Sleekfeline reviewed a book.
The Book of Lost Things
“Twelve year old David has recently lost his mother. It was just he and his dad, until his dad started seeing Rose. Then they decided to move in together and soon baby stepbrother Georgie is on the way. David feels upset and annoyed that Rose and Georgie are taking over the house. He wants to...”
“Twelve year old David has recently lost his mother. It was just he and his dad, until his dad started seeing Rose. Then they decided to move in together and soon baby stepbrother Georgie is on the way. David feels upset and annoyed that Rose and Georgie are taking over the house. He wants to be left alone with just him and his father. David also loves books and can sometimes hear them whispering to him. David takes refuge in his books to escape reality. Sometimes the line seems to blur, especially when David 'blacks out' and seems to visit the worlds he reads about in books. One day, exploring the garden outside the house, David discovers a crevice in the stones. Going through, he quickly finds himself stranded in a world of great adventures and great dangers. He comes across many unlikely characters on his journey who seem oddly familiar to those he's read about in books, but also somewhat distorted. David must travel through this world to find the king if he ever hopes to return home.
Interesting enough story. I felt it was pretty slow most of the time. I think since I was reading this book to fit the action tag, that I wanted it to be more fast paced and action - thriller type. It wasn't that, which left me a bit disappointed. However, I think if I had gone into it expecting a fantasy book, I would have enjoyed it much more. Enjoyment really does hinge on expectations. I did enjoy seeing the characters from some beloved stories turn up with surprising twists. ***potential spoiler*** I'm left unsatisfied with the ending though as it read more of a dream or afterlife than of David actually visiting another world. I'd much prefer to believe that other worlds exist rather than try to wrap stories in a neat bow and make them fit in our world. ***end of spoiler***
A good passage:
"Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by flashlight beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. They were like seeds in the beak of a bird, waiting to fall to earth, or the notes of a song laid out on a sheet, yearning for an instrument to bring their music into being. They lay dormant, hoping for the chance to emerge. Once someone started to read them, they could begin to change. They could take root in the imagination, and transform the reader. Stories wanted to be read....They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life."”
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