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Skary Childrin And The Carousel Of Sorrow (2011)

by Katy Towell(Favorite Author)

4.03 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0375868593 (ISBN13: 9780375868597)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Knopf Books for Young Readers

review 1: I picked up this book after i came across the author YouTube channel. I had always been a fan of creepy yet imaginative stories, along the lines of Tim Burton's work, so after seeing the synapsis for the story i thought, "why not?" and there were very few reasons for why not.My first impression was how short it was, only 265 pages, which only took me about two and half hours to read, but even so it never really felt rushed. The pacing was proper, starting of slow and introductory, then when the lore of the books world is set in place, the ball starts rolling.The story: There is a town called Widowsburry which has been suffering from a curse ever since a large storm twelve years prior. In this town, filled with superstitious and unfriendly people, where outsiders hardly eve... morer come to, people have begun to go missing. Now it is up to three out-casts, to band together and solve the mystery behind the Carousel in the woods that seems to be the cause of the disappearances.The story dose fell a bit clichéd, but it breaks every set idea of what a horror story for a younger audience would be. Its cryptic, startling, gory, clever and delightfully witty at times.As for the characters, they had their brilliance and faults. The characters faltered when it came to solid character. Each of our protagonists had a central core of a singular trait that defined them, and although that trait was sometimes unique and fresh, the rest of the character was a blank slate. There was however an exception, The Main character "Adelaide Foss". Not only was her character different from most protagonists, but she was fully realized, never acting in a way that went against her established character.So was this book worth the read? Yes. If you’re looking for some fresh new horror, but don’t have an iron stomach, this book will be okay for you.
review 2: This was book number two for mother-daughter book club this summer (and the last one because--where did summer go?) chosen by my older daughter. Three misfit girls at the boarding school from hell in a town swallowed by the apocalypse band together with the little urchin from down the road to discover why their beloved teacher has disappeared. Hint: take a second look at the nice man who just arrived in town to sell candy.The characters were engaging and the story well-written, but there are so many things wrong with the plot, I don't know where to start. The number one thing wrong, I daresay, is that I am a 47 year old reading a book written for 10 year olds and trying to see brilliance in it. Not that there aren't such novels, but Skary Children isn't one of them. That said, my 12 and 14 year old daughters *loved* this book and can't wait to loan it to their friends. So, if you have kids well under the age of 47 who love creepy novels and aren't bothered by the purple elephant in the room, I give it a glowing recommendation. less

Download links for: Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow

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