I love this book and the author. She has a style that gets your guard down, then drops everything on you at once. It's great!
The blurbs that I read about Diana Wynne Jones' books all seem to mention her intricate, twisting plots. They mention her careful foreshadowing of future events. The comment on the 'outrageous juxtapositions of tragedy, farce, high melodrama, and high fantasy...'
But that doesn't begin to tell you just how much FUN her books are! Delightful!
But that doesn't begin to tell you just how much FUN her books are! Delightful!
I found this book to be delightful. I genuinely liked the charaters; they weren't perfect or tiresomely virtuous, but very appealing. The plot held many surprises that kept me exclaiming out loud at work, much to my embarrassment. I didn't find it childish or juvenile in the least, despite its target audience.
The first Diana Wynne Jones book I've read that I didn't really care for. It still has some good parts, but not to the extent that I've come to expect from this author.