Review by tristenb -- Julu by Jan Anderegg
6 posts
[Following is a volunteer review of "Julu" by Jan Anderegg.]
[rbc=4]id318303-125[/rbc]
The story contains a plethora of interesting characters and different storylines as we travel between the past, present, and future in both Jirvania and the World Beyond (our world). I don’t want to give to much away, but Jack and Mia are no ordinary children. They are part of a bigger prophecy and are the only ones that can save imagination. They will be helped by a poor boy, royalty, a nixie, a star, and many more upon their journey.
Overall, Julu is a well-written story with many complex characters. Anderegg does a great job of developing the plethora of characters and keeping the storyline straight. She is able to cue the reader to the time changes by including a time alert at the start of each chapter. This is really helpful. While not all characters are completely fleshed out in this novel and many of the storylines are not finished, we know that it is a trilogy and Anderegg herself notes in the beginning of the book that she will leave many loose ends to be tied up in the rest of the series.
Even though Anderegg did tell the reader that there would be loose ends, I think there may have been a bit too many. I feel like I have only read half of a book and never got around to finishing it. This does make me want to keep reading the trilogy, but I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed at the ending. My other critique would be that Jack seems abnormally smart in a way that isn’t realistic. He seems to remember random things his teacher told him about a random time period in the past and knows things most kids his age wouldn’t. I know that he is smart and well read, but it just seemed too coincidental and too good to be true.
While Julu was written with a younger audience in mind, it is a great fantasy book for any age. The language is simple, but also doesn’t read like a book written for children. It will keep everyone in the family interested. You will especially enjoy this book if you like fantasy and time travel books. You might not enjoy this book if you are easily confused by plots that jump back and forth or if you are looking for a more sophisticated read. Based on this and the fact that the book appears to be professionally edited, containing minimal errors, I rate this book 4/4 stars.
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Julu
View: on Bookshelves |
The story contains a plethora of interesting characters and different storylines as we travel between the past, present, and future in both Jirvania and the World Beyond (our world). I don’t want to give to much away, but Jack and Mia are no ordinary children. They are part of a bigger prophecy and are the only ones that can save imagination. They will be helped by a poor boy, royalty, a nixie, a star, and many more upon their journey.
Overall, Julu is a well-written story with many complex characters. Anderegg does a great job of developing the plethora of characters and keeping the storyline straight. She is able to cue the reader to the time changes by including a time alert at the start of each chapter. This is really helpful. While not all characters are completely fleshed out in this novel and many of the storylines are not finished, we know that it is a trilogy and Anderegg herself notes in the beginning of the book that she will leave many loose ends to be tied up in the rest of the series.
Even though Anderegg did tell the reader that there would be loose ends, I think there may have been a bit too many. I feel like I have only read half of a book and never got around to finishing it. This does make me want to keep reading the trilogy, but I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed at the ending. My other critique would be that Jack seems abnormally smart in a way that isn’t realistic. He seems to remember random things his teacher told him about a random time period in the past and knows things most kids his age wouldn’t. I know that he is smart and well read, but it just seemed too coincidental and too good to be true.
While Julu was written with a younger audience in mind, it is a great fantasy book for any age. The language is simple, but also doesn’t read like a book written for children. It will keep everyone in the family interested. You will especially enjoy this book if you like fantasy and time travel books. You might not enjoy this book if you are easily confused by plots that jump back and forth or if you are looking for a more sophisticated read. Based on this and the fact that the book appears to be professionally edited, containing minimal errors, I rate this book 4/4 stars.
******
Julu
View: on Bookshelves |
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