Worlds Collide

So, I have finally finished the sixth and final book in Chris Colfer's Land of Stories series of kids' books. I'm a little sorry to see it go, as I ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would at the very beginning. Although, that having been said, I didn't think this was one of the best books in the series. There's a little too much of characters explaining the story thus far too each other, and an ending that, after lots and lots of action, finally gets wrapped up in a manner that's just a little too quick and deus ex machina-y. Plus, as the title indicates, in this one the fairy tale and real worlds are coming together, and I'm afraid the plot silliness that works so well in Colfer's imagined fairy tale world is a bit harder show more to accept when he's writing something a little closer to home.

But, honestly, that's probably far too much dwelling on the negative! Because even if this wasn't quite as enjoyable as the previous couple of volumes, it was still entertaining and had a fair number of moments that made me laugh out loud. It also briefly revisits one storyline from earlier in a way that I wasn't expecting, but which I quite liked, and has some decent and good-hearted themes.

So, even if maybe it could have ended a little stronger than it did, I still do recommend the series for kids, and for adults who occasionally like to pretend to be kids again.

Rating: I'm going to stingily give this volume a 3.5/5, but the series as a whole is still a solid 4/5. show less

Good ending to the series. The story felt a little hurried and rushed, and there were a couple small typographic/editing mistakes that stood out. However, the overall resolution was good, and Colfer's tone still made the story funny and likable. Look forward to seeing where he goes next with his writing.

Oh my gosh, I can't believe this series is over! It's been such a huge part of my childhood, and now it's done! My emotions are a mess!
I feel like I sort of outgrew this series a bit, which is why I waited so long to read this, but I still really liked it.
And I just... I don't even know how to deal with the fact that this is over. It feels sort of surreal.

PLOT

So obviously, with this being the sixth and final book in the series, there was A LOT going on plot wise. I can't say much of course, because spoilers, but I liked the plot of this. I felt it tied up all the threads nicely, and I was satisfied with the ending. Thank goodness, because I was sort of concerned going in...

There was one thing that sort of annoyed me, and... I'm not show more quite sure if counts as a spoiler or not, (It's in THE FIRST chapter) but my friends told me, and I was mad about that, so I'm going to put it into spoiler tags anyway.

CONNER IS EIGHTY!!! WHAT EVEN?!?!?! This really annoyed me, because it would have been perfectly fine to just do it the same way as you did the rest of the books, INSTEAD OF HAVING HIM BE EIGHTY, AND GOING BACK AND READING HIS BOOK, BECAUSE HE FORGOT WHAT HAPPENED TO ALEX!!! I think it was done to show that he had a long happy life...? Or something...? But how about just putting in an epilogue, where he is a successful author? That would have worked just as well...!

SETTING

I love love LOVE the setting in this series, but this book was a little bit disappointing, because it took place almost entirely in New York... I love the fairy tale world in this, and some of the other places they go (If you've read the other books, you know where I'm talking about), but New York was a tiny bit boring to read about. I mean, it was still interesting, but I would have been far more pleased if they'd spent more time in the fairy tale world.

CHARACTERS

The characters are what I love in these books! They are so rich, and HILARIOUS, and I just adore them!
Every single one of them cracks me up at some point or another, and most of them do it frequently. Almost all of my favourites were in this last one, and oh my gosh, they are FUNNY!
That seems to be all I have to say about the characters right now... they're funny, although truly there are amazing characters, and well developed, and all that, but apparently all I really care about is that they're funny.

OVER ALL

This was a satisfying end to the series, (Although I still can't quite believe it's over...), and even though this series is a bit on the younger side, it's always going to have a special place in my heart.
I highly enjoyed this, and I think this will always remain one of my favourite series. show less

I really thought this was such a solid conclusion to the series. I also really enjoyed how this book also played with various timelines in this story. I just was super impressed with how the plot was created. I also found it intreating that this book was def a 'connor" focused book even thought Alex was always at the heart of this book. This book made me cry and also laugh. I just loved how chris crafted these characters and also this world. I just loved going back to this world!

I really thought this was such a solid conclusion to the series. I also really enjoyed how this book also played with various timelines in this story. I just was super impressed with how the plot was created. I also found it intreating that this book was def a 'connor" focused book even thought Alex was always at the heart of this book. This book made me cry and also laugh. I just loved how chris crafted these characters and also this world. I just loved going back to this world!

Fun conclusion to this series as the Fairy Tale and literary characters bring their battles to the Otherworld - our New York City. Connor has a central role trying to find a way to stop Alex while she is being controlled by the witch Morena. Sorry to reach the end of their stories, but next stop - the movie version Colfer is set to write and direct.

Land of Stories: Complete Series Review
This is a complete review of the Chris Colfer series, The Land of Stories. The Books are as follow:
Book 1: The Wishing Spell
Book 2: Return of the Enchantress
Book 3: A Grimm Warning
Book 4: Beyond the Kingdoms
Book 5: An Author’s Odyssey
Book 6: World’s Collide
Land of Stories follows the adventures of twin siblings, Alex and Connor Bailey. As a whole, the series is decent but not good enough to be one that you want to reread or that you would possibly recommend to others. The series does have positives and that’s what makes it possible to get through six books, some of which are lackluster.
The Wishing Spell is a strong start to the series. Alex and Connor are transported to the magical world show more of fairy tales characters. Although they are fascinated by this new world,they want to get home to their mother. Consequently, the twins go on an adventure in order to obtain the parts of a spell to get them home. The charm of this book is meeting familiar fairy tale characters and seeing how Colfer made them his own.
After the strength of book one, book two was a disappointment. Simply told, the plot was a copy and paste of the first book. Much like the first book they need to collect six items to complete a spell. It’s truly ridiculous how closely the plot mirrors the first book.
The real strength of the series are the strong arcs of books three and four. In book three, new characters are introduced, the villain is far more complicated and interesting. And it finally seems that the book has taken a concrete direction. The story has a clear purpose and is intriguing.
Book four keeps up with the action and appealing storyline. Book four has the same spirit of book one. Instead of fairytale characters we meet literary characters. This added element rejuvenates the story and again bring the readers back to the best parts of book one.
Then there is book 5. Unlike book four, all these characters come from Connor's stories and that’s not what really drew me to the series. The whole book felt drawn out and the fact is Connor’s creations were not that interesting and there were too many of them. It was a tough book to get through.
And finally, the last book. This book was good, not great, which is how the series as a whole stands. A book about the final battle was boring and slow. The final battle was anti-climactic and the ending of all the “mini-bosses” was very simple. Characters that had never been mentioned were added in order to progress the plot.

To sum up, there are positive aspects about this series. It is fun more often than not. It is heartwarming and creative. However, the negatives really do outweigh the positive. The series is structured poorly and can be repetitive. The writing is not very sophisticated but I can forgive that since this book is aimed at elementary school children. –RR
I would only recommend this series to younger readers. Readers who need a lot of repetition, simple plots, and simple dialog. -RR show less