Source: Netgalley
Format: E-Book
Series: No, Stand-Alone
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Find it on Goodreads
*Disclaimer* I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
A luminous retelling of the Snow Queen, this is the story of unlikely heroine Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard who doesn't believe in anything that can't be proven by science. She and her sister Alice are still grieving for their dead mother when their father takes a job in a strange museum in a city where it always snows. On her very first day in the museum Ophelia discovers a boy locked away in a long forgotten room. He is a prisoner of Her Majesty the Snow Queen. And he has been waiting for Ophelia's help.REVIEW:
As Ophelia embarks on an incredible journey to rescue the boy everything that she believes will be tested. Along the way she learns more and more about the boy's own remarkable journey to reach her and save the world.
Well... let me tell you a little something about Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard: she's a bit of a nerd. She's that smart girl in your class that gets made fun of and picked last for sports, but knows everything there is to know about everything. She's not the kind of girl that you'd think could save the world... but the Marvelous Boy seems to think she is. And I just loved her! She was adorable, a little nerdy, but brave and very smart. What a great main character for this book!
Have you all read The Chronicles of Narnia (now I haven't read the entire series but if you haven't at least read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, get off your butt right now and go do it)? This story reminded me very much of Narnia. There weren't too many actual similarities (other than the antagonist, the Snow Queen) but the fairytale quality of the storytelling was very reminiscent of Narnia. What exactly does that mean, you ask? It means I loved it!
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy was so enchanting, so fun and so inspiring. I found myself smiling and laughing at Ophelia's stream of consciousness as well as in tears over her trials and tribulations. Ophelia teaches many lessons, among them being to never, ever give up, and even as an adult I found myself learning from Ophelia and all of the lessons she learned on her adventure.
It's hard to think of this book as middle grade because of how simple and juvenile the storytelling was. I sometimes had a hard time keeping myself interested because it was a little young for my tastes, but that didn't take very much away from the story as a whole. I still found myself rooting for Ophelia's victory and for the demise of the Snow Queen! The Snow Queen - can we just say creepy? Foxlee did a great job in creating a creepy antagonist without overdoing it or making her obviously evil. We see a lot about the Snow Queen through Ophelia, and lets just say Ophelia's brain is nothing if not thorough.
I loved Ophelia's straightforward, no nonsense way of thinking and the way she slowly opened herself up to the world of... other... She was a lot like an adult in the sense of not believing and it showed that sometimes there is more to life than tangible facts. Sometimes you have to believe in things you can't prove to make a difference.
At times I did find myself dragging through it a little, especially during the Marvelous Boy's little stories and explanations, but overall Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy is a spectacular story about healing, love and friendship, and most importantly, never, ever giving up.
RATING: ★★★★
I enjoyed Ophelia so much and I actually look forward to keeping it in my repertoire to share with my future children (and other children in my life) one day. It may have been a little too young for me but the fun, action-packed story kept me waiting to see if Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy would destroy the evil Snow Queen and rooting for them every step of the way.
Have any of you read this yet before it's release tomorrow in stores? Its a great children's read and I can't wait to hear what you all think of it!
Get a second opinion
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