Book Review: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Book #12 of 2011:

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

An old favorite. It’s just so delightfully heartfelt and punny, and it definitely helped shape my love of language at an early age. Milo, a bored and boring young child, gets whisked away to a magical land where he must rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Demons of Ignorance. Along the way he meets many colorful characters, learns some things, and comes to view life as a grand adventure. Juster wields his language beautifully, and there are any number of delightful turns of phrase and inventive re-interpretations of common expressions as actual characters and concepts, from the Whether Man and the Spelling Bee to eating your words and jumping to Conclusions. I identify far too strongly with the Ever-Present Word Snatcher, and I suspect Norton Juster may have as well.

★★★★★

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Book Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Book #2 of 2011:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #1)

Very similar to the novel Battle Royale, which I love, except there’s much more of a focus on the kind of dystopian society that would make children fight to the death in the first place – which is definitely a rich topic to explore! Katniss is a great protagonist, and she’s fun to root for both in and out of the arena. I usually get frustrated by love triangles in young adult fiction, but the one in this book is actually a fresh take on that trope, and is handled very well. (I don’t entirely care for the direction it goes in the sequels, but that’s a different matter.)

★★★★☆

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