story follows the adventure of Posy, an inwardly hurting girl who finds herself in a fairy tale book.
I've thought of how cool a story where someone is transported into a book world would be especially to us bookworms, so what fun to find that a book was releasing with this idea.
My over all opinion of "The Word Changers" is that it is a sweet fantasy read with some good underlying messages of forgiveness and not blaming others for everything wrong in your life.
I loved how it had quite a few fantastical creatures talking owls, centaurs, and even mermaids!, I did not always see things coming in it, so it wasn't very predictable unexpected plot twists can be such fun!.
My biggest problem with the story is that I found it seemed somewhat rushed at times, But that's not an issue worth putting down this book, because this book does deserve praise, If you'll forgive the pun the plot of this story is well done, I found it original and could tell there was a lot thought put into it, And, to me, it had the closest essence of being Narnialike than any other book that I've read in awhile.
If you enjoy a fascinating, clean read, then I think "The Word Changers" is a book you just might want to pick up and give a try.
I give it a rating of three and a half, and I recommend it,
You may want to know There is violence, kissing, and magic,
Recommended for: Teens
The Word Changers was an interesting fantasy story with an intriguing premise: People in books are real.
Posy, a girl from the real world, replaces the missing princess Evanthe in the Plot of a book, but she finds that much more than a missing princess is afoot.
Posy and Evanthe's brother Kyran go on a quest to find Evanthe, and discover what has really happened to the Plot along the way.
I did enjoy this book, but unfortunately it did not jump onto my extensive favorites list,
Writing:/
The Word Changers is fairly well written, While it didn't ever become a page turner for me, I was never jerked out of the story by poor writing.
Descriptions were pretty good and emotions were described well, The writing wasn't anything extraordinary, but it was pretty good,
Setting:/
It's a fantasy world within a book, It has mythical creatures like centaurs, talking animals and a magical mist that tells Posy what to do, which was kind of cool.
It was a little difficult to get used to talking owls outside of Narnia, It seemed a little out of place in a young adult book, but the owls were crucial to the plot.
I wasn't terribly intrigued by the setting within the kingdom, but I did really like the Glooming, It was an interesting place, and full of different tests Posy and Kyran had to get through to make it to Evanthe.
I don't want to give the Glooming away, but I thought it the best part of the book.
Plot:/
I'm divided on this, Part of the plot I liked and part of it I didn't, I'll start with the part I liked: the adventure, There was quite a bit of it, as Posy and Kyran set out to find Evanthe, and got involved in starting a fight for the True Plot against the king.
And again, I liked the stuff within the Glooming, It kept reminding me of things from many of my favorite books, but in a new way, I also did like when they met the Author and learned about him writing their story, I usually appreciate writing based allegory,
Now, what I didn't like: the romance, I'm not against a romance subplot, I rather like them, but this one never worked for me, What I love about the romance in Molly Evangeline's books is how the relationship is built on God and friendship.
In The Word Changers, it seems to be built on that
she's a teenage girl, and he's a handsome guy, and doesn't all YA need a little romance When Posy first met Kyran, she hated him, but then, next time, when they were setting out on their journey to find Evanthe, she seemed to be falling for him simply because he was a guy.
Not that Kyran was bad, he is a pretty good character, it's just that's not why she falls for him.
The feeling is returned, but still, it seems to be for no other reason than because the book "needed" a romance.
There are a couple of kisses between them, which I didn't feel were necessary, I think the book would have been better if the author hadn't tried to force in a romance.
Character Development:/
Posy and Kyran were fairly well developed, but I never really connected with either of them.
I did like how it was difficult to figure out whose side Falak the owl was really on.
Also, the side the king and queen were on was difficult to discern, which was a good thing.
The lesser characters were a little difficult to keep track of, and not very distinct, They did behave like typical book characters, but again, I didn't connect to them,
All in all, The Word Changers was a pretty good book built around an intriguing concept.
Though I don't count it as a favorite, I did enjoy it,
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, The opinions expressed are my own, Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, Also, I stole the idea for the introduction from Hannah Williams, Thanks/sorry, Hannah!
I dislike the saying dont judge a book by its cover, because, in a strictly literary sense, I do.
When I picked up The Word Changers, I saw a pretty cover that lacked polish, And thats exactly what I read,
Posy has a problem, Its not that her parents are getting divorced, Its not that she somehow finds herself in a book whose Plot has gone badly awry, Its not even that a malevolent owl is trying to kill her,
Posys problem is that she fails to fall in love believably,
And that is what kept me from loving this book, Neither Posy nor her love interest has the most dynamic personalitynot surprising, since they never do anything that doesnt advance the plot note the lowercase p.
In this case, I felt the novel suffered from an imbalance of scene and summary, Willis chose to write they rode for several hours instead of portraying some of the conversation that mightve happened along the way.
Perhaps he reveals a scene from his childhood, or she confesses to deeply love the color pink, even though she finds it embarrassing.
But the characters never raised their heads from the plot again, note the lowercase p long enough for me to learn anything about them, or for them to display any signs of chemistry that might warn me of an impending romance.
I also wish I hadnt known Posys age, or maybe that I had known the love interests, That was offputting.
But dont stop reading yet, I havent finished.
The Word Changers also had the best Christian allegory I have ever read, To write a strong novel, the Author cannot make things easy for their characters, The Reader must believe they struggle tooth and nail to achieve their hearts desire before they can believe in the Plot.
In the same way, God doesnt make things easy for us, He doesnt tell us where were going, or we would never get there, Just because He doesnt smooth things over for us doesnt mean Hes not there, Of course, that begs the question of who the Reader represents in the allegory, But I digress.
In conclusion, Ashlee Willis still has a lot to learn, but she has what you cant teach: vision.
I will definitely be reading her next book,
"But Posy wondered, suspected, even begun to believe, that sometimes reality was too solid and too hard, and that perhaps sometimes the clearest and straightest way to truth was through a fairytale.
"
This quote is a good example of what my opinions about life turned toward when reading this book.
The Word Changers is about a girl named Posy who gets placed in a book she was reading because a crucial character in the story the princess has run away, and she must be replaced because her presence is imperative to the plot.
At least, that is what you are initially led to believe,
The truth is, "the plot" in the kingdom is not the same as it once was, and evil is afoot.
The princess ran away for a reason, which leads Posy and Kyran the prince, on a quest to find the princess and right the wrongs that have been done to the kingdom and the inhabitants.
My thought process: So, I'm a reader reading about a reader being sucked into a book.
. . what if this actually happens and there is a reader reading about me reading about a reader being sucked into a book
Now I'm kind of waiting to be sucked into a tale although, knowing my luck, I would be stuck in one where I'm alone in the middle of the ocean on a little lifeboat with nothing but meager rations and a piccolo.
Ahem moving on, . .
I think my favorite thing about this book was the creative world and it's inhabitants, I love fantasy, especially when it contains good world building, The different places and creatures were captivating, Definite thumbs up to that,
Another thing I enjoyed about this novel is the action in it, The story moved along at a satisfying pace that kept me interested, Also, the characters in the book didn't just go through physical perils, but had to fight inward battles.
A lot of this inner reflection was addressed in their experiences in a place called "The Glooming", which held my favorite scenes.
Everything that happened in the Glooming was really cool and different,
In particular, there was an Underwater Palace that played mind games with Posy and Kyran, I really liked the contrast between the two experiences in the palace, and wish they had spent more time in it.
While this part doesn't feel rushed, I would have really liked to see more things that the palace could do to them This was one of the few times in which Posy and Kyran were separated, making it easier to shed more light on their individual struggles.
Nevertheless, their task required haste, so I see why their stay was limited,
I feel like it would be a discredit to call the book a romance, While it does contain romance, there is a lot more going on than the typical young adult girlmeetsguy, let'spretendthisbookisafantasywhenit'sreallyaboutfindingacounterparttocompleteyou garbage.
The story is actually a Christian allegory, in which the Author is supposed to represent God, The Author actually feels personal, which is a nice change, A lot of times in Young Adult Christian Fiction, the reader feels detached because of the way the book is portraying God, and it can feel cliché.
Fortunately, such was not the case in this tale, The Author feels very real,
Quotes about the author:
"The plot here in this land beyond is one that may change and vary it is one that is dependent on the choices of it's characters themselves.
It is not set it is not the same every time the book is opened or the story told.
That is it's danger. And that is it's beauty, "
"Surely, the characters must believe that an author existed, They were aware they were in a book where did they think the book had come from"
"Whether the characters answer to the king or not makes no difference in the Author's existence"
The characters were well rounded and developed.
None of the characters were perfect, making them realistic because of their mistakes, Many of the evil ones had an internal war between right and wrong, I really felt for many of the characters in this book,
The main theme in this book is forgiveness, In her actual life, Posy's parents have intense fights, and will most likely be getting a divorce, Posy harbors resentment about what they have done to her family, and is bitter about the pain they have caused.
There are many other characters in this book seeking or giving forgiveness, which gives a relatable feeling,
I really liked this theme, especially for a young adult book, It didn't come off as preachy, and taught a good lesson,
"Remember, Prince, there is good and bad in everyone, Dark and shadows depend so wholly on light that it is impossible sometimes to see where one begins and one ends.
Not a soul in this world or any other is ever completely lost in darkness not unless they choose to be.
"
My only quibble is that the beginning of the book felt different than the rest of the story.
In the first two chapters, it feels like the target audience is for a more junior level, However, this feeling can be overlooked because the rest of the book fit young adult perfectly, and it was only those first two that gave that impression.
I liked the way the book ended, It was a little open ended, but also gave closure, There is room for it to be a series, but it could also work as a standalone book.
I would definitely recommend this to my fantasyloving friends! It was an interesting read full of original ideas that left me not knowing what was coming next.
A well deservedstars!
In the interest of full disclosure, I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The opinions stated above are my own, .