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The Unwritten Books #1
The Unwritten Girl
“It won’t be easy, Rosemary,” said Puck. “You will face dangers only your imagination could dream of.”
“I don’t have an imagination,” said Rosemary.
“Of course you do. What else would be attacking you?”
Rosemary Watson is seeing ghosts — not spectres that rattle their chains, but strange characters that fold out of existence as though they were made of paper. Stranger still, these characters seem somehow familiar, and they want something from her.
When her older brother Theo comes home, Rosemary realizes she is not the one who has lost her mind. But who has stolen her brother’s sanity, and what must she do to get it back?
With the help of her new friend Peter McAllister and her otherworldly guide, the faerie shapeshifter Puck, Rosemary must face the storybook perils of the Land of Fiction, and learn to open her heart, before it is too late.
“I don’t have an imagination,” said Rosemary.
“Of course you do. What else would be attacking you?”
Rosemary Watson is seeing ghosts — not spectres that rattle their chains, but strange characters that fold out of existence as though they were made of paper. Stranger still, these characters seem somehow familiar, and they want something from her.
When her older brother Theo comes home, Rosemary realizes she is not the one who has lost her mind. But who has stolen her brother’s sanity, and what must she do to get it back?
With the help of her new friend Peter McAllister and her otherworldly guide, the faerie shapeshifter Puck, Rosemary must face the storybook perils of the Land of Fiction, and learn to open her heart, before it is too late.
205 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
James Bow
93 books53 followersI was born in downtown Toronto on April 19, 1972 and lived there until my folks moved up to Kitchener in 1991 so I could attend the University of Waterloo. I’ve lived in Kitchener ever since. I’ve been trained as an urban planner, and I’ve worked as a database manager, web designer, circulation manager, administrative assistant, layout designer and office manager. The one consistent thing about my varied academic and professional career has been a love of writing.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 17, 2009
Rosemary Watson is compassionate. In fact, she is so compassionate that half the time she can't even finish a book for fear of what might happen to the characters. When the going gets tough, Rosemary gets going.
Rosemary never really thought it mattered whether or not she finished a book. That is, until the characters decided to get revenge on the girl who left them frozen in the worst moment of their lives.
Will Rosemary be able to appease the characters and save her brother from the land of fiction or will she be stuck there for the rest of her days?
I had no clue what to expect when I started this book. I had never read anything by James Bow or even a review about his books before reading The Unwritten Girl. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
I loved The Unwritten Girl. It was a whole different type of story than I have ever read before. The whole book was about reading and connecting with the characters of a story. I can totally relate to Rosemary which is why I think I liked the book so much. Rosemary can't always finish books because she doesn't want something bad to happen to the characters. I have never not finished a book because of that but I can understand why she did. You put yourself in the book and you don't want something bad to happen.
In The Unwritten Girl Rosemary is actually transported into a book to save her older brother. The book is full of good, bad, funny, and sad characters. Also, all the characters are characters of the books of Rosemary's past. Puck is her guide through the Land of Fiction and Peter is her protector.
Overall, I was very pleased with The Unwritten Girl and I am just about to start the second book of the trilogy, Fathom Five. I definitely recommend this for book-lovers.
Rosemary never really thought it mattered whether or not she finished a book. That is, until the characters decided to get revenge on the girl who left them frozen in the worst moment of their lives.
Will Rosemary be able to appease the characters and save her brother from the land of fiction or will she be stuck there for the rest of her days?
I had no clue what to expect when I started this book. I had never read anything by James Bow or even a review about his books before reading The Unwritten Girl. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
I loved The Unwritten Girl. It was a whole different type of story than I have ever read before. The whole book was about reading and connecting with the characters of a story. I can totally relate to Rosemary which is why I think I liked the book so much. Rosemary can't always finish books because she doesn't want something bad to happen to the characters. I have never not finished a book because of that but I can understand why she did. You put yourself in the book and you don't want something bad to happen.
In The Unwritten Girl Rosemary is actually transported into a book to save her older brother. The book is full of good, bad, funny, and sad characters. Also, all the characters are characters of the books of Rosemary's past. Puck is her guide through the Land of Fiction and Peter is her protector.
Overall, I was very pleased with The Unwritten Girl and I am just about to start the second book of the trilogy, Fathom Five. I definitely recommend this for book-lovers.
March 26, 2018
I received this book as a generous gift from the author for my school's library.
I had no idea what to expect from this book, and was so happy to be drawn into Rosemary's world. Rosemary Watson attends middle school in a small town in Ontario, where life hasn't been easy for her since her brother had a nervous breakdown. In a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business, and Rosemary knows that everyone expects her to go crazy as well.
When Theo, Rosemary's brother, returns home from university behaving strangely, everyone in her family gets very nervous. This is no ordinary strangeness, though. Rosemary finds herself sucked into a book, along with her new friend Peter. Guided by Puck, yes, the same Puck made famous in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosemary and Peter must navigate the Land of Fiction to rescue Theo.
There was so much that I loved about this book. Ties to Shakespeare? Check. Strong female protagonist? Check. Humour? Check. Detailed world building? Check. The story drew me in quickly, and kept me enthralled (ironic, given that is exactly what happened to Theo). I will definitely be recommending this story to my students.
I had no idea what to expect from this book, and was so happy to be drawn into Rosemary's world. Rosemary Watson attends middle school in a small town in Ontario, where life hasn't been easy for her since her brother had a nervous breakdown. In a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business, and Rosemary knows that everyone expects her to go crazy as well.
When Theo, Rosemary's brother, returns home from university behaving strangely, everyone in her family gets very nervous. This is no ordinary strangeness, though. Rosemary finds herself sucked into a book, along with her new friend Peter. Guided by Puck, yes, the same Puck made famous in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosemary and Peter must navigate the Land of Fiction to rescue Theo.
There was so much that I loved about this book. Ties to Shakespeare? Check. Strong female protagonist? Check. Humour? Check. Detailed world building? Check. The story drew me in quickly, and kept me enthralled (ironic, given that is exactly what happened to Theo). I will definitely be recommending this story to my students.
May 4, 2012
The premise of this book grabbed me right away, and to be honest, the whole series looks amazing. Rosemary Watson is seeing things. Characters seem to unfold into existence and they are after her, and they definitely want something from her. Soon, her brother Theo is home from school but he seems to be captured by a book. Rosemary soon realizes that the characters she is seeing, her brother's single-minded focus on a book, and her life turned upside down by Puck, the fairy shapeshifter from Shakespeare, appearing and trying to guide her, means she has not lost her mind but great things are at stake. Soon Puck, Rosemary and her new friend Peter McAllister, are lost in an adventure in the land of fiction.
The story had an amazing pace. Once you start reading it you will be hard- pressed to put it down. The characters were incredible, and the plot, mind-blowing. In many ways it is almost as if Madeleine L'Engle's two main series crossed paths in this book - Chronos, real world time and Kairos, other time, science fiction and fantasy have crossed paths. And much like Meg in the Kairos novels, Rosemary is a great heroine who discovers herself and grows into herself as the novel progresses. With reading, on average, over 100 books a year, there are lots of books I like, but few I absolutely love. This one falls into that second category.
...
Read the rest of the review and with links to other reviews of books by the author on my blog Book Reviews and More. And also a link to an interview with James Bow.
The story had an amazing pace. Once you start reading it you will be hard- pressed to put it down. The characters were incredible, and the plot, mind-blowing. In many ways it is almost as if Madeleine L'Engle's two main series crossed paths in this book - Chronos, real world time and Kairos, other time, science fiction and fantasy have crossed paths. And much like Meg in the Kairos novels, Rosemary is a great heroine who discovers herself and grows into herself as the novel progresses. With reading, on average, over 100 books a year, there are lots of books I like, but few I absolutely love. This one falls into that second category.
...
Read the rest of the review and with links to other reviews of books by the author on my blog Book Reviews and More. And also a link to an interview with James Bow.
September 1, 2020
A great book for middle school/junior high students – I know I would have loved it at that age. It felt quite similar to A Wrinkle in Time, but not so much as to be unoriginal (though it doesn't have the depth of L'Engle's novels). It's simple enough for kids to read, but still very well written. I also got to know and love the characters, despite it being such a short novel. And it's Canadian! Would definitely recommend.
June 12, 2013
Bought this book on a whim and I am so glad I did. It is one of the best young adult books I have read in the past few years. I cannot wait to read other books from this author.
April 28, 2011
Review by Nancy Holzner
You’re reading a book and then you put it down, turning your attention to other things. What happens to the book’s characters when you stop reading? That’s the question James Bow asks in The Unwritten Girl, a charming and imaginative fantasy for middle-school readers.
Rosemary Watson prefers facts to stories; she’d rather read the Encyclopedia Britannica than get emotionally involved in the pain and conflict of literature. But when her older brother Theo literally loses himself in a book, Rosemary must venture into the Land of Fiction to find him and bring him home.
Rosemary is helped on her quest by Peter, a new boy at her school, and Puck, Midsummer Night’s Dream character and their guide in the Land of Fiction. Every bit as strange as you might image, the Land of Fiction is the kind of place where ideas grow on trees and a boy can turn into an eagle just by asking, "What if?" It’s populated by all kinds of characters: from numbers to knights, from detectives to a villainous mad scientist. There’s also a girl very much like Rosemary, who was left in a terrifying situation when Rosemary stopped reading her book.
Puck describes the Land of Fiction as “a patchwork of stories,” and that’s how Rosemary and Peter experience it. With each new story they enter, their clothes and surroundings change, and they encounter new characters and a new test. Rosemary is smart and resourceful, and Peter makes a likable and loyal sidekick. As they themselves become characters in a series of stories, they face increasing danger and learn important life lessons.
Author Bow clearly had a lot of fun creating this world. The Unwritten Girl is the kind of book that richly rewards imaginative involvement. Middle-school-aged readers will enjoy Bow’s silly puns and sometimes mind-bending ideas, although they’re likely to miss literary allusions to writers such as Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
http://www.romancing-the-book.com/200...
You’re reading a book and then you put it down, turning your attention to other things. What happens to the book’s characters when you stop reading? That’s the question James Bow asks in The Unwritten Girl, a charming and imaginative fantasy for middle-school readers.
Rosemary Watson prefers facts to stories; she’d rather read the Encyclopedia Britannica than get emotionally involved in the pain and conflict of literature. But when her older brother Theo literally loses himself in a book, Rosemary must venture into the Land of Fiction to find him and bring him home.
Rosemary is helped on her quest by Peter, a new boy at her school, and Puck, Midsummer Night’s Dream character and their guide in the Land of Fiction. Every bit as strange as you might image, the Land of Fiction is the kind of place where ideas grow on trees and a boy can turn into an eagle just by asking, "What if?" It’s populated by all kinds of characters: from numbers to knights, from detectives to a villainous mad scientist. There’s also a girl very much like Rosemary, who was left in a terrifying situation when Rosemary stopped reading her book.
Puck describes the Land of Fiction as “a patchwork of stories,” and that’s how Rosemary and Peter experience it. With each new story they enter, their clothes and surroundings change, and they encounter new characters and a new test. Rosemary is smart and resourceful, and Peter makes a likable and loyal sidekick. As they themselves become characters in a series of stories, they face increasing danger and learn important life lessons.
Author Bow clearly had a lot of fun creating this world. The Unwritten Girl is the kind of book that richly rewards imaginative involvement. Middle-school-aged readers will enjoy Bow’s silly puns and sometimes mind-bending ideas, although they’re likely to miss literary allusions to writers such as Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
http://www.romancing-the-book.com/200...
November 6, 2012
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
Rosemary Watson likes the company of books much better than that of people her own age. Which explains her hesitance to accept the help of the new boy, Peter. That and the weird thing she saw in the library right before. It looked like a girl, but it folded up and disappeared. The only thing Rosemary knows for sure is that it was angry. And if there’s anything worse than a hallucination, it’s one that’s mad at you. Maybe she’s just going to have a nervous breakdown like her older brother, Theo.
Due to a huge freak storm, and missing the bus, Rosemary is forced to bring Peter home. Theo seems to be literally lost in a book; he can’t put it down or stop reading it. He won’t even let Rosemary look at it. When she manages to get a peek, she is shocked to realize the book is blank until Theo reads it. Theo snatches the book out of her view and warns her to “look out for the books."
After another visit from angry ghost girl, a near breakdown from Theo, and a message from Puck, it appears that it is up to Rosemary and Peter to save Theo. He has gone to the Land of Fiction to try and keep Rosemary safe, and now she needs to rescue him.
Rosemary and Peter must navigate the Land of Fiction, with Puck as their guide. They must meet challenges, find their strength, face their fears, and find out why so many of the characters in the Land of Fiction are so angry with Rosemary.
I can’t describe to you how great I thought this book was! Between the idea of being truly sucked into a book, to living in the stories that you’ve read, to the fabulous reason that all of the characters are upset. It’s hilarious, scary, exciting, and impossible to put down. I’ve always loved Puck, and the fact that he speaks mostly in iambic pentameter, intended or not, is just too perfect. If you’re a book fanatic, this is an absolute must!
Rosemary Watson likes the company of books much better than that of people her own age. Which explains her hesitance to accept the help of the new boy, Peter. That and the weird thing she saw in the library right before. It looked like a girl, but it folded up and disappeared. The only thing Rosemary knows for sure is that it was angry. And if there’s anything worse than a hallucination, it’s one that’s mad at you. Maybe she’s just going to have a nervous breakdown like her older brother, Theo.
Due to a huge freak storm, and missing the bus, Rosemary is forced to bring Peter home. Theo seems to be literally lost in a book; he can’t put it down or stop reading it. He won’t even let Rosemary look at it. When she manages to get a peek, she is shocked to realize the book is blank until Theo reads it. Theo snatches the book out of her view and warns her to “look out for the books."
After another visit from angry ghost girl, a near breakdown from Theo, and a message from Puck, it appears that it is up to Rosemary and Peter to save Theo. He has gone to the Land of Fiction to try and keep Rosemary safe, and now she needs to rescue him.
Rosemary and Peter must navigate the Land of Fiction, with Puck as their guide. They must meet challenges, find their strength, face their fears, and find out why so many of the characters in the Land of Fiction are so angry with Rosemary.
I can’t describe to you how great I thought this book was! Between the idea of being truly sucked into a book, to living in the stories that you’ve read, to the fabulous reason that all of the characters are upset. It’s hilarious, scary, exciting, and impossible to put down. I’ve always loved Puck, and the fact that he speaks mostly in iambic pentameter, intended or not, is just too perfect. If you’re a book fanatic, this is an absolute must!
July 27, 2012
It says something about a book when you read to the second-to-last chapter and then just can't bear to read another page. I read the last few pages of this book today, after starting -- and nearly finishing -- it more than a month ago. I wasn't expecting any sort of redemption; I didn't get any, either. In fact, things got even worse. I didn't think that was possible.
For the most part, I didn't have any problems with the technical aspects of the writing. However, the plot, dialogue, characters, and message left a lot to be desired. I think my overall impression was one of cheesiness. The plot made no sense (and got even more confusing at the end; if it was all about Rosemary's mind and hang-ups, why was her brother the one who had a nervous breakdown?). The characters were melodramatic in their speech, and yet they lacked any real emotion. I felt like I was reading about robots who had been programmed to act like humans. It all seemed a bit juvenile (even though it's supposedly a young adult title). And the whole tone of the book seemed condescending and pedantic; it reminded me somewhat of The Explosionist, with an author who seemed to have no desire to tell a really good story, but only wanted to demonstrate how clever they are.
This book really bothered me, so I thought a lot about it and came to the following conclusion: this should never have been a novel. It should have been a graphic novel. The cheesiness, the lack of emotional character development, the weird settings and events (all those zeppelins!), the hackneyed dialogue: all of these would have worked better with panels of illustrations rather than pages of text. But since the wrong choice of format was made, the book failed. I can't recommend this one at all.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
For the most part, I didn't have any problems with the technical aspects of the writing. However, the plot, dialogue, characters, and message left a lot to be desired. I think my overall impression was one of cheesiness. The plot made no sense (and got even more confusing at the end; if it was all about Rosemary's mind and hang-ups, why was her brother the one who had a nervous breakdown?). The characters were melodramatic in their speech, and yet they lacked any real emotion. I felt like I was reading about robots who had been programmed to act like humans. It all seemed a bit juvenile (even though it's supposedly a young adult title). And the whole tone of the book seemed condescending and pedantic; it reminded me somewhat of The Explosionist, with an author who seemed to have no desire to tell a really good story, but only wanted to demonstrate how clever they are.
This book really bothered me, so I thought a lot about it and came to the following conclusion: this should never have been a novel. It should have been a graphic novel. The cheesiness, the lack of emotional character development, the weird settings and events (all those zeppelins!), the hackneyed dialogue: all of these would have worked better with panels of illustrations rather than pages of text. But since the wrong choice of format was made, the book failed. I can't recommend this one at all.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
January 15, 2013
"When you stop reading my book, you abandoned me."
Sinopsis:
Gimana rasanya ditarik ke Land of Fiction dan harus melawan semua karakter dari buku yang tidak selesai kita baca? Itulah yang dialami Rosemary. Orangtua Rosemary seorang kolektor buku, rumahnya penuh dengan buku baik fiksi maupun nonfiksi. Meskipun pada awalnya Rosemary menyukau fiksi2 petualangan, tapi dia punya kebiasaan berhenti membaca saat tokoh utamanya dalam kesulitan. Rosemary merasa takut dengan apa yang akan terjadi pada karakter2 itu dan ending buku itu. Karena itu, Rosemary lebih suka membaca ensiklopedia dan kamus.
Sampai suatu hari Rosemary mulai mengalami berbagai kejadian aneh, salah satunya bertemu dengan gadis yang bisa melipat tubuhnya seperti kertas di perpustakaan dan menghilang, sampai puncaknya kakak Rosemary, Theo, kehilangan jiwanya yang ditarik ke dalam Land of Fiction. Untuk menyelamatkan Theo, Rosemary bersama Peter, teman sekelasnya, dengan dibantu oleh Puck, pergi ke Land of Fiction di mana Rosemary mengalami petualangan dan bertemu karakter2 yang ada di buku yang pernah dibacanya.
Review:
Wow, pergi ke dunia fiksi dan ketemu Harry Potter... hahahaha... ngimpi. Setelah baca buku ini, jadi pengen nyelesein semua buku yang baru dibaca separo2 (halah), bayangin gimana tersiksanya karakter2nya yang gak tau ending cerita mereka gimana :p
Sinopsis:
Gimana rasanya ditarik ke Land of Fiction dan harus melawan semua karakter dari buku yang tidak selesai kita baca? Itulah yang dialami Rosemary. Orangtua Rosemary seorang kolektor buku, rumahnya penuh dengan buku baik fiksi maupun nonfiksi. Meskipun pada awalnya Rosemary menyukau fiksi2 petualangan, tapi dia punya kebiasaan berhenti membaca saat tokoh utamanya dalam kesulitan. Rosemary merasa takut dengan apa yang akan terjadi pada karakter2 itu dan ending buku itu. Karena itu, Rosemary lebih suka membaca ensiklopedia dan kamus.
Sampai suatu hari Rosemary mulai mengalami berbagai kejadian aneh, salah satunya bertemu dengan gadis yang bisa melipat tubuhnya seperti kertas di perpustakaan dan menghilang, sampai puncaknya kakak Rosemary, Theo, kehilangan jiwanya yang ditarik ke dalam Land of Fiction. Untuk menyelamatkan Theo, Rosemary bersama Peter, teman sekelasnya, dengan dibantu oleh Puck, pergi ke Land of Fiction di mana Rosemary mengalami petualangan dan bertemu karakter2 yang ada di buku yang pernah dibacanya.
Review:
Wow, pergi ke dunia fiksi dan ketemu Harry Potter... hahahaha... ngimpi. Setelah baca buku ini, jadi pengen nyelesein semua buku yang baru dibaca separo2 (halah), bayangin gimana tersiksanya karakter2nya yang gak tau ending cerita mereka gimana :p
July 9, 2010
This was...an enjoyable read. I would probably recommend it to an 8-10 year old.
That being said, the plot felt like it might have been lifted from an outline for a sixth book in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet. Which made me sad that it lacked the metaphysical depth that was characteristic of her books. Also, it almost felt like is was still more of an outline than a novel. It had a very few lovely moments that made me want to really like the characters, but they just weren't developed enough. The events in the story felt at times more like they were being listed than described.
There were too many references to literary devices, and I understand that that was intentional and a part of the story, but the way it was gone about made me feel like the writer might make a better literary critic or English teacher than novelist.
The biggest challenge to my enjoyment of this book though was the sentence structure. When J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis condescend to the reader, we understand that adults all thought they had to condescend to children to write for them back when they were alive, and we forgive them. When every single sentence is subject, verb, object these days, we call it what it is: tedious, sterile and disengaging.
January 4, 2011
Yes, James is my friend...and he's also a damned fine writer. Something the entire family can read and enjoy. Having seen the care & effort that went into this novel's genesis, I can say with absolutely conviction that the final product smells of nothing but roses. :)
October 23, 2012
fast-paced book, with an interesting and (in my opinion) fresh plot. leaning more towards being a children's or young adult's book, but still to be enjoyed by anyone looking for a unique, light read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews