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The Book of Story Beginnings
"Offers mystery, adventure, and fantasy, as well as reflections on family, time travel, and stories. . . . Many readers will find something here to their liking." – BooklistOscar Martin was fourteen when he mysteriously disappeared from his Iowa farmhouse in 1914. His sister claimed Oscar had rowed out to sea – but how was that possible? Nearly a century later, when Lucy Martin moves with her parents to that same Iowa farmhouse, she discovers the strange and dangerous Book of Story Beginnings, and soon Oscar himself reappears in a bizarre turn of events that sends the two distant relatives on a perilous journey. From a first-time author comes an intricate, spellbinding fantasy that lures you in and won’t let go.
371 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2006
73 people are currently reading
1007 people want to read
About the author
Kristin Kladstrup
6 books46 followersKristin Kladstrup is the author of the middle-grade novel THE BOOK OF STORY BEGINNINGS and the picture book THE GINGERBREAD PIRATES. She lives near Boston, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
December 18, 2018
This was my favorite book as a child and was the book that first really got me into reading. It was also the first book I ever wrote fanfiction for, back when I was so young I wasn't allowed on the computer and didn't even know what fanfiction was. I would recommend this to elementary & middle schoolers that like fantasy, different worlds and time travel.
December 27, 2012
This is a wonderful book for a young reader around 10-11 years old. I really enjoyed the feel of the book--it reminded me of Chronicles of Narnia, The Wizard of Oz (the movie), and Inkheart.
The title is a bit ironic since I felt like the beginning of the story really sucked me in while the end was a little more ho-hum. But still worth the read.
I'll pass it along to my daughters because I do think they would enjoy the story.
One small note: part of the story deals with a married couple who are always bickering with each other....but it all works out in the end along with a good message.
A couple quotes I liked: "Don't you think there are some stories that are more alive than that? When you put certain books back on the shelf, don't you feel as if the people inside are going on with their lives after the story is over?"
In speaking about a husband and wife, " 'it helps to have something in common, but she can't be everything for them. They need to choose to be happy.' Lucy was thinking of her own parents. In the past, she had often felt as if she were the one holding them together. But it wasn't me at all, she realized suddenly. People have to decide for themselves to be happy."
The title is a bit ironic since I felt like the beginning of the story really sucked me in while the end was a little more ho-hum. But still worth the read.
I'll pass it along to my daughters because I do think they would enjoy the story.
One small note: part of the story deals with a married couple who are always bickering with each other....but it all works out in the end along with a good message.
A couple quotes I liked: "Don't you think there are some stories that are more alive than that? When you put certain books back on the shelf, don't you feel as if the people inside are going on with their lives after the story is over?"
In speaking about a husband and wife, " 'it helps to have something in common, but she can't be everything for them. They need to choose to be happy.' Lucy was thinking of her own parents. In the past, she had often felt as if she were the one holding them together. But it wasn't me at all, she realized suddenly. People have to decide for themselves to be happy."
September 24, 2015
I found this book difficult to get through and I almost didn't finish it. I honestly felt bored reading it and annoyed by the tone and immaturity of the story. The premise and back blurb had sounded so promising and I expected a much larger adventure but it really felt like a one trick pony and not a very good one. And one thing that I really disliked near the start was when Lucy tells her mother she's going to watch her uncle load up cows for slaughter or something. I felt that was really unnecessary to say in a childrens book that felt overly young in every other way? Why bring up cows going to slaughter? Such an ugly topic and irrelevant to the story. She could have simply said she fed the chickens or petted the goats or whatever. It just really struck an off-note with me almost from the start. It seemed like there was some good ideas but execution of them was really not very good and some parts were just downright nasty. Even the ending just felt forced and uncomfortable. Imo, not worth the time I spent reading it. Too many other good books out there.
November 4, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book, it is about Lucy and her family moving to a new home and then she discovers a magical book that belonged to her great Aunt Lavonne that Oscar used to go to a different world. Then Lucy starts going on adventure trying to get Oscar back. It's a very interesting book to read that will keep you wanting to read some more.
May 11, 2019
"Beware you writers who write within;
Be mindful of stories that you begin;
For every story that has a beginning
May have a middle and an end.
Know this, too, before you write;
Though day must always lead to night,
Not all beginnings make good tales;
Some succeed, while others fail."
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now. My sister picked it up at a thrift store because the cover was neat and the story sounded intriguing. I agreed and planned to read it. It's taken a while, but I finally have.
The beginning of this was really interesting and the concept of it fascinating. A book where you write a story beginning that comes true? It's a neat concept, particularly since you don't write the full story and sometimes it gets away from you.
While I enjoyed this overall, it didn't quite live up to its potential or its beginning for me. The continuation of the story beginnings, and their endings in particular, fell a bit flat. The end of the novel itself was a bit lacking.
Also, I don't like how clueless a lot of the adults were. Yes, some adults are clueless, but I don't like how this is presented in a lot of children and middlegrade books that I've read. It makes the story less real, which makes it less enjoyable for me.
This was good, but has not jumped to my list of favorites.
March 15, 2019
My daughter & I started reading this book together, and we couldn’t put it down for about the first third of the book. But the middle slowed way down and my daughter lost interest and finally asked if we could stop reading. I finished the book on my own. Great beginning, slow middle, decent ending.
July 25, 2021
Such a wonderful story! The quirky adventures and characters reminded me somewhat of The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. Definitely a new favorite!
April 19, 2023
I used to start reading this book as a kid, then get distracted by another book. It would’ve been magical at the intended age, but it was something special as an adult.
January 21, 2023
1/2023 reread (third reading):
Last time I read this I felt very meh about it, but this time it enchanted me. It has many elements I love: old houses, family secrets, magic, time/book travel, fairy tales. But there is an indefinable something that made me want the story to never end. Although the characters are not the most developed, they feel like real people I relate and grow attached to. I love how their struggles are reflected in the stories they write. The book is a testament to how when both reading and writing stories we can't help bringing our own experiences into them. I was also more satisfied by the ending this time. There is not a clear resolution between Lucy's parents, but that is part of the point, as it was with Oscar's parents. Their arguments really were not very important after all. I'm not sure I like the wording of "people have to decide to be happy" at the end, though. Maybe Kladstrup uses "happy" to simplify things for children, but I would prefer "content," because it indicates more depth than a word that stands for a fleeting emotion.
SPOILER: Oscar's permanent separation from his family is painful to accept, but this outcome is a reminder that we can never know all of the results of our actions, and as tempting as being able to manipulate time might be, doing so would be far too complicated and difficult to predict. Much like what is written in the Book of Story Beginnings, we have limited control over how our lives progress. We can only try to make the best choices and accept what we cannot change.
I will definitely read this one again and am glad I gave it a third chance.
***
2013:
By cleverly twining the lives of the characters and the stories they begin and showing their uncontrollable resolutions, Kladstrup gives the important message that we cannot necessarily determine how the stories in our lives turn out, but we can control how we react to them and make the best of the circumstances they produce.
Both Lucy and Oscar fade as characters somewhat toward the middle, but the narrative drove me on to find out how the two rescue Lucy's father. Plus, Captain Mack, the warring King and Queen, and conniving Tom provide intrigue--as does the Book of Story Beginnings Itself. Imagine writing just a few sentences of a story and having them come true...
The ending isn't what some may call a 'happy' one for one of the characters, but the book's central message wouldn't be as strong if things worked out perfectly. The part of the ending that didn't satisfy me is the conflict between Lucy's parents, whose reconciliation is brushed over without being shown.
Last time I read this I felt very meh about it, but this time it enchanted me. It has many elements I love: old houses, family secrets, magic, time/book travel, fairy tales. But there is an indefinable something that made me want the story to never end. Although the characters are not the most developed, they feel like real people I relate and grow attached to. I love how their struggles are reflected in the stories they write. The book is a testament to how when both reading and writing stories we can't help bringing our own experiences into them. I was also more satisfied by the ending this time. There is not a clear resolution between Lucy's parents, but that is part of the point, as it was with Oscar's parents. Their arguments really were not very important after all. I'm not sure I like the wording of "people have to decide to be happy" at the end, though. Maybe Kladstrup uses "happy" to simplify things for children, but I would prefer "content," because it indicates more depth than a word that stands for a fleeting emotion.
SPOILER: Oscar's permanent separation from his family is painful to accept, but this outcome is a reminder that we can never know all of the results of our actions, and as tempting as being able to manipulate time might be, doing so would be far too complicated and difficult to predict. Much like what is written in the Book of Story Beginnings, we have limited control over how our lives progress. We can only try to make the best choices and accept what we cannot change.
I will definitely read this one again and am glad I gave it a third chance.
***
2013:
By cleverly twining the lives of the characters and the stories they begin and showing their uncontrollable resolutions, Kladstrup gives the important message that we cannot necessarily determine how the stories in our lives turn out, but we can control how we react to them and make the best of the circumstances they produce.
Both Lucy and Oscar fade as characters somewhat toward the middle, but the narrative drove me on to find out how the two rescue Lucy's father. Plus, Captain Mack, the warring King and Queen, and conniving Tom provide intrigue--as does the Book of Story Beginnings Itself. Imagine writing just a few sentences of a story and having them come true...
The ending isn't what some may call a 'happy' one for one of the characters, but the book's central message wouldn't be as strong if things worked out perfectly. The part of the ending that didn't satisfy me is the conflict between Lucy's parents, whose reconciliation is brushed over without being shown.
May 27, 2016
Lucy loves her life in New York, so when her parents say that they are moving to Iowa, she is very disappointed. She's going to move into her old aunt's house. Her aunt had recently died, but while she was alive she was very much into magic. She had believed that her older brother Oscar had vanished because of it when she was very young. One of Lucy's aunt's items of study was an old book called the Book of Story Beginnings. So when Lucy finds the book and mystical things start happening around the house, adventures begin and magic is around every corner.
I found this book interesting. I usually don't go for fantasy books but this one had a well-written plot and ongoing themes. The descriptions were very good for visualization and the characters were very exaggerated (in a good way of course). The reasons I gave this book 3 stars were that the book lulled in some places. The writing would be very engaging in some areas and a little less in others. Also, I'm not very much of a magic type person myself, but that's personal preference.
All in all though, I would recommend this book.
I found this book interesting. I usually don't go for fantasy books but this one had a well-written plot and ongoing themes. The descriptions were very good for visualization and the characters were very exaggerated (in a good way of course). The reasons I gave this book 3 stars were that the book lulled in some places. The writing would be very engaging in some areas and a little less in others. Also, I'm not very much of a magic type person myself, but that's personal preference.
All in all though, I would recommend this book.
July 9, 2016
I started it in October 2011, lost interest and then reread it (this time finishing) in April 2012.
The beginning chapter or so was ok. It just got boring though. I loved the premise, but it wasn't well executed. Neither main character was interesting to me, and the action felt pointless.
I guess it wasn't for me.
The beginning chapter or so was ok. It just got boring though. I loved the premise, but it wasn't well executed. Neither main character was interesting to me, and the action felt pointless.
I guess it wasn't for me.
January 30, 2008
I loved this book
January 19, 2020
Welcome my fellow Book Dragons to Saturday’s Child. Our Gem this evening is a beautiful bit of Sea Glass that was found by my middle Grandnestling in her school library . She gave it to me and suggested I study it, as she found it quite beautiful and interesting and said it held her attention so thoroughly that she asked Father Christmas to bring her one of her very own. And as Father Christmas is also a Book Dragon, he did so. This is Gem Maker Kristin Kladstrup’s “Book of Story Beginnings”.
This is the tale of Lucy Martin who, along with her family, moves to her father’s ancestral home in Iowa. She finds out that her father’s Uncle Oscar disappeared when he was 14. But this was not an ordinary disappearance. He disappeared in a row boat on an ocean…that appeared on the Iowa farm house grounds. If you know your geography, you know that cannot be possible. Iowa being where it is and oceans being where they are.
Lucy is determined to find out the how and why and wherefores. She discovers a magic notebook. Apparently whatever Oscar wrote in the notebook became reality. Oscar reappears, but is distraught when he realizes his family and everyone he knew is dead. Ms. Kladstrup handles this very nicely and shows that while we do not pick our family, we can certainly choose who we treat as family.
Lucy then realizes things she has written in the notebook have now put her own family in danger. She needs Oscar to help her navigate ‘The Book of Story Beginnings’ to save her family. Will they succeed? Or will Lucy, like Oscar, have to wait another century for someone to help her find her way back?
I can see why my Grandnestling loved this book! It is full of adventure, kindness, melancholy, danger and magic. All the things that draw nestlings to a good story. Nestlings wrestle with their emotions and imaginings. It is stories like this one that help them work those out, deal with them and sometimes cause the occasional nestling to grow up to be a Gem Maker and Dragon Feeder themselves.
This book is currently available on Amazon for some pretty amazing prices. Kindle is approximately $5.00, Hardback $1.99, and Paperback $1.25. If you would love to send your nestling on a high adventure, it’s relatively low cost to do. Why not do it today?
Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon, Drakon T. Longwitten
I borrowed this book from my Grandnestling
This is the tale of Lucy Martin who, along with her family, moves to her father’s ancestral home in Iowa. She finds out that her father’s Uncle Oscar disappeared when he was 14. But this was not an ordinary disappearance. He disappeared in a row boat on an ocean…that appeared on the Iowa farm house grounds. If you know your geography, you know that cannot be possible. Iowa being where it is and oceans being where they are.
Lucy is determined to find out the how and why and wherefores. She discovers a magic notebook. Apparently whatever Oscar wrote in the notebook became reality. Oscar reappears, but is distraught when he realizes his family and everyone he knew is dead. Ms. Kladstrup handles this very nicely and shows that while we do not pick our family, we can certainly choose who we treat as family.
Lucy then realizes things she has written in the notebook have now put her own family in danger. She needs Oscar to help her navigate ‘The Book of Story Beginnings’ to save her family. Will they succeed? Or will Lucy, like Oscar, have to wait another century for someone to help her find her way back?
I can see why my Grandnestling loved this book! It is full of adventure, kindness, melancholy, danger and magic. All the things that draw nestlings to a good story. Nestlings wrestle with their emotions and imaginings. It is stories like this one that help them work those out, deal with them and sometimes cause the occasional nestling to grow up to be a Gem Maker and Dragon Feeder themselves.
This book is currently available on Amazon for some pretty amazing prices. Kindle is approximately $5.00, Hardback $1.99, and Paperback $1.25. If you would love to send your nestling on a high adventure, it’s relatively low cost to do. Why not do it today?
Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon, Drakon T. Longwitten
I borrowed this book from my Grandnestling
November 1, 2019
My name is Lucy, and I love learning about my family's history. My great aunt left her farmhouse to my father, and she even mentioned me in her will. Her brother Oscar disappeared in a rowboat back in 1914, and he was never seen again. However, no one believed her story that he had rowed the boat out into a sea, since they lived in the middle of nowhere on an Iowa farm. My aunt believed I could help solve the mystery, so I've been looking for clues ever since we arrived. My dad looked at her notes on alchemy, but now he's disappeared. I think it has something to do with a story I started in the book, except Oscar just reappeared! The book must let stories play out on their own, which means Oscar and I now find ourselves in the middle of an adventure.
The plot began as I expected with Oscar returning from his ordeal, however the rest of the book included enough twists to keep things interesting. A key element of the story involved a king and a queen who couldn't live together. The king loved cats and the queen loved birds, so you can imagine the problems this created. The plot addressed the concepts of parental relationships and what it takes to have happy marriages. Oscar and Lucy's parents had similar issues, since the spouses seemed so different from each other, just like the king and queen. There were many character transformations, beginning with Oscar's return from being a cat. You'd think Lucy and Oscar could have written happy endings to the book's stories, but the book wouldn't let that happen. The kids didn't fully understand how the book worked, so that made its magic unpredictable. The king was magical and impulsive, so his behavior provided surprises too. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book, since I'd never heard of the author and didn't really know what to expect. You'll like it if you enjoy magic and cats; the cats are especially important to the plot. I suggest you give the book a shot.
The plot began as I expected with Oscar returning from his ordeal, however the rest of the book included enough twists to keep things interesting. A key element of the story involved a king and a queen who couldn't live together. The king loved cats and the queen loved birds, so you can imagine the problems this created. The plot addressed the concepts of parental relationships and what it takes to have happy marriages. Oscar and Lucy's parents had similar issues, since the spouses seemed so different from each other, just like the king and queen. There were many character transformations, beginning with Oscar's return from being a cat. You'd think Lucy and Oscar could have written happy endings to the book's stories, but the book wouldn't let that happen. The kids didn't fully understand how the book worked, so that made its magic unpredictable. The king was magical and impulsive, so his behavior provided surprises too. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book, since I'd never heard of the author and didn't really know what to expect. You'll like it if you enjoy magic and cats; the cats are especially important to the plot. I suggest you give the book a shot.
April 29, 2019
I was really intrigued at the start this book. Lucy and her parents move into an old farmhouse in Iowa that her father had inherited from his Aunt. There is an air of mystery about the place because several decades ago, Lucy's uncle, Oscar, disappeared when he was just a teen. His sister, Lavonne, reported seeing him row off into the night in a boat into an ocean that had sprung up in the middle of Iowa out of nowhere. Of course, no one believed her.
When Lucy finds Oscar's journals and his "Book of Story Beginnings," she realizes that it may have something to do with Oscar's disappearance. After all, Oscar had written the beginnings of a story about a boy who suddenly sees an ocean in his yard, and gets in a boat and rows off....but then what? It's only a book of story BEGINNINGS - not middles or ends.
One day Lucy's father is in the attic, tooling around with some his Aunt's alchemy potions. Suddenly, a cat becomes human - Oscar has reappeared, and Lucy's father becomes a raven and flies out the window. The adventure begins and I was all in, but then....
The story lost its oomph. It became confusing and a little weird. First, Lucy's father disappears for several days and everyone just thinks he's run off because he was fighting with his wife. Then there's a disturbing scene where cats massacre dozens of birds. This would be enough to give kids nightmares. It went on a little long and while there was some closure, it was more like a long sigh than a firm nod.
When Lucy finds Oscar's journals and his "Book of Story Beginnings," she realizes that it may have something to do with Oscar's disappearance. After all, Oscar had written the beginnings of a story about a boy who suddenly sees an ocean in his yard, and gets in a boat and rows off....but then what? It's only a book of story BEGINNINGS - not middles or ends.
One day Lucy's father is in the attic, tooling around with some his Aunt's alchemy potions. Suddenly, a cat becomes human - Oscar has reappeared, and Lucy's father becomes a raven and flies out the window. The adventure begins and I was all in, but then....
The story lost its oomph. It became confusing and a little weird. First, Lucy's father disappears for several days and everyone just thinks he's run off because he was fighting with his wife. Then there's a disturbing scene where cats massacre dozens of birds. This would be enough to give kids nightmares. It went on a little long and while there was some closure, it was more like a long sigh than a firm nod.
June 16, 2021
this was one of THOSE books- you know, the ones that make you reconsider your entire life. are we book characters? how do our actions now impact other people’s lives in the future? are we just living out other people’s “beginnings”? and, if so, do we really have ANY control over how the story goes? this book made me think of all of these and more during an exciting plot that i LOVED- the concept is so interesting! this was the most fun existential crisis i’ve ever had. 100/10.
i loved the plot too! it was an excellent combo of “fairy tale” and a little suspenseful. definitely keeps you on your toes at some points and i loved the twists and the turns! i loved the quote about how the best endings are really beginnings!!
it took me a bit to get really into it because after reading the prologue the reader knows all of the information that it takes lucy multiple chapters to find (that was frustrating for me). HOWEVER. i did love seeing lucy’s life and watching her solve this mystery at the beginning even if it was a bit slow.
i think oscars character could have developed a bit more. i really don’t think he changed at all, even with the twist at the end. there was an opportunity for a major shift at the end, but the way the author went about it kind of just kept oscar stagnant until the last paragraph or so? it was a very realistic response but i would’ve liked to see more at the end; i think it was rushed and we didn’t see the effects or much about oscar.
i loved the plot too! it was an excellent combo of “fairy tale” and a little suspenseful. definitely keeps you on your toes at some points and i loved the twists and the turns! i loved the quote about how the best endings are really beginnings!!
it took me a bit to get really into it because after reading the prologue the reader knows all of the information that it takes lucy multiple chapters to find (that was frustrating for me). HOWEVER. i did love seeing lucy’s life and watching her solve this mystery at the beginning even if it was a bit slow.
i think oscars character could have developed a bit more. i really don’t think he changed at all, even with the twist at the end. there was an opportunity for a major shift at the end, but the way the author went about it kind of just kept oscar stagnant until the last paragraph or so? it was a very realistic response but i would’ve liked to see more at the end; i think it was rushed and we didn’t see the effects or much about oscar.
September 10, 2023
When Lucy’s family moves to the family home in Iowa, she entertains herself by trying to solve the mystery of her great-uncle Oscar, who disappeared in 1914. What she does not predict is that he has whisked away by a magical book, and Lucy accidentally brings him back! But the book is still at work, and when Lucy's father is the next one to disappear, Lucy and Oscar go after him. They adventure through a world sprung from their own imaginations, filled with kings and queens, sorcerers and transformations. It is patched together from the beginnings of stories, and in order to return home, they must give each story its happy ending.
I wanted to like this book. It was promising for sure. The writing was detailed and whimsical, with a highly original plot. The storybook world was well-developed. The deeper motifs about family, and their parallels in the storybook world, were poignant and sweet. But ultimately, the book was slow. Lucy and Oscar didn't even leave on their adventure until halfway through the book. Also, I couldn't bring myself to care about the main characters. They just weren't developed enough outside of their specific role in the story. There was one alarmingly bloody scene. The ending was a little abrupt and silly, with some unanswered questions. Most frustrating to me was that the book was never explained. Where did it come from? How did it end up in Oscar's attic? How did it get powers? I guess we'll never know.
I wanted to like this book. It was promising for sure. The writing was detailed and whimsical, with a highly original plot. The storybook world was well-developed. The deeper motifs about family, and their parallels in the storybook world, were poignant and sweet. But ultimately, the book was slow. Lucy and Oscar didn't even leave on their adventure until halfway through the book. Also, I couldn't bring myself to care about the main characters. They just weren't developed enough outside of their specific role in the story. There was one alarmingly bloody scene. The ending was a little abrupt and silly, with some unanswered questions. Most frustrating to me was that the book was never explained. Where did it come from? How did it end up in Oscar's attic? How did it get powers? I guess we'll never know.
February 19, 2018
"Beware, you writers who write within;
Be mindful of stories that you begin;
For every story that has a beginning
May have a middle and an end."
I was expecting this book to be amazing, it sounded great. A boy disappears and then turns up after a girl reads a book one hundred years later? Yes, please! I was expecting something like Jumanji, they'd have to battle something evil and find out how a book sucked in a boy and kept him young for a century, but nope. He wrote a story, it came true. He got turned into a cat and lived as one for pretty much all the time he was gone, boring.
I wanted something mysterious, and since I got this out of the children's section maybe I was setting my hopes up too high, but still, this was still bad. I was determined to finish the book, I just wanted to dust my hands with it and never see it again, that's how bad it was.
There's nothing mysterious about the book, any questions Lucy has about Oscar's disappearance gets answered when he returns, which is like chapter six, and these are short chapters! He explains how he was turned into a cat by a character from a story he wrote and then Lucy writes in the book so that both Oscar and Lucy can save her dad, it's boring and not mysterious as the description makes it out to be. I was expecting way more than that.
Be mindful of stories that you begin;
For every story that has a beginning
May have a middle and an end."
I was expecting this book to be amazing, it sounded great. A boy disappears and then turns up after a girl reads a book one hundred years later? Yes, please! I was expecting something like Jumanji, they'd have to battle something evil and find out how a book sucked in a boy and kept him young for a century, but nope. He wrote a story, it came true. He got turned into a cat and lived as one for pretty much all the time he was gone, boring.
I wanted something mysterious, and since I got this out of the children's section maybe I was setting my hopes up too high, but still, this was still bad. I was determined to finish the book, I just wanted to dust my hands with it and never see it again, that's how bad it was.
There's nothing mysterious about the book, any questions Lucy has about Oscar's disappearance gets answered when he returns, which is like chapter six, and these are short chapters! He explains how he was turned into a cat by a character from a story he wrote and then Lucy writes in the book so that both Oscar and Lucy can save her dad, it's boring and not mysterious as the description makes it out to be. I was expecting way more than that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2020
J’avais décidé de prendre un livre inconnu au bataillon parmi la foultitude de livres de la bibliothèque où je travaille, histoire de ne pas me cantonner à du connu et reconnu.
J’ai atterri dans une histoire qui n’est pas sans me rappeler parfois Le monde de Narnia.
L’autrice a vraiment voulu bosser la psychologie de ses héros, ne pas se cantonner aux contes de fées-fantasy pour la jeunesse qui ne prennent pas la peine de raconter la fin des histoires telle qu’elle peut être vécue par de jeunes personnages ayant tout juste vécu une aventure extraordinaire.
Bon, c’est pas mal, mais le contenu de cette aventure extraordinaire n’était pas passionnant non plus (après, c’est censé avoir été imaginé par un jeune garçon, et même l’héroïne reconnaît ce manque de profondeur, alors...), et ces péripéties traînent un peu trop en longueur.
Bref, ce n’est pas un livre qui restera dans mes annales personnelles, mais je pourrais éventuellement le recommander à de jeunes lecteurs : l’histoire (côté « conte de fées ») est assez simple en soi, mais le récit contient suffisamment de réflexion sur lui-même, sur la notion d’histoire et sur la mentalité de ses personnages pour ne pas perdre non plus totalement son intérêt. Disons que c’est sympathique.
J’ai atterri dans une histoire qui n’est pas sans me rappeler parfois Le monde de Narnia.
L’autrice a vraiment voulu bosser la psychologie de ses héros, ne pas se cantonner aux contes de fées-fantasy pour la jeunesse qui ne prennent pas la peine de raconter la fin des histoires telle qu’elle peut être vécue par de jeunes personnages ayant tout juste vécu une aventure extraordinaire.
Bon, c’est pas mal, mais le contenu de cette aventure extraordinaire n’était pas passionnant non plus (après, c’est censé avoir été imaginé par un jeune garçon, et même l’héroïne reconnaît ce manque de profondeur, alors...), et ces péripéties traînent un peu trop en longueur.
Bref, ce n’est pas un livre qui restera dans mes annales personnelles, mais je pourrais éventuellement le recommander à de jeunes lecteurs : l’histoire (côté « conte de fées ») est assez simple en soi, mais le récit contient suffisamment de réflexion sur lui-même, sur la notion d’histoire et sur la mentalité de ses personnages pour ne pas perdre non plus totalement son intérêt. Disons que c’est sympathique.
February 27, 2018
Great premice but a bit boring. I liked the idea that you need a great beginning to a story and that stories partly written still have a life of their own.
I also liked how the author told kids that they aren't responsible for their parents' fights or happiness. Both the kids have parents who tend towards fighting or arguing and it affects the kids. A kind of obviously told lesson.
A couple quotes I liked: "Don't you think there are some stories that are more alive than that? When you put certain books back on the shelf, don't you feel as if the people inside are going on with their lives after the story is over?"
In speaking about a husband and wife, " 'it helps to have something in common, but she can't be everything for them. They need to choose to be happy.' Lucy was thinking of her own parents. In the past, she had often felt as if she were the one holding them together. But it wasn't me at all, she realized suddenly. People have to decide for themselves to be happy."
I also liked how the author told kids that they aren't responsible for their parents' fights or happiness. Both the kids have parents who tend towards fighting or arguing and it affects the kids. A kind of obviously told lesson.
A couple quotes I liked: "Don't you think there are some stories that are more alive than that? When you put certain books back on the shelf, don't you feel as if the people inside are going on with their lives after the story is over?"
In speaking about a husband and wife, " 'it helps to have something in common, but she can't be everything for them. They need to choose to be happy.' Lucy was thinking of her own parents. In the past, she had often felt as if she were the one holding them together. But it wasn't me at all, she realized suddenly. People have to decide for themselves to be happy."
August 26, 2025
A magic book that makes whatever you write in it come true (with a twist, of course) forms the basis of this time travel adventure wherein two young kids born 100 years apart must undo the chaos their innocent scribblings have created. The premise is hardly novel and the "adventure" becomes tediously repetitious with shallow fairy tale characters doing what fairy tale characters do. But there is a bit of gravitas in the form of familial discord and tot-sized discussions on Free Will and the paradoxes inherent with going back and forth through time.
February 24, 2017
Wow, with this title, I really wanted to love this book. But I didn't. It was OK, and I did something I rarely allow myself to do: after about half the book, I skimmed to then end, so I could find out what happened. I am not sure why this book didn't work for me. I felt the two kids were not behaving "realistically" for the situation they are in. I know it's a fantasy books, but people are people no matter what their situation. I never really got engaged by the characters.
February 25, 2018
A mystery novel that tells a story of the journey of two kids finding a father who was lost in a far island. I found the concept illustrating life as a story really interesting, and the twist and turns in the plot left me so puzzled that I had to read it through again to understand it better. If you are interested in books that is more than a story and makes you think about the concept, I believe this is a book for you.
July 10, 2018
A story full of original ideas, where the plot keeps twisting further and further away from a resolution - and you wonder how it will all end. Well, it all ends very nicely thank-you, as this clever author takes her young readers on a ride through the imagination, and safely home again. Young people who enjoy this kind of historical, time-travel narrative may also enjoy 'Tom's Midnight Garden' (Pearce); 'Playing Beattie Bow' (Park); and 'Market Blues' (Murray).
October 10, 2018
It is like the story book version of the game Jumanji.
Oscar vanished years ago and in the current date, Lucy's father vanishes and only Lucy knows the connection between the two disappearances. She's a good protagonist and the characters are all worth your time, nobody is outrageously idiotic. The book ends in a way that might surprise you. It certainly surprised me.
Worth a read and is a feel-good book.
Oscar vanished years ago and in the current date, Lucy's father vanishes and only Lucy knows the connection between the two disappearances. She's a good protagonist and the characters are all worth your time, nobody is outrageously idiotic. The book ends in a way that might surprise you. It certainly surprised me.
Worth a read and is a feel-good book.
July 12, 2019
"...They chose to be happy. They had to, even if they never forgot you, or never stopped missing you....You're choosing to be happy about what's happened." "The happiest endings -- I think they're endings that feel like beginnings."
Choosing to be happy in your current circumstances and being content with your life choices - even as you work to change what you don't like, that seems to be this book's message. And it was a fun book to read. Full of adventure and magic.
Choosing to be happy in your current circumstances and being content with your life choices - even as you work to change what you don't like, that seems to be this book's message. And it was a fun book to read. Full of adventure and magic.
May 14, 2020
I loved this book! I've read it more than once and never got bored of it. Maybe it is the wishful thinking of being able to escape into a fairy tale land or just the way the world was written. I think that I may just be a sucker for young people going on adventures and pretending that I was with them. Real life turning into fantasy lets me escape when I need to and this book helped me with that more than others.
September 12, 2022
The book is about a girl who goes to live at her great-aunt's house. She finds a book called the book of story beginnings. Her great-uncle had written in it before he disappeared. The idea is that every story that has a beginning has to have a middle and an end, and since her uncle wrote the story beginnings,he was the one who had to finish the stories. He got stuck in a story, and the girl wrote something in the book that brought him back, and then they finished the stories together.
October 31, 2023
I did like this book but it surprised me. First I was surprised by the sad fact that if the main character solves this mystery, her late great aunt will never know what happened to her missing brother. But then, she finds her missing great uncle and he hasn't aged and realizes his entire family has died. That's so heavy for a kids book no? But the rest of the story was ok. 3.5
April 21, 2018
My favorite part was when Oscar decided to stay with Lucy and her parents, so Lucy finally had a friend, and when the king and queen were happy again. My least favorite part was when Tom tried to kill Lucy's father when he was a Raven.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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