3.5/5 stars
Nancy Paulsen Books, 2013
257 pages
YA/MG Fantasy
Source: Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
First book The Grimm Legacy was an absolute delight for me so I was thrilled to discover this companion novel! This book is loosely related featuring Jaya, the younger sister of Anjali, both of whom played important roles in the first book and of course the backdrop for both is the New York Circulating Material Repository. While the first book played with fairy tale items, this one takes a turn for the science-fiction side looking at items from HG Wells' novels as well as others.
Our new main character is Leo, son and younger brother of scientists whose own interests tend more toward the fantastical. He however is shocked when a tiny version of himself along with a beautiful girl, both on a time machine, appears in his bedroom. This sets off a journey that leads him to the aforementioned repository where he discovers that some of the creations he's read about are real (like HG Wells' time machine from the titular novel), meets the beautiful girl, and must confront a jealous rival.
Leo was a good kid. Probably my favorite thing about him is his concern over possibly messing up the future through his time travel. I loved his caution and how it was necessary to balance out his counterpart, the lovely Jaya, an experienced page whose enthusiasm takes over the adventure. She easily rushes forward ready for anything.
While both of the leads were good, the villain was pathetic-I don't really remember the villain in The Grimm Legacy but I did not find this book's villain scary at all. I found him deranged and possibly in need of some medical health. This was the biggest point of frustration for me and I found that his simplicity brought the story down to more of a middle-grade level. Additionally I found a bit of the time travel confusing although further reflection has mostly brought it into line-I did enjoy those sequences but I found it very young for my taste.
Overall: A cool companion to The Grimm Legacy; while your reading experience will be enhanced by reading both in order, I don't think it's necessary and if fairy tales aren't really your thing, you could probably skip it and dive right into this one.
Other Opinions:
A Reader of Fictions
Little Squeed
Random Musings of a Bibliophile
I think the YA/MG crossovers are tricky. I've read some, and usually I decide that they are too young for an adult reader like me. And I agree -- cartoonish villains always make the book feel like a middle grade read.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
I thought the first book was pretty YA so I was surprised by the tone shift here. I also probably missed the fairy tale part too :(
DeleteI enjoyed this one too, but, yeah, the villain was ridiculous. You don't like me, so I'm going to destroy the city!!! This one did seem to mostly skew a bit older, but parts were still quite middle grade. Oh well, it was still fun.
ReplyDeleteRight, the villain just went so extreme right away. A bit of subtlety would have been appreciated.
DeleteThe Grimm Legacy sounded really cute and so does this! I don't read many MGs but I like when there's a lot of humor and great characters (well, that's with pretty much every book!). Gonna have to check this one out!
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend the first book-it was so cute but this one disappointed me.
DeleteI want to read this series partly because of the library. It is too bad the villain wasn't scary in this book. The idea of the series is really interesting though.
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing library and I love the discussions about what is fiction vs reality (because how do these objects even exist?)
DeleteLove time travel stories and the sound of Leo's character
ReplyDeleteLeo was a good guy and his concerns about inadvertently changing things resonated with me.
DeleteSounds good to me. I wish my library would carry the first one. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend the first one over this but would be interested to see what someone thought who didn't have the back story of book 1.
DeleteI'm not a huge fan of novellas but you refer to this as a companion novel and I'm seeing that its 257 pages. So, its definitely something I won't rule out and after reading your review, I may just have to give it a try. Should I read The Grimm Legacy first?
ReplyDeleteIt's a full novel-my ARC had 257 pages but maybe the finished copy has more. I would recommend reading The Grimm Legacy first because it provides such a framework for the library.
DeleteThe fact that the villain is pathetic and in need of mental help cracks me up! LOL
ReplyDeleteHe's just crazy! And that's how he starts-he doesn't become demented which might have been more subtle.
DeleteI haven't read the first one, which I would probably do even though they are just companion novels, but I do love MG fantasy so I may check it out!
ReplyDeleteI thought the first one was fantastic so I definitely recommend checking it out!
Delete