YPLA- Week One(ish)

Goblin Secrets

By William Alexander

The five finalists for the Young People’s Literature Award have been announced, and the winner will be revealed on the 14th of November, so what am I going to do? Review them all, of course!

Yes, yes, I know, I’m behind. I promise I’ll catch up! Honest! Anyway, here are the finalists:

Goblin Secrets By William Alexander
Out of Reach By Carrie Arcos
Never Fall Down By Patricia McCormick
 Endangered By Eliot Schrefer
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon By Steve Sheinkin

The book for this week is Goblin Secrets. Set in a land called Zombay, this book is about Rownie, who lives with the Baba Yaga-esque, Graba, who takes in stray children. Rownie has an older brother, Rowan, an actor, but acting is illegal in Zombay, and Rowan is nowhere to be found. Trying to find him, Rownie joins a band of goblin outlaws, who travel the land, putting on plays, however Rownie isn’t the only one looking for his brother. The goblins need to find him too, as Rowan might be the only person who can save the town.

I wanted to love this book, I really did, but it just didn’t grab me. It didn’t pass the three chapter test, and the reason I am a week behind is because I haven’t gotten into it. I think this is partially because Rownie is ten years old, and I don’t tend to like books where the main characters are under 12 or 13, but still... Technically there was nothing wrong with this book; it just didn’t pull me under. Normally when I am really enjoying a book, I’ll walk around the house, reading, and won’t stop, unless it’s for something really important (unfortunately they haven’t invented the water-proof book yet), I just didn’t have that with Goblin Secrets. I think I’ll come back to it someday, but for now I’ll have to shelve it. (Metaphorically speaking, seeing as I read it on my kindle)


Feisty chick-o-meter: 4/10 at least as far as I've read
Age rating: 10+ seeing as the main character is 10
Rating:  5/10
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Book or audiobook: Book