Marissa Burt

Note: I received a free ARC of the novel.

First thing, I love the cover art! It's very eye-catching and definitely draws interest in.

I really enjoyed Story's End. The plot was very engaging and didn't drag in any place. I liked discovering more about other places in Story like The Ranch and the Enchanted Swamp. Getting to see more of Snow and her relationship with her mother was a great thing, plus learning more about Professor Thornhill. It may not have ended "happily ever after" but with a show more definite good resolution.

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Wish that I liked this better. Loved the concept of the girl who is "written into" a story although that is not an original idea.
What frustrated me most about it is that I really didn't like any of the characters--except Sam the cat. Snow was kind of funny with the way she had the animals waiting on her hand and foot, but the rest of them were just bland. Ina especially, was just such a brat. If she hadn't been someone who loved to read so much I would have thrown her out immediately.
Yes, show more I will read the second book simply to find out what happens but hoping that there is a bit more character development in the 2nd one. show less

I was very excited by the premise of this book, which sounded like (as the blurb on the back said) The Neverending Story meets Inkheart. In a very meta-fantasy setup, our young heroine is mysteriously transported to a different world, a strange place where stories are created. All of the kids in this world go to school to learn to be character types (the first kids she meets are studying to be a Hero and a Lady). But what is this girl from our world doing in the land of Story? Hold on, show more friends, for it's going to get very complicated.

A book this long (400 pages) and twisting demands a lot from young readers. We know lots of kids can handle it because we've seen them gobble up enormously long and complicated fantasy books before (in the millions). Unfortunately, though this book feels like it wants to join those ranks, I don't think it has the right stuff.

Long, twisting fantasies are at at their best when the reader feels that I-can't-put-it-down feeling. I had to struggle to keep reading this. Everything just fell flat for me, from the talking cat to the evil Elton to the very vanilla main characters. When I was 100 pages in and still didn't feel the least bit concerned about what was going on, I skipped to the end to try to decide if I should keep going. What I found was clear evidence that this is meant to the be the first in a series. I groaned inwardly and set the book aside.

This just goes to show that a good idea good writing does not always equal a good book. There's some X factor that's missing here. Or maybe the long, complicated juvenile fantasy genre is finally dying a death from a thousand small cuts. You water it down and water it down, and it's just not as special as it once was. (Though, to be fair, I'm certainly over-dramatizing, as I did love last year's [b:The Emerald Atlas|8619814|The Emerald Atlas (The Books of Beginning, #1)|John Stephens|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320406687s/8619814.jpg|13490451].) show less

This review and others posted over at my blog.

Sadly, this book didn’t impress me, though I don’t think it’s bad.

What I enjoyed most was the way Burt wove familiar nursery rhymes into the story, using them to hint at things to come in each chapter and making them essential in the way Fiddler’s weave their spells. Fiddlers, those with the ability to use magic, use stardust and rhymes to perform all their spells. Some of the rhymes are twists on ones I remember from my childhood and show more others are crafted to suit specific needs like healing or creating light. Actually, all the rhymes used could be derived from others that I’m just no familiar with. Either way, I liked this part.

I also enjoyed Wren’s insecurities and emotional response to using magic. She takes everything in stride as she finds out about her new life and skills, but once immersed in the world of the Fiddlers she struggles to learn simple spells that Simon appears to master. Paired with strange dreams and little moments of shock about how her life has changed, this made Wren feel more solid than the other characters. One thing I can’t stand in any book is when someone from a non-magical world finds out they’re actually magical, or that magic exists, just says “oh, ok” and instantly adapts to their new surroundings. Simon fell into this category and I thought Wren was headed that way at first, so I’m glad she had a little more depth than that.

Otherwise, the story didn’t grab me and I didn’t feel immersed in the world of the Fiddlers. Many of the adult characters were paper thin (wokka wokka) and when Wren wasn’t having prophetic dreams most of her time was spent doing chores for Fiddlers or in Fiddler magic classes. Even though I don’t constantly read “magic school” type books, I am tired of that plotline.

Rhymes aside, the plot and characters weren’t strong enough to hold my interest and despite the action-packed ending, I won’t be reading the next book in the series. show less