Review
The Forgotten Book
by Mechthild Gläser
Though a bit simplistic in some parts, at its heart The Forgotten Book has a great story to tell. Shallow characters and a simple plot line made the story a bit hard to get into but about a halfway into the book things picked up. If you can ignore the few flaws, there is a wonderfully whimsical story here.
Reality and fantasy combine in this ethereal tale.
★★★☆☆
Elements
If you can see past the flaws, there is a decent story here.
Thoughts
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The concept for the cover art of this novel was enchanting.
THE BAD
It’s my understanding, that this book was not originally written in English and I think some things may have been lost in translation. The language barrier wasn’t incredibly apparent but I think it was the reason for the plain writing style. Some aspects of the plot and characters felt very simplistic as well, and would have been more appropriate for a younger audience (maybe middle schoolers?) I think overall the story was just lacking that extra something to bring it all to life, for me.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the cast of characters who felt a bit under-baked and shallow. I like character development and complexity and this book was a bit lacking in that department.
THE GOOD
There were some incredibly unique and really interesting elements of this story that I enjoyed. About 3/4 of the way into the book, the story line became significantly more intriguing, it just took a little while to get to the good part. Once the story picked up though, it was impossible to put down. I read the whole thing is one sitting.
THE LAST WORD
Overall, a good story, though I think some things may have been lost in translation.
At its core, this is a story of mystery with a nice touch of magic…
Rating: ★★★
Age Group: YA (or younger probably)
Recommendation: Yeah
Related Cause:
Summary: A story about a story.
Series: Single