Jacqueline West

I love a good Shakespeare twist and all the lovely lines interwoven into the story. I love the horrible odd moments characters would pop up, even some their confusing babble. I could just picture Hamlet bobbing a horrible skull in her face telling her to remember her father.

But all the lovely words were far overshadowed by how tough the ending is. I think I get it but that doesn't mean I like it. Sure, I've leaped to a conclusion because I re-read chapter one and it's the same as the end. Then tying together Shakespeare's words that the scene has to play out how it will because it's already happened and...she's reliving the same crash over and over? Except each time she's starting to realize new clues. I assume she's still in the hospital but that doesn't mean I'm right. And I wanted the end to be twisty and dark but I didn't feel that at all. I think the message about choices vs fate gets lost in the shuffle of a confusing end.… (more)

Lots of fun, and it gets a lot of things right. The boy isn't an orphan, nor unloved, but he still winds up having adventures. There's comic relief. The magic has consistency and is creative/ original.

But there are problems, too. For example, Van isn't much of a hero. I mean, he's brave as all get out, but incredibly foolhardy, when he gets a chance to be. Mainly, though, he's being dragged around, pushed around, carried around, and feeling compelled to do stuff he surely must know is foolish. If the main theme is, at it seems to be, that we need to work for what we want because wishing is a bad idea, I'd really like to see Van successfully actually work for something, thinking through whether it's a good thing or not.

I do like the idea of not knowing who the bad guys are. The second big theme is clear: Don't judge by appearances!

Btw, this is def. the first in a series. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger per se, but it is the set-up for at least one or two more books. I'm not sure whether I'll continue or not.

Van and his mother travel for her performances a lot: "London was a big grayish blur. Paris was a big ivory blur. Rome was a big sunny blur...."

"Bottles as large as milk jugs; bottles small enough to fit inside a closed mouth."

"Hot dog with the Works Pizza. Spicy Chicken Curry Pizza."

"You know, most of the time, cats are just pretending to be asleep."

But does West know about broken legs nowadays? My son's treatment was very different....… (more)