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What Members Thought
3.5 STARS. So many of my friends love this book and I don't know what took me so long to get around to reading it, but I'm glad I finally did, though I almost abandoned it at first. I think I just needed to allow myself to slip back into the pace of fantasy novels from my early teen years and (though this first Castle Glower book was published in 2011, it reminded me of books I read in the early to mid '90s) as, when I no longer expected the fast-paced, high-concept fantasy books of today's mark
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A magic castle that rearranges itself, adds rooms, changes the location of things, removes doors (locking in a spy)... Celie, the youngest princess, will need all the castle's help when her parent's and oldest brother are ambushed and she and her older brother and sister are left on their own to keep the kingdom safe.
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Lovely middle grade fantasy.
I loved these characters and really hope the next books go into them more. Really, what I want is a prequel, to meet these characters earlier. The plot and setting are cute and original, the writing is clear and straightforward. Some of it's a little cartoonish for my tastes, and really I felt kind of like I was watching a Disney princess movie at times, and the made-up names/words/languages were kind of jarringly not-real-sounding, but I liked it a lot.
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Eck. I'm sorry but all this stuff about kicking the bad guys in the 'bum' and the jokey slapstick manure pranks. and those fancy foreigners with those idiotic accents. shoot me. can you say 'trying too hard to be funny'? at 75% I made the executive decision to ditch it.
I would say 6-8 year olds would probably think this is hilarious though, so id venture to give it 2 stars in its redeemable quality of being a good read aloud. ...more
I would say 6-8 year olds would probably think this is hilarious though, so id venture to give it 2 stars in its redeemable quality of being a good read aloud. ...more
Satisfying middle grade fantasy where three royal siblings must thwart a coup with the aid of the magical castle they call home. Humor, pranks and nail-biting adventure as they defend their home, but a castle that grows new rooms and reconfigures itself at will is pure childhood fantasy at its best.
Solid castle-y fantasy. Also, have you noticed a bunch of fantasy writers are LDS? Has this pattern been explored? Am I making things up?
Super cute and fun read. Glad I bought it from the book fair.
Grades 4-6. RL 860. Castle Glower is alive. It picks the king of Sleyn by putting the king's bedroom closest to the throne room. Enemies are given cell-like accommodations or shown the door. Literally. All is well in the kingdom until the King and Queen are thought murdered and a neighboring prince tries to seize control. But Princess Celie knows and loves the castle more than anyone else-- but can she save them when even the Castle itself is struck a fatal blow?
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Such a clever story about a family trying to protect their home. I love that the castle is a character in the story - probably my favorite one. Wonderful villians and some surprise allies make this a fun read.
I like the idea of a castle with its own mind. The story seemed a bit slow moving, especially at first. It will be interesting to see how this book is received by my students.
Feb 20, 2011
alisonwonderland (Alison)
marked it as to-read
Mar 28, 2011
Katieb (MundieMoms)
marked it as to-read
Oct 06, 2011
J.j.
marked it as to-read
Aug 03, 2012
Celeste
marked it as to-read
Jul 01, 2013
Lola
marked it as to-read
Aug 17, 2018
Beth Given
marked it as to-read
Aug 28, 2018
Ellen
marked it as to-read
