s been through at the graveyard because of Neil Gaiman’s writing style. Remind me of how much I love his writing style from his previous book that I read. I enjoy having fun and learning new things with Bod. It was excitement in every chapter and to be very honest I can’t really put down this book. I was too eager to know why Jack killed Bod’s family and every detail of the graveyard mystery. I want to know why and what and how. There were so many questions that came out while I was reading this book. I think everyone who read this book will definitely feel the same, like the feeling of wanted to know every single thing to be fully understood the story.

There are too many characters from this book that I love. I love Bod’s ghost parents, Mr and Mrs Owens that have typical over protective parents like. They love Bod as their own son and always giving advice and comfort Bod when he was in trouble. I love how the author portray that even they were ghost they still act and love like human-parents will. I feel like Bod never felt like an orphan because he got Mr and Mrs Owen as his awesome parents ever. Next we have Silas as Bod guardian. He is human being that lives in the graveyard to protect the graveyard. At first, I thought he was like an undertaker or something but he’s not. The graveyard is actually the old graveyard that nobody used anymore so there’s no need for the undertaker to live there. He such a mysterious character as he is the only human that Bod being associated with since the beginning but yet he’s not like any other human. To me who didn't even have any background or knowledge about myth and story about the unseen, it’s quite a new and exciting things. There are so many things that I need to fully understand before get into the next page but I love it. Well, ~~I do know now Silas is not a typical human being he’s a vampire they said.~~

However, I do feel a little bit incomplete as the story come to end. I get this same problem when it comes to good book, make me feel unsatisfied as I feel I need more pages or 2nd book. I want to know what happen after the book ends and I want to know how Bod’s doing now. Is he okay? Has he finally found his happy ending? Sigh..

Book Quotes

may contain spoiler

"Does it work? Are they happier dead?" "Sometimes. Mostly, no. It's like the people who believe they'l be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. If you see what I mean"

"It's only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead." "Yes". Silas hesitated. "They are. And they are, for the most part, done with the world. You are not. You're alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you're dead, it's gone. Over. You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name. You may be buried here, you may even walk. But the potential is finished."

"Can't I stay here? In the graveyard?". "You must not," said Silas, more gently than Bod could remember him ever saying anything. "All the people here have had their lives, Bod, even if they were short ones. Now it's your turn. You need to live"

Bod said, "I want to see life. I want to hold it in my hands. I want to leave a footprint on the sand of a desert island I want to play football with people. I want," he said, and then he paused and he thought. "I want everything."

"Leave no path untaken," repeated Bod. "A difficult challenge, but I can try my best".

Further Reading Suggestion

The Ocean at The End of The Land

Title: The School for Good and Evil
Author: Soman Chainani
Amazon Link: Buy now
Book Depository Link: Buy now
Genre: Children fiction/ Fantasy
Buy: Yes

Synopsis

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

Review

This book is unique, one of a kind and very suitable for everyone (not just children). First you need to know that this book is a middle grade fiction and the recommendation ages for this book is 8-12 years old. However, I disagree with the recommendation age because I strongly believe that this book can be enjoyed by everyone. Anyway move on with the review, the most unique thing about this book is the school itself. The school is divided into two major/school which are Good and Evil. You either got into Good School or Evil School. You can’t be both.

Above is the layout of the school that I got from google. On the left is the Evil School that is connected with the Good School on the right side by a bridge and a School’s Master Tower.When I see this layout, my mind was thinking about Hogwarts all the time. I mean it’s so beautiful just like Hogwarts.The school is actually train their student to be either Princess, Heroes (Good School) or a Villains and Witches (Evil School). While studying here, you will be learning so many things about being good or evil. So that when you graduated, you can be the main character for your own story. It’s like a fairy tale come to live. If you graduated as a top student in either school you’ll be the main character or else you will be just a supporting characters. And it’s real. What I mean by real is it is not an act. You’ll be facing all this challenges just like a fairy tale but in real life.I love the subjects they learn at school. It is so interesting. It makes me wonder if I got chosen to go to that school which one I’ll be in. Wonder no more because you can take an admission test here.

Now it is time to discuss and review the main character of this book which are Sophie and Agatha.I’m going to start with Sophie.From the beginning Sophie really wanted to be admit to The School for Good. She wants to be a Princess. She done a good deed (with a hidden intention) and also dressed pretty like a princess so that the School Master will notice her and accept her to the Good School.Next we have Agatha. She got a dark appearance and really gloomy personality. Other than her dark appearance, she’s got a very good heart. She’s truly amazing I think because she’s one of a kind. She looks like loner girl but actually her personality is amazing. And she truly believe in their friendship.

This story is about how Sophie that supposed to be in a Good School got switched with Agatha and got admit to the Evil School. As for Sophie, she’s trying to change the fact that she’s in Evil School by doing all sort of thing to change places with Agatha. While Agatha did not trust the school at all, so she’s trying to go back home and trying her best to convince her best friend, Sophie to leave the school with her. But no one actually leave the school before so it's like mission impossible for her.I love Agatha so much that I think that she’s really a true friend and she’s doing everything for Sophie.

There is one more character that stirred up their friendship which is Prince Tedros. He’s in a Good School. At first he attracted to Sophie because he thinks that Sophie is the one that supposed go the Good School and not Agatha. So both Tedros and Sophie are teaming to prove the School Master that he made a mistake by putting Agatha in the Good School.There is some conflict between Sophie and Agatha. Mostly because Sophie has her own intention (she's kinda selfish sometimes) while Agatha struggling and planning to leave the school with her. So Agatha trusted her so much that sometimes I feel so annoyed by Sophie’s character because she’s only thinking about herself, about her fairy tale endings and love life without thinking about Agatha’s feeling. All I can say about this book is it’s very interesting story if you enjoy something different and you want to try reading something similar to Harry Potter or boarding school kinda book, why not try to read this book. Don’t worry about how the content will be so Middle Grade because it is not.

Book Quotes