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A review by katiearina
The White Mountains by John Christopher
2.5
2.5 stars? This book feels clunkily written.
I remember loving this as a kid but even for a middle grade book, this was not great. I guess the idea of Tripods returning humans to living in a sort of antiquity is unique, but it didn't really capture my attention the way I wanted it to.
Also I know the point of some of the descriptions (for things like train tracks, grenades, the metro, etc) was meant to be because the characters didn't know what the things were, but some were so obtuse it took me a while to figure out what the heck Christopher was describing (the guns on the metro are the main one that took multiple rereads to sort out).
Oh well! Can't win 'em all.
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Pre-review
I read this book in fifth grade (Mrs. Stickney's class; I always picture the classroom itself in my mind with any memories of this book) and remember really liking it at the time. The same year we read A Wrinkle in Time which also had a weird impact on me (relating to the weird warm fuzzy creatures Meg ran into at some point - definitely due for a re-read on that), and had a very unlikable student teacher whose name was Katherine Smith (no middle name, which I thought was rude of her parents) who was much older than my teacher (who was at least in her forties at the time). So let's see if I accidentally ruin the memories of this book for myself!
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ATY 2021: #20 - 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 (Future)
I remember loving this as a kid but even for a middle grade book, this was not great. I guess the idea of Tripods returning humans to living in a sort of antiquity is unique, but it didn't really capture my attention the way I wanted it to.
Also I know the point of some of the descriptions (for things like train tracks, grenades, the metro, etc) was meant to be because the characters didn't know what the things were, but some were so obtuse it took me a while to figure out what the heck Christopher was describing (the guns on the metro are the main one that took multiple rereads to sort out).
Oh well! Can't win 'em all.
---
Pre-review
I read this book in fifth grade (Mrs. Stickney's class; I always picture the classroom itself in my mind with any memories of this book) and remember really liking it at the time. The same year we read A Wrinkle in Time which also had a weird impact on me (relating to the weird warm fuzzy creatures Meg ran into at some point - definitely due for a re-read on that), and had a very unlikable student teacher whose name was Katherine Smith (no middle name, which I thought was rude of her parents) who was much older than my teacher (who was at least in her forties at the time). So let's see if I accidentally ruin the memories of this book for myself!
--
ATY 2021: #20 - 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 (Future)