by Tahereh Mafi
Penguin Random House, 2016
ISBN 9781101994764
$17.99, 416 pp, ages 13 – 17
penguinrandomhouse.ca
I really like this book because of the descriptions of the different colours, buildings and scenery. It really helped me create a vivid idea of how something looked or a scene in my head. The writing style is unique and I enjoyed the author’s little comments here and there in the story. Every couple of chapters, I stumbled upon two pages with a flowing ribbon and a comment from the author. These were hilarious and I found myself mentally snickering. It tied the chapters together and helped the book flow really nicely. My favourite character is Alice because of her character development. At the start of the book she is rather snappy, untrusting and doesn’t really accept anyone’s help. By the end of the story (with a few hiccups, of course) she learns to trust others and make friends in a dangerous world. Her friend Oliver plays a big part in this change, while changing himself. One of my favourite scenes is when Oliver and Alice make up after a fight. I thought it was very important to the plot because they don’t trust each other, and during a conversation (which leads to their fight) a few problems come to light. Making up leads to them learning to trust each other and they become friends. This is necessary because they need each other to find Alice’s father. This book is a good choice for anyone who likes fantasy. It is full of colours and magic—anyone of any age will enjoy this book as much as I did!
Review by Rosie, age 15, grade 10.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Sept/Oct 2017 issue.