Book Review: "The Silver Crown" by Robert C. O'brien

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

After Ellen loses her home, she decides to make her way to her aunt. But she lives far away in Kentucky. All she has is the money in her pocket and a strange silver crown that was her birthday gift. But soon she realizes something strange is going on, and the crown is more than it seems.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Ellen isn't that distinctive of a character. She is likable, but I didn't feel very connected to her. Mainly because of the lack of interaction with her family. She is rather naive at first (in fact I kind of thought she was an idiot due to one thing she does) but eventually she becomes smarter and braver near the second half of the book.

Otto is a boy that was adopted by his mother. He lives in a secluded house and is very knowledgeable of the woods. He ends up being a great help to Ellen, providing food and a fire for her as well as many other talents such as discerning an animal print is actually a man's as well as finding a secret path for them to take.

Mr. Carver is a wood carver. Yes, it's not very imaginative. He lives in the woods alone, and ends up becoming an ally to the kids.

THAT WAS FAST-SPOILERS

In the beginning of the book, Ellen wakes up, gets dressed and takes her new crown to the nearby park. I am assuming this park is only five-ten minutes away (or else her parents probably would never let her go there and she wouldn't have been familiar with the way).

She plays ball for a short time, it seems like only five or so minutes. And yet when she rushes back home her entire house in engulfed in flames and everybody is presumed dead. My first thought what was, “Wow. That was fast.” It was a silly thing but it bothered me.

THE TRUTH ABOUT OTTO-SPOILERS

We get little hints that Otto might have a secret or two. But when we find out the truth it's truly bizarre. Turns out that he thinks his mom is poor and helpless so he tricks trucks of food into crashing nearby. She tries telling him that she is not his real mom but he gets too upset.

So...he is kind of mentally ill. Or else I am guessing his mom would have told him not to ever do that again and he would have been disciplined. She says leaving and living with “younger, stronger people” will help him forget her. Somehow I doubt that.

But we don't know why she doesn't simply parent him. Or why she thinks that sending him off with Ellen will help him. Yes, he does turn out to be her guide and she does completely rely on him. I got that, but I thought there needed to be a more thought out reason as to why a mother would let her child go off alone with another kid, that he just met. Especially since she seems to understand that Ellen is in danger.

MRS. FITZPATRICK

When Ellen finally tells Mrs. Fitzpatrick about her crown and how she received it, as well as what has happened to her so far, she instantly believes her. I didn't understand why.

Ellen just lost her family (if she was telling the truth, which a stranger would have no way of knowing). More likely she would believe that Ellen had been abused at her home and ran away. Then concocted a story about them all being dead, and perhaps too earnestly, threw in some details about a cult of green hoods.

But here's the real issue, when Ellen shows her crown Mrs. Fitzpatrick instantly recognizes that it's magic. Because I guess most people believe in magic, or something?

Ellen's story is backed up by the fact that a strange man shows up looking for her, and isn't very friendly. But the rest is quite unbelievable.

A LONG AGO CULT

Mrs. Fitzpatrick ends up being a teacher figure to Ellen and providing her with information about her crown and an old cult she thinks its related to. She mentions she needs a book, so we can assume she got the information from there. The problem is that all of this completely relies on coincidence. Ellen finds Otto in the woods, who takes her to his mom, who happens to have a book about a certain cult that happens to be about her crown.

It would have been better if perhaps Otto had been a classmate of hers, who had mentioned his mom was a professor of cults or something. Although being this was the 1960s and most mothers raised their own children, it would have made more sense to have his father be the one to know this.

CABIN IN THE WOODS-SPOILERS

Ellen and Otto end up meeting an older man named Mr. Carver. Turns out he lives alone with his dog. He ends up defending them from the stranger who is looking for Ellen which isn't unbelievable. After all, the man is rather aggressive and has a gun. Not exactly a father looking for his child.

But what is unbelievable is that he fully realizes that these kids are in trouble...so he sends them away. I get that he says he will guard the road so the stranger cannot come back. But wouldn't it have been wiser to tie up the stranger? Apparently he has no phone, so they cannot call the cops. And no car, so he cannot take the criminal to the cops, or the kids to escape. He could have held him there and let the kids leave. Or better yet, take the man's gun and go with the kids. He could have been a guide.

Also I thought it was strange that we heard something about a “king” and Mr. Carver's dog was named King. Couldn't the author have chosen a different name?

THE GREEN HOODS

There is some planting of an evil group in the beginning of the book. A cop that tries to bring Ellen to the local station has to chase a thief off and he happens to have a green hood. Ellen learns that a lot of crimes have been occurring lately with people wearing these hoods.

There is also another hint, as a man who tries to kidnap Ellen says something about a “king”. So we do get the feeling rather fast that something strange is going on. Just not why Ellen should be involved.

THE SECRET-SPOILERS

Eventually near the end of the book, we start learning about what is actually going on. We learn about children being brainwashed in a secret school, after they are kidnapped.

I actually thought the idea was an interesting one, and the machine that was used was original. Unfortunately is was completely overwhelmed by the cringe-inducing elements that were the methods of brainwashing. If it had just been the machine...but instead we get school lessons where children are taught to be evil by perverted fables.

THE RACE RIOTS

To put things in context, this book was originally written in the 1960s. I didn't know that when I bought it, nor when I read it. There really aren't any overt references to the time period.

Yes, there is lack of mentions of modern technology like the internet and cell phones, but Ellen is a kid. She most likely wouldn't have either of things available to her as she is on the run. Perhaps one can point to the fact that she is rather helpless though most of the time with Otto. In our modern feminist climate, this would probably never occur.

Then enter the brainwashing. We are told that many (maybe even all) of the violence and racism that is taking place now is thanks to the machine.

I thought something as serious of an issue as racism and violence would be dealt with delicately, or perhaps not at all in a childrens' book. I know as a child I hated so called “educational” books where you were preached a message about some incident in the past. The author avoided being preachy...but he just came off as inappropriate. Like he was downplaying the issue and making it silly.

The villains even seem dumb, like when one says if the government restrict firearms they have to learn to use knives. Because crazy cult members bent on destruction can't break laws and just get guns illegally.

CLIMAX

Ellen attempts to rescue Otto and has to face a dangerous machine. She meets the king and learns how it works. She attempts to escape and get the crown but fails. She ends up saving the day another way.

HOW IT WORKS-SPOILERS

Ellen learns about a substance called malignite. I guess because it's malignant. It makes people easy to control for some unknown reason. We also learn about a black crown made of the stuff, that's the twin to Ellen's crown. It's tied back to the figure of St. Jerome but just in a vague way. Apparently some of his followers had cults and studied magic and stuff.

Ellen thinks that the crown is controlling the king, and the machine as well (the machine was discovered from long ago). So the material is rather magical. I do think the idea of a substance that influenced you or possessed you would be interesting to read about. Unfortunately not enough time is given to the subject and it all feels very vague.

REUNITED-SPOILERS

Ellen is told about people kept in a basement. She seems to hope they are who she thinks they are. Turns out there are her parents. Besides the fact that I never saw her parents interact with her or had any flashbacks with them, I didn't understand why Ellen thought they were alive. Why had they been kept alive?

There is no mention of them being used to blackmail Ellen into cooperating with the King. That would have made sense. Or perhaps there should have been a hint that they were alive. Like the fireman revealing that no bodies had been found yet. Or something.

TWO CROWNS

Turns out Ellen's crown is the less evil of the two. I kind of wished it had been just as evil. It would have been interesting for her to have to fight it. And to slowly realize that maybe the crown wasn't all good. Maybe something was off about it. And that would make parting with it all the more hard.

TWO ENDINGS

The book reveals two endings were made, one for the original and one for American readers (who apparently thought clarity would be needed about the crown). In the original ending, no one give any information about the crown and neither Otto nor Ellen seem to care (which feels strange, considering the danger they were both put in because of it). We simply learn that her aunt sent it to her after finding it in Spain. And she doesn't know how the cult found out about it.

In the American ending, there are six pages of information. It does say a lot about the author, that he originally didn't think he needed to explain anything. Questions are asked, like if the machine sensed Ellen, and if it wanted to destroy the other crown. We learn that the crown placed in her house by the cult members and was not from her aunt (making the coincidence of the original ending vanish). And we learn that Ellen had an unusual mind and could use the crown (explaining why the machine did not work on her) but she had to use it willingly and could not be kidnapped.

All of this is essential information and would have been great if hints had been given throughout. Like the fact that Ellen's mind was unusual; Did she have a high IQ? Was she very artistic and talented in some amazing way? Anything. Or the fact that it's mentioned the jewels glowing near the machine like it was interacting with it. It could have made Ellen wonder.

CONCLUSION

Ellen is a likable character that does develop, as she goes from a character that is naive and needs to fully rely on others, to one that ends up doing the rescuing and saving the day. But she doesn't really go through any self-doubt. Nor does she realize when she makes a mistake and chide herself, like when she trusts a stranger (in fact she keeps trusting strangers, but just gets lucky).

Otto on the other hand is the perfect guide and likable as well. But his backstory is ridiculous and is never resolved. He never realizes his mom is not his mom and admits to his past mistakes.

And the villains' plans are cheesy and based on vague concepts that we don't have time to dive into. I actually enjoyed a lot of it, even with all of these faults. Mainly because I found Ellen and Otto's journey through the woods rather interesting and well paced. It was just the cult that did me in. As well as the lack of logic and details. I give “The Silver Crown” two stars.

Book Review: "Silvertongue" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

George has brought something back with him from when he went to rescue Edie. Something evil. So it's up to him and his friends to stop it. Meanwhile Edie unravels the mysterious past of her mother.

PACING

The pacing is not really slow, I just felt that parts pertaining to side characters that were just introduced were kind of boring. Even if many of them were short parts, I felt they dragged the story down slightly. George still has plenty of action while Edie's story pulls us along by its suspense.

EDIE'S MOM-SPOILERS

We learn about how Edie's stepfather died finally. While Edie learns some surprising things about her mom. This does help her gain closure. She forgives her mom and realizes she only wanted to protect her daughter. It was tragic event to witness but it was nice that Gunner was there for her.

THE QUEEN'S WARNING

In the beginning of the book, the Queen confides in George. Turns out she is worried about Edie. She says dying has changed her. And yet I don't think Edie actually changes at all. She is the same stubborn girl, going off on her own and doing whatever she wants.

I almost felt like this was a plot point that was forgotten. Everything that comes from her mouth seems vague. Like how George and Edie are connected and something about ancient magic...or something. And she also mentions having lost girls before who were glints. But we never learn of them. So it felt empty.

VAGUE HISTORY

We get to learn a history lesson about where the ice devil came from. It's evil, and it was put away long ago, and now it's free. That's the gist.

BALANCE IN THE UNIVERSE

There is a running theme of balance having once existed in the universe. George is told he ruined the balance when he destroyed the dragon statue. And later on, he is told for every George there is a dragon. It sounded great when it was yelled by George later on but I didn't understand any of it.

Why did there need to be balance? Balance between good and evil I assume, but good and evil have been interpreted differently since humans have existed. Do we decide if things are balanced because of our idea of good and evil? And if its not us (since there are hints that there are goddesses and other forces at work) who decides what's good and evil?

And most of the explanation is given directly to the reader, and not even to George. Who doesn't seem to care to know why and how this so called “balance” exists.

GEORGE'S MOTHER

George randomly reveals that he has forgiven his mother for neglecting him and basically leaving him all alone after his father's death. He doesn't give any real reasons. He just says after the WWI experience, where he inexplicably felt better about his dad's death, he felt better about his mom.

I found this a lame attempt at wrapping up his problems. It just doesn't make any sense. He babbles about that's just how she is, maybe because she is an actress? In comparison to Edie, it was as if the author wasn't even trying. Like he decided Edie would get a long mystery full of suspense and George would get action scenes. So he better just throw that thing in there about his mom.

If there had been a few flashbacks where he realized the bad relationship wasn't all his mom's fault, that would have been better. Better yet, have involved her in the story somehow. She is in one scene throughout the entire series, and it's just a short phone call.

MORE STATUES

There are some other statues that make an appearance and help George. There is a scene between ones called “young soldier” and “old soldier” as well as the Clocker and the Queen of America. I think there was someone named Shack. I didn't care about any of them to be honest.

SPOUT

Gunner and Edie meet Spout, and George admits he is a friend. And he named him. The Queen doesn't seem surprised, saying the naming made him a special gargoyle. And Gunner just goes with it.

He barely even bats an eye. The fact that he has been at war with taints for so long and never heard of one changing sides was rather unbelievable. He should at least showed some skepticism. I mean, wasn't this an anomaly? In the first book, when Gunner tells George about taints and spits, he draws a firm line between them.

Also, we never learn more about how naming is so important. We just assume it is because the Queen says so.

EDIE & GEORGE

Edie does learn a lot in this book and it causes her to reevaluate her mother and the negative feelings she had for her. Basically she forgives her and lets go of the anger that has been with her for so long.

The problem is...she never really gives George any of the details. She only mentions one thing she learned that has to do with him.

Once again, they are apart for most of the book, just like last time. So there isn't any development between them. I was disappointed, because I knew this was their last chance to actually further develop their relationship. Especially when Edie says she has to find her Mom, basically implying that she is alive. And yet there is no conflict between her and George. He doesn't' worry that she is wrong and is setting herself up for heartache.

WHAT IF?

I mentioned I had wished that George had regretted his choice to choose the “hard way” or at least doubted himself. He finally does it in this book. But it lasts for about a page and a half and Edie doesn't even respond.

I ONLY BELIEVE IN ME

Edie reveals how a bird saved her in her dream. And yet she tells the Queen she doesn't believe in goddesses or anything. Only herself. It just feels laughable, like she is being stubborn for no reason.

Statues can talk and move, she can see the past, travel through mirrors and George has a mutating arm. But when the Queen says the Raven that Edie freed is from Norse mythology she doesn't believe her. And to make it worse, the Raven decides to stay with Edie on her shoulder. The whole scene was funny, but in a bad way.

THE BLACK FRIAR

The friar returns and plays a crucial role involving Edie. But I was honestly disappointed in his character. When we first met him, he seemed mysterious and we didn't trust him. We were told not to. And yet we were never betrayed, or led to believe we were betrayed only to reveal it was all just a misunderstanding. I suppose we were supposed to be shocked when instead she was betrayed by someone else, but this character was a minor one and I couldn't say I was surprised. It's not as if we knew him well.

I liked how he protected Edie in the last book, but I still don't know why he did it. I almost wish they had made the Black friar go into the memories, instead of Gunner. So maybe Gunner could develop his relationship with George, and Edie with the friar. And maybe she could trust him, but George didn't and this could have added conflict to the story.

THE DRAGON

Turns out there is a statue of a dragon and he is the only one who is not evil. So he decides to help Gunner and George fight. I think the idea was an interesting one but the explanation is kind of vague. The dragon says he was the only one who wasn't corrupted.

DICTIONARY JOHNSON

Johnson is back in the story and he ends up protecting George in a fight. I know I was supposed to be shocked and sad at the outcome, but I wasn't. I just didn't feel like there was that close of a relationship between the two of them. The only statue he is close to is Gunner. The others are just minor characters.

CLIMAX

George and Edie work together to defeat the ice devil. The world starts moving again and then they head home to start their new lives together.

THE WALKER'S END

After defeating the Ice Devil, George manages to kill the Walker. I think it was supposed to comic relief after the serious fight. But I thought it was kind of lame. I get that Walker wasn't the main villain in this book, but he was seriously evil in the last two. And to make his ending the butt of a joke seemed to disrespect a character they had built up in the last story.

CONCLUSION

By far the best part of the book is Edie. Her story is a mystery full of suspense and tragedy and I was never bored.

Unfortunately, many of the same mistakes of the last book were made again, mainly Edie and George lacking any real relationship development by not having much time together. And George being neglected regarding his family problems. While I found his healing over his dad confusing (since his sacrifice would have seemed to bring him closer to Gunner) his healing over his absent mother was completely illogical.

Also, I didn't care about any of the side characters or understand their motivation (such as Dictionary when he protects George or the Queen who wants to protect Edie). Many new characters felt like they were thrown in for no reason.

I give “Silvertongue” two and a half stars.

Book Review: "Ironhand" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

George and Edie need to rescue the Gunner but they don't know where to start. Things get complicated when they get separated. Not to mention the Walker is busy sending taints after them.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

George decided to take the hard way. But he didn't know exactly what that meant. Since he spends most of his time away from both the Gunner and Edie we don't see much in the way of relationship development. He still cares about both of them, but his attempt to sacrifice for Gunner falls flat. I kind of wish he had debated if his idea to follow the “hard way” had been a mistake. Or at least realized he had been ignorant about the consequences.

Edie shares some of her past with George, but since she spends most of the story away from him, their relationship still feels lacking. Especially in comparison to the first story. But I do feel like she is much more the focus of this story than George.

Gunner has for the most part, his own story. He doesn't reunite with George and Edie until near the climax. We do see how emotional he gets, regarding the fates of the glints. Also how resourceful he is regarding his escape.

Walker is still the main villain, but he isn't in the story much. We get little snippets of him in many short chapters. It sets up some suspense, but other times I just felt bored by it.

Queen is a statue that seems to see the importance of Edie and her gift. I didn't really like or dislike her.

THREE STORIES

The Gunner has his own story for most of the book. While Edie and George end up separating half way through. So they both get different stories which I suppose helps the pacing.

I think Edie's story is quite important, as we learn about her mother and her past. As well as some of Edie's past. But except for the discovery about how evil the Walker is, I wasn't really interested in his story.

And George's story may have been fast paced, but I don't feel like I got much crucial information to the plot. But to be fair, it was really action packed in the chase scenes. And rather original as well.

EDIE & GEORGE

Since they don't spend lots of time together, there wasn't necessarily a lot of development between their relationship. They do clearly care about each others fates in the climax.

And before that they do argue about their feelings. Edie says she feels cursed and asks if he does. George thinks of his father and the cruel words he said. He eventually reveals this, and Edie laughs at him. So there is some tension between them. But after Edie reveals the truth about her father, the tension deflates.

NAMING A SPIT

George ends up getting attacked by a spit he named “Spout”. Mistakenly, he believes that the spit wants the broken head of the statue. Turns out he just wants his spout, and he wants to be fixed. George suspects that Spout is special because he was named.

But this isn't really explained. I like the idea of him having an ally, but the fact that the spout spoke strangely was kind of annoying. I would have rather he couldn't speak, or he spoke more simplistic, but clear words.

A DUEL TO THE DEATH-SPOILERS

George accidentally agrees to take part in three tests. The first is the face the statue of a knight on horseback.

FOR THE GUNNER-SPOILERS

George's second task turns out preventing the Gunner from dying. He learns that if he heads to the plinth and stands on it before midnight, he can save his friend. But by doing so he will experience what the Gunner experiences: the memories of a WWI soldier. I liked the idea of him having to do something for the Gunner, since no one actually rescues him.

But when George experiences this, he still retains his old memories. So he knows that essentially none of this is real. I felt like that completely missed the point. If he knew he had no risk of dying, going to war for a few hours wasn't terrifying at all.

GEORGE'S FATHER-SPOILERS

George ends up meeting a soldier who has his father's face. Because of this, after the event, George explains that he feels better about his father. This made no sense to me and just felt lazy. Yes, he has matured, by deciding to risk his life for others. And that could translate to realizing the mistake he made as a child had nothing to do with his father's death.

EDIE'S PAST

Probably the most important aspect of the book, we dive into the past of her mother, as Edie learns all sorts of secrets. I found this the most interesting and most suspenseful. Edie learns to let her mother go, as well as to forgive and respect her. It was almost like all of the time was spent on Edie's mother so that George's father was ignored.

THE BLACK FRIAR-SPOILERS

When Edie ends up in trouble, the Black Friar ends up risking his own life. It was surprising to wonder what his motivation is. But I hoped that she would develop a relationship with him that was similar to the Gunner's. Either way, I was glad to see Edie surprised at his kindness.

THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE

Edie is betrayed and ends up with a strange woman who used to be a glint. She ends up spinning some story about the origin of the universe that seems kind of vague at first. As though little thought went into to it. Just the basic, darkness versus the light.

But it evolves into the idea that the pagans moved from sacrificing people (they thought killing people would make it easier to make a statue) to only asking for a spot of blood (that was nice of them) when they made their statues. Sounds logical.

But the first time a spot of blood was used the boy dies (because the dagger was flint so it was evil. I guess) and the bond between maker and statue was forever made.

It was interesting but also kind of awkward. It left me with a lot of questions that Edie doesn't bother to ask. I do felt that some thought went into it, just not much. And I didn't add “spoilers” because this seems to have no effect on the story. Edie never tells George because she doesn't seem to think it's important either.

A BETRAYAL

George ends up being saved by a statue of woman, named Ariel. She is rather strange, but seems harmless. But she ends up taking George to the knight and then not allowing him to leave. George is shocked at her behavior, because she seems so nice. But we only knew her for a few minutes. So I didn't feel anything real shock, maybe just annoyance.

GEORGE'S HAND

George learns from the knight about his ironhand. He tries to worm out some information about it, but he doesn't learn that much.

TIPS FROM DAD

While trying to escape the knight, George remembers him and his dad and how they used to play rugby. I thought it was sweet, and a nice effort to incorporate it into the story. But in the end, with the addition of his father as a soldier, it just felt half-hearted.

CLIMAX

Gunner and George are reunited. Edie tries to escape the Walker but ends up being confronted by him. When George realizes what the Walker did to Edie, he goes after and tries to kill him. But the Queen stops him.

CONCLUSION

My favorite part of the first story is the relationship between Edie and George. So what I dislike is that for a large portion of the story is that they spend time apart. But to be fair, we do learn a lot about Edie and her past.

I just feel like there is no part where Edie takes George aside in confides in him about what everything the reader has just learned. And while we learn about Edie that helps her develop her character (or at least push her to where she has to decide what she really wants) we don't resolve anything with George. He just gets over his dad's death like that and we move on.

And I wasn't that interested in Gunner's story. And We still don't learn anything about the Walker (remember the flash of history that we got from Edie last time?).

I give “Ironhand” three and a half stars.