Thursday, June 7, 2018

Abarat


Abarat
by Clive Barker

Abarat by Clive Barker is a young adult fantasy novel.  I was really engaged by the story… and then I realized it was another series book (which you know by now that I am not a fan of). So yes, I was left hanging.  I listened to the story on tape but then received the book and couldn’t stop looking through the pictures of the various characters that graced the story. The story features a teenager, Candy Quackenbush, who sat in her classroom while being berated by Miss Schwartz for a class project she had completed.  The project was to write ten interesting facts about Chickentown, the town in which they lived.  Candy, after being sent to the principal’s office, leaves to the edge of town and notices a lighthouse. She meets John Mischief, a man who looks human except for the antlers on his head, and they go to the lighthouse for the ‘key’ that will help the 25 islands of Arabat, a land far away.  Securing the key is the least of their issues as they now have to fight off Shape, a henchman for the evil sorcerer known as Christopher Carrion.  But before they are captured, they escape the lighthouse on the wild seas to the islands of Arabat.  When she gets to Arabat, the journey begins with introductions to many quirky characters and another encounter with Shape. As most series books end, this one was pretty anticlimactic, leaving the reader ready for Candy’s next escapade across Arabat, learning new lessons on the island with the hope of returning home someday.  What a great project report that will be for Candy!  Not my favorite young adult journey book…too many complicated characters, but the pictures help. I recommend avoiding listening on tape.

No comments:

Post a Comment