Review of Jirvania

[Anaïs Quesson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Jirvania" by Jan Anderegg.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.”

Jirvania is the second book in Jan Anderegg’s Julu fantasy series. However, thanks to a comprehensive summary of the previous book at the beginning, Jirvania can be read as a stand-alone.

Julu tells the story of twelve-year-old Jack Lemoine, a young boy whose life turns upside down when he discovers a dragon’s egg ready to hatch. With his cousin Mia and the newborn dragon Julu, Jack discovers the existence of Jirvania, a utopian world of magic, love, harmony, and imagination. It is home to The Great Library, where all stories are born. But evil forces threaten this utopian land of imagination. With the help of Julu, Jack and Mia travel through time and stories to rewrite the story and save Jirvania.
The second book picks up right where the first has stopped. Jack and Mia have traveled back to 1971 and met Bee, their grandmother and princess of Jirvania, along with her friend Rayne. The teenagers immediately embark on multiple fantastic adventures through time and fairy tales.

Will Jack and his friends be able to save Jirvania from the evil Spore Army threatening the universe? Or will imagination and love finally be evicted for good?

The main storyline of Jirvania doesn’t differ from most young adult fantasy books: the sudden discovery of an unknown magical world in need of rescue by the young and noble hero destined to save it. However, I like how the story is peppered with references to popular characters, creatures, and gods from well- and less-known foreign folktales. I think the presence of such characters brings originality to Anderegg’s story.

Jirvania evokes numerous themes, such as the importance of friendship and the need for compassion and love. While the teachings are mostly candid metaphors, they are still enjoyable for an older reader. This book has a good potential for teenagers to understand the complexity of the world surrounding them and the necessity of staying open-minded and compassionate.
Although there are no profanities or sexual content in this book, there are a few violent topics mentioned, such as death, illness, or suicidal thoughts. None of these subjects are gruesomely detailed, but I still advise parents of particularly young or sensitive children to know this book’s contents beforehand.

If I generally enjoyed this book, I was disappointed by its character development. I struggled to understand the personality of each of the characters. They’re either black or white, good or bad. None of the characters on Jirmania’s side have any flaws. On the other hand, none of the bad guys have any motivation that made me understand their actions. All the characters are interchangeable and replaceable.
Moreover, the numerous characters prevented me from fully understanding all the storylines. Despite the summary at the start of the book and the index at the end, they have no discernable personality and blend into each other. It distracted me from the story.
On a side note, I particularly enjoyed Rayne’s character. Her rich personality shines through playful dialogue lines and vivid affection toward Jack. It makes her the most believable and realistic character in this book.

I find Anderegg’s writing style very approachable. Jirvania suits a large target audience. It is accessible and simple enough for teenagers, while the underlying themes of belonging and compassion give it enough depth to be appreciated by adults. Anyone seeking an escape to the land of imagination will likely be content.
The storytelling could benefit from more organization, though. The pace is very swift, jumping from one idea to the next without focusing much on the characters’ feelings and thoughts. Although it might be perfect for younger readers with a short attention span, a stronger focus on the characters could enhance the older readers’ experience by building emotional intimacy with the story.

I give Jirvania a final rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
I took a few points off my rating due to the lack of character development I mentioned above. Despite that, Jirvania is a delightful tale of love, hope, and kindness. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to escape the dullness of real life for a fabulous fairy tale. I also suggest starting with the first book.

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Jirvania
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Julie Marie Basil]

This is a very thorough review. I appreciate your honesty in your critiques of the characters and your suggestions about the best audience for this story based on some content that may be difficult for more sensitive readers. Based on your review, I do not think I will be reading this book. Keep up the good work!

[Anaïs Quesson]

This is a very thorough review. I appreciate your honesty in your critiques of the characters and your suggestions about the best audience for this story based on some content that may be difficult for more sensitive readers. Based on your review, I do not think I will be reading this book. Keep up the good work!

Thank you a lot for your comment, Julie!

[Anastasia Baglay]

What an exceptional review! I love the way you pay attention even to a minor things. Hope to see your critique on some new books soon!

[Anaïs Quesson]

What an exceptional review! I love the way you pay attention even to a minor things. Hope to see your critique on some new books soon!

Thank you a lot

[Sadiya_Khan]

Not certain about the book, but I did enjoy reading your review. You worte such a detailed review with both negative and positive aspects. Hope to hear more from you.

[Anaïs Quesson]

Not certain about the book, but I did enjoy reading your review. You worte such a detailed review with both negative and positive aspects. Hope to hear more from you.

Thank you so much!

[Cristiano Bellucci]

Thanks for your review. It is nice to have a book where kindness is central.

[Anaïs Quesson]

Thanks for your review. It is nice to have a book where kindness is central.

I agree, especially when the book targets teenagers and young adults. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment, I appreciate it!

[Mari Thompson]

This sounds like a great fantasy book. With the first mention of a dragon in your review my interest was piqued. It’s nice to know that youth and adults can both enjoy this story but sounds disappointing that the characters fall flat. Hopefully the author does some rewriting and develops them better. Thanks for the great review.

[Anaïs Quesson]

This sounds like a great fantasy book. With the first mention of a dragon in your review my interest was piqued. It’s nice to know that youth and adults can both enjoy this story but sounds disappointing that the characters fall flat. Hopefully the author does some rewriting and develops them better. Thanks for the great review.

Knowing there was a dragon is also what made me choose it haha. Thank you for your comment Mari!

[Stephen Christopher 1]

Thanks for the thorough review. Yes, it does sound like it's more suited to teenagers. The jumping around seems aimed at shorted attention spans. I, too, prefer characters that are more fleshed out, and I think flaws are vital even in heroes. I might give this one a miss, but I appreciate how honest you were.

[Anaïs Quesson]

Thanks for the thorough review. Yes, it does sound like it's more suited to teenagers. The jumping around seems aimed at shorted attention spans. I, too, prefer characters that are more fleshed out, and I think flaws are vital even in heroes. I might give this one a miss, but I appreciate how honest you were.

Indeed, the lack of character development makes this book more suited to teens and pre-teens. I'm glad my review made you realize this book is not the right fit for you.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment, Stephen. I appreciate it!

[Qwerty Writes]

The book sounds delightful and sweet. I've loved books with a bit of lore and mythology in them. It sounds like it has a bit of historical fiction too but I can't say because you didn't mention the setting. It was wonderful reading your review.
Stay well and keep writing!

[Gerry Steen]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Jirvania" by Jan Anderegg.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Share This Review

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“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.”

Jirvania is the second book in Jan Anderegg’s Julu fantasy series. However, thanks to a comprehensive summary of the previous book at the beginning, Jirvania can be read as a stand-alone.

Julu tells the story of twelve-year-old Jack Lemoine, a young boy whose life turns upside down when he discovers a dragon’s egg ready to hatch. With his cousin Mia and the newborn dragon Julu, Jack discovers the existence of Jirvania, a utopian world of magic, love, harmony, and imagination. It is home to The Great Library, where all stories are born. But evil forces threaten this utopian land of imagination. With the help of Julu, Jack and Mia travel through time and stories to rewrite the story and save Jirvania.
The second book picks up right where the first has stopped. Jack and Mia have traveled back to 1971 and met Bee, their grandmother and princess of Jirvania, along with her friend Rayne. The teenagers immediately embark on multiple fantastic adventures through time and fairy tales.

Will Jack and his friends be able to save Jirvania from the evil Spore Army threatening the universe? Or will imagination and love finally be evicted for good?

The main storyline of Jirvania doesn’t differ from most young adult fantasy books: the sudden discovery of an unknown magical world in need of rescue by the young and noble hero destined to save it. However, I like how the story is peppered with references to popular characters, creatures, and gods from well- and less-known foreign folktales. I think the presence of such characters brings originality to Anderegg’s story.

Jirvania evokes numerous themes, such as the importance of friendship and the need for compassion and love. While the teachings are mostly candid metaphors, they are still enjoyable for an older reader. This book has a good potential for teenagers to understand the complexity of the world surrounding them and the necessity of staying open-minded and compassionate.
Although there are no profanities or sexual content in this book, there are a few violent topics mentioned, such as death, illness, or suicidal thoughts. None of these subjects are gruesomely detailed, but I still advise parents of particularly young or sensitive children to know this book’s contents beforehand.

If I generally enjoyed this book, I was disappointed by its character development. I struggled to understand the personality of each of the characters. They’re either black or white, good or bad. None of the characters on Jirmania’s side have any flaws. On the other hand, none of the bad guys have any motivation that made me understand their actions. All the characters are interchangeable and replaceable.
Moreover, the numerous characters prevented me from fully understanding all the storylines. Despite the summary at the start of the book and the index at the end, they have no discernable personality and blend into each other. It distracted me from the story.
On a side note, I particularly enjoyed Rayne’s character. Her rich personality shines through playful dialogue lines and vivid affection toward Jack. It makes her the most believable and realistic character in this book.

I find Anderegg’s writing style very approachable. Jirvania suits a large target audience. It is accessible and simple enough for teenagers, while the underlying themes of belonging and compassion give it enough depth to be appreciated by adults. Anyone seeking an escape to the land of imagination will likely be content.
The storytelling could benefit from more organization, though. The pace is very swift, jumping from one idea to the next without focusing much on the characters’ feelings and thoughts. Although it might be perfect for younger readers with a short attention span, a stronger focus on the characters could enhance the older readers’ experience by building emotional intimacy with the story.

I give Jirvania a final rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
I took a few points off my rating due to the lack of character development I mentioned above. Despite that, Jirvania is a delightful tale of love, hope, and kindness. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to escape the dullness of real life for a fabulous fairy tale. I also suggest starting with the first book.

******
Jirvania
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

I have difficulty following stories that have many characters. If they are well-developed characters, I find the story to be too long. In the case of this book, there were many characters and they were not all well-developed. I guess for me, as long as the main characters are well-developed, I would be okay with it. I am attracted to the plot and the fantasy elements you described. Thank you for this detailed and honest review.