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.
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.
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