I'm not going to lie to y'all. If you follow me on Litsy (a book focused social network) @alohamoraopenabook then you know I bailed on this book. What is disheartening to me is I actually really like Marcus Sedgwick as an author. I've read a handful of his other books, and even though they are quirky the storyline is fantastic and so unique.
In 2011, Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick earned a Printz Honor Award, a runner-up book for the best Young Adult (YA) book published the previous year. This book was my first time reading a Sedgwick novel, and though it wasn't one I would normally have picked up I thought it was fantastic. I thought the storyline was unique and interesting, and the pace was great.
In 2014, Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick earned the Printz Medal; basically earned the award for the best YA literature book for books published the previous calendar year. Midwinterblood was again very well written with a fascinating storyline. This story is part love, part mystery, part folk tale, part horror, and it is all completely dark and intriguing. It really is an odd book with an oddly fascinating story.
When I picked up The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick from the library b/c it earned yet again another Printz Honor book I was pretty excited. I had thoroughly enjoyed his previous two books, and I had high expectations for this book. Plus, I was a big fan of the cover; I thought it was stunning.
I really gave The Ghosts of Heaven a good go. I was expecting a quirky and amazing storyline, but no matter how many pages and sections (the sections are different stories that are all wound together) I read I just couldn't get into it. The story is definitely weird, but in my opinion this is one of Sedgwick's books that is not worth the check-out.
I give this book 1 out of 5 stars. The writing is good, but the story is slow. There was violence, but it was in context. No language or sex to worry about in this YA award winning book.
Did you read The Ghosts of Heaven? What did you think?
Amazon had the following book description to give you some background of the story to see if it intrigues you. You may like it even if I didn't.
"Timeless, beautiful, and haunting, spirals connect the four episodes of The Ghosts of Heaven, the mesmerizing new novel from Printz Award winner Marcus Sedgwick. They are there in prehistory, when a girl picks up a charred stick and makes the first written signs; there tens of centuries later, hiding in the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who people call a witch; there in the halls of a Long Island hospital at the beginning of the 20th century, where a mad poet watches the oceans and knows the horrors it hides; and there in the far future, as an astronaut faces his destiny on the first spaceship sent from earth to colonize another world. Each of the characters in these mysterious linked stories embarks on a journey of discovery and survival; carried forward through the spiral of time, none will return to the same place."
This year, the Printz Award and Honor books were no different than many other years. i enjoyed some and was disappointed in others. Bone Gap was great, but this one was no bueno for me.
Happy Reading! What are you reading this summer?
If you are still looking for a good summer read check out these 10 great books.
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