Summary:
Ophelia and her sister have been moved to an odd place where it always snows. Their mother has recently passed away and their father has decided to take a job at a strange museum in this new place. While exploring, Ophelia finds a boy. He is a prisoner of the Snow Queen and needs Ophelia's help. The two of them go on an adventure to stop the Snow Queen and save the world.
My thoughts:
This was an interesting twist of an older classic. Much like the fairy tale, it's a story about courage, friendship, and perseverance. Their journey is difficult and tests beliefs, but ultimately is about acceptance and overcoming odds. Ophelia is very objective, methodical, and logic-minded. This makes her hesitant in some cases, but also gives a good amount of explanation for the reader. I enjoyed that part because it gave me answers to questions that I may have asked. While I'm not completely logical, I do plan everything (it's a teacher trait), so Ophelia's process was often enjoyable. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend from 4th-7th grade (maybe older if they like fairy tales, or Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe).
Ophelia and her sister have been moved to an odd place where it always snows. Their mother has recently passed away and their father has decided to take a job at a strange museum in this new place. While exploring, Ophelia finds a boy. He is a prisoner of the Snow Queen and needs Ophelia's help. The two of them go on an adventure to stop the Snow Queen and save the world.
My thoughts:
This was an interesting twist of an older classic. Much like the fairy tale, it's a story about courage, friendship, and perseverance. Their journey is difficult and tests beliefs, but ultimately is about acceptance and overcoming odds. Ophelia is very objective, methodical, and logic-minded. This makes her hesitant in some cases, but also gives a good amount of explanation for the reader. I enjoyed that part because it gave me answers to questions that I may have asked. While I'm not completely logical, I do plan everything (it's a teacher trait), so Ophelia's process was often enjoyable. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend from 4th-7th grade (maybe older if they like fairy tales, or Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe).
I really enjoyed Karen Foxlees young adult book, The Midnight Dress, so when I heard she was writing a middle grade novel that was a fairy tale retelling I was so excited to read it. I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. It ended up being a very good retelling of the Snow Queen, the writing is beautiful and very atmospheric.
Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard and her sister, Alice, are still grieving the death of their mother when their father decides to take a job prepping a museum for a sword exhibition in a strange city where it always snows. The museum is dark and has some fabulous nooks and crannies to explore. While Alice is drawn in by the owner of the museum, a very elegant yet strange women.Ophelia is drawn to explore the dark corridors of the museum.
One day while peeking in an eye hole, she finds an eye peeking back at her. This is how she meets The Marvelous Boy, who has been trapped by the Snow Queen in this room for 75 years. He convinces Ophelia to go on a number of adventures throughout the museum all in an effort to find a magical sword and to save the world from the clutches of the Snow Queen.
I absolutely adored this book. The writing is beautiful and magical, and the story has such a great dark fairy tale type of atmosphere. It was a very well done retelling of the Snow Queen.
The whole book takes place in an old museum. I love books like this. The old museum is so magical and the enchanting things Ophelia finds within the museum are bewitching and so creative. I love books where people explore something that at first seems mundan, but then ends up containing many marvelous wonders.
The story is done in a wonderful way. Some parts of the book are told from Ophelias perspective during the current day. There are also other parts of the book where the Marvelous Boy tells Opehlia the magical stories that make up his past. Both perspectives are very engaging and I found myself looking forward to them equally.
At first Ophelia is reluctant to help, she doesn't believe in magic. Ophelia is strictly a science type of girl, her mother was the fanciful one and the death of her mother has only solidified Ophelias commitment to facts and science. But as the Boy tells his tale, Ophelia is drawn in and can't help but be curious. She ends up doing small quests for the Marvelous Boy in order to hear the next portions of his story and it is in this way Ophelia confronts her fears and accomplishes some truly marvelous things on her own.
The book wraps up nicely and has some nice discussion around the importance of friends and family. The writing is beautiful and was wonderful to read. My only complaint is that the story is fairly predictable. I knew right away who the Snow Queen was and how she was tied in with the sword exhibition at the museum.
Overall I loved this book, the story is engaging and beautifully written. The pictures throughout are magical. It was just an absolutely wonderful fairy tale retelling. Recommended for readers of all ages, especially for those who love wonderful fairy tale retellings. I look forward to what Foxlee writes next.
Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard and her sister, Alice, are still grieving the death of their mother when their father decides to take a job prepping a museum for a sword exhibition in a strange city where it always snows. The museum is dark and has some fabulous nooks and crannies to explore. While Alice is drawn in by the owner of the museum, a very elegant yet strange women.Ophelia is drawn to explore the dark corridors of the museum.
One day while peeking in an eye hole, she finds an eye peeking back at her. This is how she meets The Marvelous Boy, who has been trapped by the Snow Queen in this room for 75 years. He convinces Ophelia to go on a number of adventures throughout the museum all in an effort to find a magical sword and to save the world from the clutches of the Snow Queen.
I absolutely adored this book. The writing is beautiful and magical, and the story has such a great dark fairy tale type of atmosphere. It was a very well done retelling of the Snow Queen.
The whole book takes place in an old museum. I love books like this. The old museum is so magical and the enchanting things Ophelia finds within the museum are bewitching and so creative. I love books where people explore something that at first seems mundan, but then ends up containing many marvelous wonders.
The story is done in a wonderful way. Some parts of the book are told from Ophelias perspective during the current day. There are also other parts of the book where the Marvelous Boy tells Opehlia the magical stories that make up his past. Both perspectives are very engaging and I found myself looking forward to them equally.
At first Ophelia is reluctant to help, she doesn't believe in magic. Ophelia is strictly a science type of girl, her mother was the fanciful one and the death of her mother has only solidified Ophelias commitment to facts and science. But as the Boy tells his tale, Ophelia is drawn in and can't help but be curious. She ends up doing small quests for the Marvelous Boy in order to hear the next portions of his story and it is in this way Ophelia confronts her fears and accomplishes some truly marvelous things on her own.
The book wraps up nicely and has some nice discussion around the importance of friends and family. The writing is beautiful and was wonderful to read. My only complaint is that the story is fairly predictable. I knew right away who the Snow Queen was and how she was tied in with the sword exhibition at the museum.
Overall I loved this book, the story is engaging and beautifully written. The pictures throughout are magical. It was just an absolutely wonderful fairy tale retelling. Recommended for readers of all ages, especially for those who love wonderful fairy tale retellings. I look forward to what Foxlee writes next.
I read this out loud to my 9 and 7 year olds. They were so-so about it. My complaint is that it was very dark throughout, and somewhat confusing for them to follow. It's very beautifully written, with a brave girl as protagonist. But I wouldn't recommend it for my age of kids.
This was such a wonderfully dark, Lemony Snicket-esque retelling of the traditional Snow Queen faerie tale. I know this is a children's book, but the descriptions and the characters, particularly the queen's minions, were so frightening and well-described it was easy to forget this fact when reading. My favorite parts of the story were the details the Marvelous Boy provides about his homeland and his journey to Ophelia's world. The wizards, the magical owls, and the hardships he endures are so engrossing and fantastically detailed. I almost wish these details were not told as flashbacks, but instead as a prequel, so we could get all the details.
I was also impressed with the subtle way in which Foxlee weaves Ophelia's heartbreak at losing her mother into the story. The "voice in her head" telling her to be strong and the way Ophelia is able to put aside her steadfast dedication to scientific facts in favor of magic was very touching. I am not sure the target audience for this book (middle grade children) will appreciate these details quite as much as I did, however, which is a little unfortunate.
The only thing I didn't particularly care for was the fact that the plot often felt a little formulaic, much like the Series of Unfortunate Events books. Ophelia is given task after task. Each task is rather similar and involves her overcoming obstacles, usually in the form of some kind of magical beast. Other than this minor detail, this was an absolute treat to read.
I'd recommend this book to fans of faerie tale retellings and dark children's books. The writing was rather lyrical in nature, so if you like Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events series, you will adore this book.
I was also impressed with the subtle way in which Foxlee weaves Ophelia's heartbreak at losing her mother into the story. The "voice in her head" telling her to be strong and the way Ophelia is able to put aside her steadfast dedication to scientific facts in favor of magic was very touching. I am not sure the target audience for this book (middle grade children) will appreciate these details quite as much as I did, however, which is a little unfortunate.
The only thing I didn't particularly care for was the fact that the plot often felt a little formulaic, much like the Series of Unfortunate Events books. Ophelia is given task after task. Each task is rather similar and involves her overcoming obstacles, usually in the form of some kind of magical beast. Other than this minor detail, this was an absolute treat to read.
I'd recommend this book to fans of faerie tale retellings and dark children's books. The writing was rather lyrical in nature, so if you like Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events series, you will adore this book.
My Review as an Adult: The book is delightful with fanciful creatures, two children looking for friendship, and a positive message about kindness, friendship, patience, and perseverance.
My guest reviewer's (a ten year old) perspective: I would rate this book five stars, which means I really love this book because of its creativity, its mystery, and its family situations. These are all reasons I like the book and I recommend that you read it.
Read our complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/03/ophelia-and-marvelous-boy.html
*** Reviewed based on a copy received through a publishers giveaway ***
My guest reviewer's (a ten year old) perspective: I would rate this book five stars, which means I really love this book because of its creativity, its mystery, and its family situations. These are all reasons I like the book and I recommend that you read it.
Read our complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/03/ophelia-and-marvelous-boy.html
*** Reviewed based on a copy received through a publishers giveaway ***
