Reading level: AdultGenre: Fantasy
Size: 288 pages
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (
Release Date: October 1, 2010
ISBN-13:978-0545210669
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: From Amazon Vine
Rating: 3/5 stars
I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. It looked like a fun book and had excellent reviews. After reading it though I have mixed feelings about it. There were some things I really didn't like and some things I really liked.
When Hope's little sister Honey is abandoned by their terrible parents. Hope falls into a deep depression; she spends long periods of her life sleeping. Then one day a man in a van shows up to take her to the Memory Bank because of a deficiency in her memory bank account. Hope finds herself in a crazy world of memories and dreams; hoping beyond hope that she will find someway back to her sister Honey.
First let's talk about things I liked. This is a very creative book. The idea of a Memory Bank was very interesting and fun. The story alternates between words (mostly Hope's part of the story) and pictures (Honey's part of the story). I really thought that the authors cleverly integrated the pictures and story to create a great overall picture of what was happening. As far as the plot; this story does emphasize how great it is to have love between siblings and for siblings to care about and help each other.
Unfortunately there were a lot of things I didn't like. The story was a bit dark to read to children (and I am the queen of reading dark stories to my kid). The idea of parents abandoning a small child in the middle of the road and of Hope's almost comatose like depression are very dark and serious; and I am not sure a young kid would be ready to deal with those types of things. I get that they were supposed to kind of darkly funny; but the way it was told added a bit too much realism to not take it all seriously. I also got a very yucky feeling when Hope decides to climb in a big white unknown van with some older guy...I was thinking okay...this is sooo not something I want to teach my kid to do. Yup, son, getting into big white vans with a strange man will lead you to a magical world where everyone treats you special...
In addition to the above I thought the story was kind of boring. My son and I started reading it together but it wouldn't hold his attention, so I finished reading it myself and was mainly glad when the story was over with. While the Memory Bank idea was neat, there were a lot of miscellaneous facts about how it worked that were boring. There isn't a ton of action and the story overall is pretty predictable.
Overall, some neat ideas and concepts. I loved how the story was integrated with picture sequences to tell the story. I would read it to older children; it is too dark for younger children and would put some questionable ideas into younger kids' heads. It does tell a positive story about caring and love between sisters; but to be honest some of my son's Franklin books (like Franklin and Harriet) do the same thing. It is not something I would read again and, to be honest, I am glad I got it through Vine and didn't spend money on it.
Perhaps you can explain the pictures at the end to me. What did that mean?A baby is abandoned at an orphanage & a kid takes her away? Where? Is this a recap of the story? Did this really happen to the dream lady or the guy in charge? The end pictures left the story up in the air. I was quite confused.
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