Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
Oct. 18th, 2015 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lightreadsCastle Hangnail
4/5. Kidlit, or whatever we're calling the books just a step younger than YA. Castle Hangnail needs a master, or the Board of Magic will shut it down and all the minions will be homeless. They think they want an evil sorceress. They get Molly instead. Molly is twelve and round and likes to garden. She has great stompy boots, though.
Aw, this is -- I believe the technical term would be -- totes adorbs. I haven't read Vernon before; I was vaguely aware of her as a children's author, but was surprised when my wife immediately identified her as the author of the Digger webcomic. So I suspect that Castle Hangnail has adorbs drawings to go with the adorbs story. Drawings of Edward the suit of armor, or the minotaurs, or of Pins the animate sewing doll and his goldfish, or Molly talking to moles, or – or whatever the heck we should call Major Domo.
This is sweet and warm, with that feel of a motley family slowly – in some cases reluctantly – forming around someone. It has a distinctly Diana Wynne Jones feel to it; it is, around the edges, about the self you are in contrast to your foils – the good twin and the bad twin – versus the self you are just as yourself.
Aw.
4/5. Kidlit, or whatever we're calling the books just a step younger than YA. Castle Hangnail needs a master, or the Board of Magic will shut it down and all the minions will be homeless. They think they want an evil sorceress. They get Molly instead. Molly is twelve and round and likes to garden. She has great stompy boots, though.
Aw, this is -- I believe the technical term would be -- totes adorbs. I haven't read Vernon before; I was vaguely aware of her as a children's author, but was surprised when my wife immediately identified her as the author of the Digger webcomic. So I suspect that Castle Hangnail has adorbs drawings to go with the adorbs story. Drawings of Edward the suit of armor, or the minotaurs, or of Pins the animate sewing doll and his goldfish, or Molly talking to moles, or – or whatever the heck we should call Major Domo.
This is sweet and warm, with that feel of a motley family slowly – in some cases reluctantly – forming around someone. It has a distinctly Diana Wynne Jones feel to it; it is, around the edges, about the self you are in contrast to your foils – the good twin and the bad twin – versus the self you are just as yourself.
Aw.
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Date: 2015-10-18 03:52 pm (UTC)The rest of her stuff under the Vernon name is pitched younger still and depends more heavily on illustrations; I haven't tried any of her stuff under the name T. Kingfisher.
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Date: 2015-10-18 04:54 pm (UTC)(It's going on my TBR list, too, which is long enough that I will never be bored in the Old Folks Home.)
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Date: 2015-11-16 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-17 01:19 am (UTC)Aw! I am such a sucker for people reading to each other.