Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George
4/5 stars
Bloomsbury Children's, 2013
233 pages
Middle Grade Fantasy
Scheduled to release May 7
Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
After being absolutely enchanted by Tuesdays at the Castle, I was thrilled to see that a sequel would be released. I was eager to return to the world of Castle Glower and to hang out with Celie as she chronicled its ever-changing halls and rooms. This second book promised more delights!
We are dropped back into the castle, where life seems to have settled down after the tumult of the events of the first book. But Castle Glower cannot remain quiet for long with Celie's life being shaken up by the hatching of a griffin, a species long thought extinct, who Celie must keep hidden amidst the ever-changing rooms of the castle and its population.
I thought this book was such a cute fun fast read; it was one I picked up during my recent personal readathon and just flew through. Celie is as tough as ever, bearing up well under difficult circumstances. My hope for this sequel was that the parents and rest of the family would be around, which came true. As I predicted, Celie is still able to get up to plenty of mischief even as her parents evince an interest in what she is hiding.
Something else I loved was the mythology around the griffin. They have mysterious origins and it is uncertain if they will continue to survive as there seems to be only this one. Who knows about the history of griffins? Why is there such a paucity of information? Is someone trying to stop Celie and her family from learning more? These are some of the questions teased and it seems that there should be a third book to further explore.
Still while I had fun reading this, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as its predecessor just because it seemed to be continuing in the same vein instead of adding and deepening the world introduced. I loved our first glimpse at Castle Glower but I needed more from this book to really fall in love.
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Karissa's Reading Review
Aww, I'm sorry that this wasn't as good as the first one. It still sounds like you enjoyed it, but I agree-- a second book should add more depth to the world. Awesome review! (:
ReplyDeleteIt was cute and all but as I wrote this review, I was realizing, there was just nothing really substantial for me to discuss or think about or remember.
DeleteCute, fun and the cool mythology with the griffin sounds great. I haven't read the first, but I am interested.
ReplyDeleteIt was really adorable and a fun continuation of the first book-I just wanted more!
DeleteSorry it didn't add much depth to the overall series, but I'm glad it was still a fun (and quick) read! I hadn't heard of this series, I don't believe, actually.
ReplyDeleteI thought the first book was really magical and definitely recommend it!
DeleteAw, awesome review :) I just adore middle grade books. And ohh. This sounds like an awesome series :D Glad you enjoyed it ;p
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on my blog. <3
Love, Carina @ Carina's Books
I think the first book is really great; I wonder if I would have more to say if I read more MG titles?
DeleteI need to read this series, I keep hearing so much praise for these books! Glad you enjoyed it, and I'm excited to hear that I have griffins to look forward to when I catch up to this book. :-) Great review!
ReplyDeleteI really loved the first book and thought that griffins were a neat addition for the second especially how it all relates to the castle.
DeleteAw, this sounds adorable! Glad you liked this one…
ReplyDeleteYou can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics
There were a lot of cute moments, not least of which is the cover-love the drawing!
DeleteI really enjoyed the first one, but I was so thrown off by the "quick, out of nowhere" ending that it lessened my overall opinion of it. It was a unique story, though, so I've been curious where it will go!
ReplyDeleteI remember the first one wrapping up really fast-other reviews have mentioned how this one seems like the first part of a story so hopefully the third one will bring things more to a resolution.
DeleteI'm getting this one this week, and am excited to see where it takes me. I'm glad you enjoyed it, but wish it had been more fulfilling for you. Better luck next time!
ReplyDeleteI hope this is a better read for you!
DeleteI'll have to see if we have the first one on our list, cause this sounds like one my daughter might enjoy with me!
ReplyDeleteI would love to know how someone in the target audience reacts to this-I felt like the first one had more crossover appeal to a YA audience.
DeleteI'm looking forward to this one because I remember reading Tuesdays at the Castle a long time ago and thinking it was really cure. I'm sorry the sequel wasn't as good for you. :/
ReplyDeleteNew GFC follower. :)
I hope this is better for you than it was for me-Tuesdays at the Castle was so great!
DeleteI still need to read Tuesdays at the Castle. It sounds like a fun series and I've enjoyed some of the author's other books, especially her fairy tales retold. Sometimes it does seem that sequels don't quite live up to the charm of the original.
ReplyDeleteYep, this sequel definitely seemed to be lacking some charm to me. I do recommend the first book very highly though!
DeleteAwe, this does sounds really cute. I am going to have to keep an eye for it at my library. My kids will adore it.
ReplyDeleteJenea @ Books Live Forever
I definitely recommend it for its target audience-they should enjoy it!
DeleteI really need to read this one -i t looks SO darn cute.
ReplyDeleteI liked it quite a bit-just not as much as the first or as much as I expected to like it.
DeleteAw, this one sounds like fun! (And hah, a review I can read!) It wasn't on my radar at all, and I haven't tried this author yet, so I appreciate the heads up. It's always good to find good middle grade books, especially fantasy ones. :)
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
You should definitely check out some of George's other titles-she has some great titles for fairy tale lovers!
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