Rate this book

The City In The Lake (2008)

by Rachel Neumeier(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0375847049 (ISBN13: 9780375847042)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Knopf Books for Young Readers

review 1: Beautiful prose, reminiscent of McKillip but more grounded in the everyday; some genuinely disturbing fairytale moments; an interesting plot that more or less coheres. The two great problems with this book are (a) its villain, who is evil and manipulative because she is evil and manipulative, and that's pretty much all we get; and (b) the ending, which is tidy to the point of glibness and rather left me with the impression that I was watching the marionettes gather for one final curtsey. Still, I don't regret the time I spent reading this, and I'll be keeping this one. With any luck, Neumeier's other books will have better endings.
review 2: I decided to read this one after seeing the enthusiastic review on The Book Smugglers. It's a quick read but I don't ... moreknow if I'm just as excited about this one. It is a more subtle and rich story which I can appreciate, but I didn't feel the character development was quite on par with the rest of the story. It was playful and energetic storytelling at times, but slow and meandering at others and I never really found my stride as a reader. Recommended for fans of quiet, lyrical fantasy, but I can see others struggling to enjoy it. less

Download links for: The City in the Lake

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