2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling.

Pages: 282 pages

Length: 1 Month (February)

Participants: Chantal, Gabriella, Shareen, Eileen, Irma.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

Thank you!

I received this as a birthday gift, can't wait to read it.

I just got this book! Excited to join this group!

So I had started this book in my own language....well Iam reading it now in English.

I started reading it. I'm reading in my native language, though. It's quite entertaining so far and I struggled to put it down.

Just finished this book today. I have to say it's not my favorite book. I would give it 3.5 stars.

Started today! :)

So far, I love the illustrations made by the kids, it's so cool! The story is OK, seems like an old tale with lots of twists and turns.

I've read until chapter 24 and here are my thoughts :

(view spoiler)[ So many deaths!!! I feel like I'm in Game of Thrones lol

Also I kinda feel that the story is kinda hard and heavy for little kids. I'm in this place in the book where there's no hope, the good characters are either dead or imprisonned, the wrong people are in power, .... Very GOT indeed. I'm not particularly motivated to pursue my reading I have to admit... (hide spoiler)]

Might be able to pick this up by next week.

I finished it.

I have some mixed feelings about this one because of JKR. The story in itself is wonderful and very entertaining, though it focuses a bit too much on villains and villainy. (view spoiler)[But, as always, all works out a bit too easily in the end. (hide spoiler)]

It has some problematic views because of who wrote it, like (view spoiler)[wondering if the Ickabog is a boy OR a girl, and still perpetuating the idea that women can't defend themselves (hide spoiler)] while also making two strong female characters (Berta and Daisy).

I gave it four stars because I really struggled putting the book down once I started to read it, even though it's a bit slow-paced in after the first 80 pages until (view spoiler)[Daisy and Bert find each other (hide spoiler)].

Eileen,

(view spoiler)[It feels a bit as a Game of Thrones for children. I don't know if I'd let little kids read/listen to this as there's a lot of evil and no hope for most part of the book. It gets better, though you might see the GOT plot until at least chapter 35/40 or so, I think. (hide spoiler)]

I started this last night. :)

I'm at halfway of the book and I think I'm too old for this kind of book. At first, I thought I'll get the feeling of reading Harry Potter but apparently not. My feeling is the same as with Eileen, I need some motivation to finish it.

Glad to have read this and gotten it off of my TBR pile but if it hadn't been JK Rowling, I doubt I would have finished it. I agree with the focus being too consistently on the villains...

I dnf it, didnt like it after awhile. Maybe I am to old.