The World Above

The World Above by Cameron Dokey

ISBN: 978-4-4424-0337-6

Pages: 175

Appearance:

Summary:

Gen and her twin brother, Jack, were raised with their mother's tales of life in the World Above. Gen is skeptical, but adventurous Jack believes the stories--and trades the family cow for magical beans. Their mother rejoices, knowing they can finally return to their royal home. 

When Jack plants the beans and climbs the enchanted stalk, he is captured by the tyrant who now rules the land. Gen sets off to rescue her brother, but danger awaits her in the World Above. For finding Jack may mean losing her heart....

Hi everybody and welcome back to the blog! Today I bring to you a fun spin off from the original tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was a super fun read and great spin off so let's get into the review :)

First off, I did think the story was a bit short as the book was only  175 pages. While I did love the adventure aspect, I felt that before Gen went up the beanstalk, things dragged out a bit too much and after Gen went up, Dokey was trying to stay within a page limit or something because everything felt really crammed. Let me explain:

For one, I would have loved to see Gen and Robin fall in love. Everything seemed to just happen and there wasn't a particular reason. I was a bit bothered by this because Gen is supposed to be the practical one. To fall in love so quickly with the son of the man who killed your father even if he's disowned just didn't seem to match with her personality. 

For second (?), other than the little skirmish in the woods, it took a couple page turns before Jack was released, Duke Guy went below, Jack and Gen's mother returned Above, and everything becoming happy and peaceful once again. I'm not saying I minded, but it seemed to happen very quickly and without much action.

Other than the relative shortness of the story, I thought the book was really well written. You immediately fall in love with Jack because he's mischievous and daring. Then you fall in love with Gen because she's practical, hardworking, and overall a very strong character. The world description was also very vivid and well written - when Jack and Gen's mother told the story of her escape from the World Above, you can almost picture every scene happening in front of your eyes. 

Overall, this was a very good spin-off. I think it would do great in a children's fairy tale book because it's very kid friendly. I actually read a couple chapters to my sister for her "bed time" story and she really liked it. So the plus side of that is you can share your reading experience with your younger siblings which is always great sibling bonding time (something I definitely need with my sister ). I would recommend it as a light read that adds a little something different to your classical view of fairytales. :)

3 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed, 
Riv