Between Two Ends by David Ward
Publisher: Amulet, 2011
Genre: Fantasy
Sub-genre: Contemporary, YA
Rating: 3 pints of blood
This cover stands out. It's so very different from anything else out there, with the animated look and the obvious Arabian Nights influence. I love the sea of books falling at the bottom and the shift from warm colours to cooler colours as you go further down. Honestly, I think this is a great cover, and something that speaks accurately about the book.
For those who prefer the distinction, this is a middle-grade novel, and I picked it up because I'm almost always interested in stories where a character gets zapped into a book world (or a fictional character into the real world; I'm flexible). The "story coming to life in a very literal way" trope gets to me.
When Yeats and his parents go to his grandmother's house for vacation, it opens up a whole host of family tensions, including his mother's worries about his father's sanity. But, as Yeats discovers, his father isn't crazy, he's just been trying to repress the impossible memories of a girl who vanished suddenly from the library right in front of him.
The house is a creepy one, with a well that sounds like it's trying to talk to him and a pair of pirate bookends that start talking in front of Yeats. Since he's caught them, they have to offer him one wish... just like they offered to a little girl twenty years earlier when she wished herself into The Arabian Nights book she loved so much. Yeats becomes convinced that if he could bring the girl back, it would fix his family problems, and wishes himself into the treacherous world of the book...
The book is told entirely from Yeats's perspective, which works because he's a pretty great character. Resourceful and (for the most part) smart, he has a lot at stake and as a reader you honestly want him to succeed.
The story runs at a slower pace than I'm used to for a YA novel, although that's not a bad thing. It takes its time, but the journey is an enjoyable one and it doesn't meander. There's nothing dragging it down, it runs at the pace it's meant to and does such a wonderful job building up tension I couldn't put it down... well, until we got to the ending.
I thought the buildup was far better than the payoff. Things start slowly and come together piece by piece, every bit adding to the tension of the situation, and it's just too well done for the quick and easy resolution. When I realized there were only 50 pages left to the story, I was disappointed on two levels. One, because I'd been enjoying the book enough I wanted it to last longer, but also because I knew it meant I'd be looking at an anti-climactic ending. And if it's not clear already, anti-climactic endings make me cranky.
In all fairness, though, I doubt the quick and easy ending would bother the younger readers this book is actually aimed at. There are some fun actiony bits to be had after an intriguing adventure, so it's only grumpy-pants like me who will do any grumbling.
Between Two Ends is available in hardcover
. My copy was generously provided by the publisher.
Genre: Fantasy
Sub-genre: Contemporary, YA
Rating: 3 pints of blood
This cover stands out. It's so very different from anything else out there, with the animated look and the obvious Arabian Nights influence. I love the sea of books falling at the bottom and the shift from warm colours to cooler colours as you go further down. Honestly, I think this is a great cover, and something that speaks accurately about the book.
For those who prefer the distinction, this is a middle-grade novel, and I picked it up because I'm almost always interested in stories where a character gets zapped into a book world (or a fictional character into the real world; I'm flexible). The "story coming to life in a very literal way" trope gets to me.
When Yeats and his parents go to his grandmother's house for vacation, it opens up a whole host of family tensions, including his mother's worries about his father's sanity. But, as Yeats discovers, his father isn't crazy, he's just been trying to repress the impossible memories of a girl who vanished suddenly from the library right in front of him.
The house is a creepy one, with a well that sounds like it's trying to talk to him and a pair of pirate bookends that start talking in front of Yeats. Since he's caught them, they have to offer him one wish... just like they offered to a little girl twenty years earlier when she wished herself into The Arabian Nights book she loved so much. Yeats becomes convinced that if he could bring the girl back, it would fix his family problems, and wishes himself into the treacherous world of the book...
The book is told entirely from Yeats's perspective, which works because he's a pretty great character. Resourceful and (for the most part) smart, he has a lot at stake and as a reader you honestly want him to succeed.
The story runs at a slower pace than I'm used to for a YA novel, although that's not a bad thing. It takes its time, but the journey is an enjoyable one and it doesn't meander. There's nothing dragging it down, it runs at the pace it's meant to and does such a wonderful job building up tension I couldn't put it down... well, until we got to the ending.
I thought the buildup was far better than the payoff. Things start slowly and come together piece by piece, every bit adding to the tension of the situation, and it's just too well done for the quick and easy resolution. When I realized there were only 50 pages left to the story, I was disappointed on two levels. One, because I'd been enjoying the book enough I wanted it to last longer, but also because I knew it meant I'd be looking at an anti-climactic ending. And if it's not clear already, anti-climactic endings make me cranky.
In all fairness, though, I doubt the quick and easy ending would bother the younger readers this book is actually aimed at. There are some fun actiony bits to be had after an intriguing adventure, so it's only grumpy-pants like me who will do any grumbling.
Between Two Ends is available in hardcover
. My copy was generously provided by the publisher.