By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 13 May 2016 13:53:48 +0000

I just received my copy of the book, and so far it’s actually deceptively more complicated than the original synopsis. Sure, it’s an archetypal fantasy, but there are a lot of ironic, self-aware moments and subtly that really elevates it from the norm. The visual elements of the story really lend itself well to Laika’s style, too, I think. I was actually imagining the book as a Laika film before I heard the news. It fits very well. The tone is entirely different from Coraline (actually in many ways it’s more Fantastic Mr. Fox), but I like the idea of Laika doing another flick with themes of strong children going against larger-than-life evils in unconventional ways. Coraline and Prue are not little Cinderellas, and I like to see little girls having characters like those to admire. The stories remind me of Studio Ghibli’s goal of presenting stories for children about how not to run away from truly frightening dilemmas. I guess as a part-time children’s librarian, I am more interested in kid-lit than most, but I think it’s a good idea. It takes its audience seriously, doesn’t pander (it will send kids to the dictionary, for one thing), and is also just an old-fashioned, fun story. It’s not often one can find a story that so genuinely revels in language, image, and yarn-spinning, and so far I’m really enjoying it. I think as a kid I would have adored this story, as well, especially considering the spunky heroine.

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By: Marie