Jacqueline West

I love a good Shakespeare twist and all the lovely lines interwoven into the story. I love the horrible odd moments characters would pop up, even some their confusing babble. I could just picture Hamlet bobbing a horrible skull in her face telling her to remember her father.

But all the lovely words were far overshadowed by how tough the ending is. I think I get it but that doesn't mean I like it. Sure, I've leaped to a conclusion because I re-read chapter one and it's the same as the end. show more Then tying together Shakespeare's words that the scene has to play out how it will because it's already happened and...she's reliving the same crash over and over? Except each time she's starting to realize new clues. I assume she's still in the hospital but that doesn't mean I'm right. And I wanted the end to be twisty and dark but I didn't feel that at all. I think the message about choices vs fate gets lost in the shuffle of a confusing end. show less

I loved West's Books of Elsewhere, but they've never circulated as much as I've wanted them to. Most of the kids I've tried them on have told me they're too scary! Still, the description of this book lured me in and I decided to enjoy it myself, even if the kids don't appreciate it.

Van is the new kid, the small kid, easy to overlook - but he sees things nobody else sees. Usually these are small treasures he carries back to his toy theater, wherever he and his opera-singer mother are show more currently living. But one day he sees - and hears - something different. He sees a strange girl and he hears a talking squirrel. This is unusual not only because, well, talking animals but also because Van can't hear too well anyways. But he doesn't have adjust his hearing aids or make any effort, he just... hears a squirrel.

The mystery deepens as Van pursues the Pebble, the girl, and Barnavelt, the squirrel, and discovers a hidden world of captured wishes and strange collectors, mysterious animals and magic both glorious and terrifying. Eventually, he will be torn between his new friends and his own wishes, trying to find the right path when everyone seems to be lying to him.

This fantasy builds slowly, but when it finally gets going it's a powerful book. Van encounters the power of wishes and also how that power corrupts. He meets friends who turn out to be enemies, and learns that not everything is black and white. West handles Van's hearing loss carefully, weaving its effects into the narrative of his everyday life and building it into the climactic final as Van makes his own choices about his destiny, reminding those who try to change his life that can make his own decisions.

This reminded me of the film Nocturna, with the blend of magic and the strange creatures flitting through the night. It has an open ending, leaving room for a sequel, but not ending on a cliffhanger (the second and last title came out in October 2019, A storm of wishes)

Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written and gorgeously imagined magical world, and the smooth integration of Van's impaired hearing was extremely well done. However, its length (almost 400 pages) and the slow, reflective beginning, as well as the emphasis on the urban setting and the opera world, make this something unlikely to check out in my library. Happily, there are several copies available in my consortium and I plan to use it in forthcoming book clubs and see if there is enough interest to justify the purchase.

ISBN: 9780062691699; Published 2018 by Greenwillow; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Although he tends to go through life generally unnoticed, Van himself is very good at noticing things. Little things that other people would never see. He finds out one day that he can even see some people whom other, normal, folks can't, and that's where his adventures begin. These usually invisible people are Collectors - they steal away wishes before the Wish Eaters can get them. But Van soon discovers that it's not at all easy to discern which side is the right side in this struggle, and show more that things like good intentions can have disastrous effects.
I loved this Schneider Honor Book, both for it's excellent and imaginative story, but also - and especially - for how Van is portrayed as a boy who wears hearing aids but how that isn't a major plot point. Van is just Van and his hearing aids are a part of how his life works, NBD. As it should be. show less

This book is AMAZING and perfect for Halloween! Twisted and delightfully descriptive and creepy. Anders plays in a metal band in rural, wooded Minnesota. Thea is a shadow at his every performance at the local coffeehouse. Everyone whispers that her aunt is a witch. Everyone says Thea is his stalker. Which, pretty much, she is. But is Thea trying to protect Anders, is she obsessed with him, or is she out to hurt him?

The writing is soooo good, the use of unreliable narrators leaving you show more questioning yourself most of the way through the book. Is there something supernatural going on? What is it? Who is really the bad guy? I devoured this one. It would make an amazing, creepy Halloween read, and the combination of paranormal and music/rock band was awesomesauce!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less