The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
So, my first thought has nothing to do with the actual story, I just think it’s funny. The main character, Tick, is from the U.S.A., the writing is European. When I read things like tyre and torch when someone is in the states, it makes me laugh. Like I said, it has nothing to do with the story, and readers in other countries probably wouldn’t even notice, but the syntax being used does not match the location.
This book may be a little dark for some kids, there is murder and violence. It’s not really dwelled on, just mentioned, so it may not be as big of a problem as it could be.
I know this is a fantasy, but I have to say, I really have to wonder what kind of parents would let their kid just go off to who knows where to do who knows what. I don’t know what the other parents knew of the clues, but Tick’s father was in the know, and he just went with it. He let Tick go even after happenings in Alaska. I’m sure younger readers wouldn’t care, but um, bad parenting.
In other news, I appreciate how the villain of the story is likened to a banana. It makes her seem less scary than she is. The character descriptions for those from other realities was great. The character descriptions for Tick and his friends, kind of basic. I would like more development of the kids I’m supposed to be rooting for.
Personally, the best part were the letters and their clues. I like trying to solve riddles, and this offered a few of those. They were all over the place as far as difficulty, which I guess kept it interesting. At the same time, there would be a clue that I couldn’t figure out until Tick did, and then the very next clue I could solve without even really thinking about it. If they had gradually gotten more difficult, I feel like I would have enjoyed it more.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: March 3rd 2008
The Furious Reader 