I think that sometimes I’m incredibly lucky. Today is one of those days:
I liked Rachael right away. She’s a tough kid and, even when she gets scared, sticks to her guns and remains loyal. I also really liked that, although The Floating Menagerie is a children’s book, De Kenyon is not afraid to show her readers ugly things about the world: moms who go missing, grownups who try to hurt little kids, and friends who aren’t always really your friend. She balances these bad things with beauty, though: dads who love their daughters, grownups who protect kids, and friends who stick with you no matter what.
The pace of the book is fast and kept me reading well into the night (and well over my break at work — oops). The ending left me wanting more, but at a safe enough place that even if it’s a few months before I read the next one, I won’t have to reread the first to remember what happened.
Liz Barone, who really likes some of my other stories, including Tales Told Under the Covers, liked this book, too! And I have to laugh…my daughter, Rachael, wanted a character named after her, so when I read “I liked Rachael right away,” I think of my daughter first. “Of course you like Rachael. She’s awesome.”