Reviewed by Olivia
Rating: High Four
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Book Scavenger, A Series of Unfortunate Events, anything Cornelia Funke (Inkheart in particular, though), the Doldrums, and the Phantom Tollbooth.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
A young girl's midnight séance awakens a long-slumbering malevolent spirit.... A band of runaway orphans allies with an underground collective of saboteurs and plans a daring rescue of their friends, imprisoned in the belly of an industrial wasteland.... Two old friends draw closer to their goal of bringing together a pair of exiled toy makers in order to reanimate a mechanical boy prince.... As the fate of Wildwood hangs in the balance.
Rating: High Four
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Book Scavenger, A Series of Unfortunate Events, anything Cornelia Funke (Inkheart in particular, though), the Doldrums, and the Phantom Tollbooth.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
A young girl's midnight séance awakens a long-slumbering malevolent spirit.... A band of runaway orphans allies with an underground collective of saboteurs and plans a daring rescue of their friends, imprisoned in the belly of an industrial wasteland.... Two old friends draw closer to their goal of bringing together a pair of exiled toy makers in order to reanimate a mechanical boy prince.... As the fate of Wildwood hangs in the balance.
Thoughts: I read this book about a year and a half ago, before I started reviewing books for this blog, and only recently decided to reread it - not because I was freaking out over it or anything, but because I was curious to see what my reaction would be nearly two years later to a book I had deemed decent and had still enjoyed to the fullest. Let me start by saying that this is is no way one of those finales that completely knocks your socks off and more than fulfills the excitement, creativity, imagination, and urgency of the previous books. Wildwood Imperium IS better than Under Wildwood, which I personally didn't care for because of the unsatisfying conclusion-that-didn't-really-feel-like-a-conclusion, but that doesn't mean it lives up to the complete adoration I felt over the first book in the trilogy.
That said, I still really enjoyed this book and thought, as I did a year and a half earlier, that it was "decent." The writing became a bit sluggish and slow-paced for me (which is to be slightly expected, since Meloy tends to over-explain everything - it adds to the charm, but not the suspense), although I think Meloy IS an extremely good writer (reminds me of the Doldrums, Phantom Tollbooth, and possibly A Series of Unfortunate Events, actually). The story is engaging, however, and has a multitude of twists that's bound to balance out the slow points in the writing. I loved the inventiveness still squeezed into this book, even though Meloy could've settled with just tying up the loose ends of the previous series, which honestly wouldn't have made the book worthwhile, then. The characters, of course, were all spot-on, although I did wish the Wildwood Bandits had more of a play in this book...
All in all, a steady finale that exceeded my expectations because of the slight let-down of Under Wildwood.
That said, I still really enjoyed this book and thought, as I did a year and a half earlier, that it was "decent." The writing became a bit sluggish and slow-paced for me (which is to be slightly expected, since Meloy tends to over-explain everything - it adds to the charm, but not the suspense), although I think Meloy IS an extremely good writer (reminds me of the Doldrums, Phantom Tollbooth, and possibly A Series of Unfortunate Events, actually). The story is engaging, however, and has a multitude of twists that's bound to balance out the slow points in the writing. I loved the inventiveness still squeezed into this book, even though Meloy could've settled with just tying up the loose ends of the previous series, which honestly wouldn't have made the book worthwhile, then. The characters, of course, were all spot-on, although I did wish the Wildwood Bandits had more of a play in this book...
All in all, a steady finale that exceeded my expectations because of the slight let-down of Under Wildwood.
