by Rebecca Wood Barrett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
For a middle grade book this novel is much too long, way too boring, and even too outrageous. Now I don’t mean outrageously funny or silly. I mean like this premise is so ridiculous that even kids are likely to raise an eyebrow and say “really, you want me to believe that”? Or at least Canadian kids who understand snowy weather will.
Plot
A group of animals that was long thought extinct is discovered by our lead boy. He befriends an injured one and away we go. There is some school bullying, hiding/lying, and a few other elements here that the average kid experiences. What is most relevant is that the not-extinct animals need help. You know I'm the kind of person (and was the kind of kid) that wants Sasquatch and Loch Ness to be real. Or at least somehow find an explanation for why their are reported sightings every so many years. I am not the kind of person that thinks it's plausible that multiple species, in groups of 20+, are living relatively close to a human town (within a day's hike) and haven't been discovered in thousands of years. That's just silly.
Humourous?
I know kids books are supposed to be a bit outrageous and fun. I get that. So if you think the extinct animals plot is just 'fun' then that's cool. I'd have been far more comfortable had the species been aliens who landed here recently, or migrated from somewhere; as opposed to just overlooked by humans for thousands of years. For me it's either go big and make it crazy ridiculous; or keep things somewhat believable. Sadly Rebecca Wood Barrett doesn't really do either of these things. She tries instead to walk a fine line and unfortunately missed with me.
Cold & Winter
I'll warn you this is a huge pet peeve of mine... I'll try not to rant too much.
Barrett is a born and raised Canadian based on her profile information. Now, albeit off the west coast which is more temperate climate than most of Canada; but still it does snow there and temperatures drop below zero; especially in the mountains. Therefore there is no excuse for Barrett having our lead boy enter a hypothermic state (even describes him feeling hot when it's really cold which is one of the last signs before the cold kills) and then just magically bringing him out of it. Without a human being involved. Yes the fluffy animal from the cover is there to help; but come on you want me to believe that the bear-esque creature (I don't want to tell you what it is as it's a spoiler) knew exactly when and how to revive our boy and keep him from dying of hypothermia? I think not. Why is it so hard to mitigate enough that the cold doesn't 'nearly' kill someone off in a way that is realistic?
Overall
I was super disappointed in this one. It didn't keep my attention and felt drawn-out in page count and ludicrousness. Given it's a middle grade book I have to figure if the book can't keep a voracious reader like myself intrigued there is little to no chance it will keep a 9-11 year-old engaged long enough to make it to the end. This story could have been much, much shorter and it might have been improved; but it the silliness of extinct animals hiding in the wilderness for thousands of years is just not an issue I see getting over without a full rewrite.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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My rating: 2 of 5 stars
For a middle grade book this novel is much too long, way too boring, and even too outrageous. Now I don’t mean outrageously funny or silly. I mean like this premise is so ridiculous that even kids are likely to raise an eyebrow and say “really, you want me to believe that”? Or at least Canadian kids who understand snowy weather will.
Plot
A group of animals that was long thought extinct is discovered by our lead boy. He befriends an injured one and away we go. There is some school bullying, hiding/lying, and a few other elements here that the average kid experiences. What is most relevant is that the not-extinct animals need help. You know I'm the kind of person (and was the kind of kid) that wants Sasquatch and Loch Ness to be real. Or at least somehow find an explanation for why their are reported sightings every so many years. I am not the kind of person that thinks it's plausible that multiple species, in groups of 20+, are living relatively close to a human town (within a day's hike) and haven't been discovered in thousands of years. That's just silly.
Humourous?
I know kids books are supposed to be a bit outrageous and fun. I get that. So if you think the extinct animals plot is just 'fun' then that's cool. I'd have been far more comfortable had the species been aliens who landed here recently, or migrated from somewhere; as opposed to just overlooked by humans for thousands of years. For me it's either go big and make it crazy ridiculous; or keep things somewhat believable. Sadly Rebecca Wood Barrett doesn't really do either of these things. She tries instead to walk a fine line and unfortunately missed with me.
Cold & Winter
I'll warn you this is a huge pet peeve of mine... I'll try not to rant too much.
Barrett is a born and raised Canadian based on her profile information. Now, albeit off the west coast which is more temperate climate than most of Canada; but still it does snow there and temperatures drop below zero; especially in the mountains. Therefore there is no excuse for Barrett having our lead boy enter a hypothermic state (even describes him feeling hot when it's really cold which is one of the last signs before the cold kills) and then just magically bringing him out of it. Without a human being involved. Yes the fluffy animal from the cover is there to help; but come on you want me to believe that the bear-esque creature (I don't want to tell you what it is as it's a spoiler) knew exactly when and how to revive our boy and keep him from dying of hypothermia? I think not. Why is it so hard to mitigate enough that the cold doesn't 'nearly' kill someone off in a way that is realistic?
Overall
I was super disappointed in this one. It didn't keep my attention and felt drawn-out in page count and ludicrousness. Given it's a middle grade book I have to figure if the book can't keep a voracious reader like myself intrigued there is little to no chance it will keep a 9-11 year-old engaged long enough to make it to the end. This story could have been much, much shorter and it might have been improved; but it the silliness of extinct animals hiding in the wilderness for thousands of years is just not an issue I see getting over without a full rewrite.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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1 comment:
Yeeeeah...I mean, there are points on planet earth where I could believe not-quite-extinct animals to be hiding, but not where a child is likely to stumble on them!
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