Author: Marissa Burt
Publisher: Harper Collins Childrens
Genre: Middle Grade/ Young Adult/ Fantasy
Length: 406 pages
Phenomenal premise! It hooked me (and the kiddo) from the cover. It’s a delightful mix of Chronicles of Narnia meets Harry Potter.
Just look at that cover – it imbues pure magic.
Yet, it took me far too long to read it. Mind you, a lot of it was out loud to the toddler, but even so I felt a little disconnected.
I think Storybound is genius in concept, and I even think it is well written. A girl from the World of Readers (yes, our world) gets WRITTEN IN to the World of Story – where kids are trained on how to be heroes and ladies, archetypes are studied, there’s a class on Villainy, and the Talekeepers are basically the government. And the Muses? A mystical group of entities from the past that have been eradicated.
Absolutely genius!
I think, however, I finally found a modern young adult book that is truly meant for young adults and didn’t manage to grasp the adult audience as the fad of young adult books has done so far. That’s perfectly fine… it’s a fantastic book, and I intend to hunt down the sequel (Story’s End) and read it as well. I also intend to own these sometime and have them available for my daughter to re-discover when she can read on her own.
But I will wait to find them used. I don’t feel the need to rush to Barnes & Noble and purchase fresh new copies NOW.
As a reviewer I find this sort of situation the most difficult… you know the one: I LOVE the book, but I’m not IN LOVE with the book. I feel as though I have failed the author in some way, like I didn’t give it a proper chance. Maybe if I read it over here I’ll get the butterflies while I read, maybe if I change the music, maybe if I set the mood just right it will work the way I expected it to. I’ve done this with boyfriends in the past – “he was perfect, but I just didn’t have that connection…” That’s how I feel about Storybound, it’s perfect, but we just… didn’t… have that… connection.
So here is one I recommend, and encourage you to read; but my passion isn’t stirred and I may have to be reminded to add it to my friend and customer-renowned lists.
Adults that do fall in love with this will probably be ones who are die hard fans of the TV Show Once Upon A Time - a show I wanted to love, but didn’t.
Kids who should get their hands on this should also have The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Above World (by Jenn Reese), The Land of Stories (by Chris Colfer), and The Castle in the Attic books (by Elizabeth Winthrop).