Why I read it: The boy forced this book on me one day when I said "I've finished my book. What should I read next?"
What I liked: First thing I liked was the near-constant references to other works of childrens' lit. One of my colleagues had mentioned "the Selfish Giant" to me one day, and the next day I read a reference to it in this book. Also, it had never crossed my mind before that "Treasure Island" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" were written by the same author.
What I hated: Seemed longer than necessary, somehow. This might have been partly because I had a strong sense that the book was in translation. I wonder if it would have been more lyrical if I could have read it in German.
What I can steal: The POV was good, I think. We only took on characters' POVs when we really needed to, and only when we had a pretty clear external picture of that person's motivations already. POV is a huge problem in the thing I'm currently writing in first draft.
What I liked: First thing I liked was the near-constant references to other works of childrens' lit. One of my colleagues had mentioned "the Selfish Giant" to me one day, and the next day I read a reference to it in this book. Also, it had never crossed my mind before that "Treasure Island" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" were written by the same author.
What I hated: Seemed longer than necessary, somehow. This might have been partly because I had a strong sense that the book was in translation. I wonder if it would have been more lyrical if I could have read it in German.
What I can steal: The POV was good, I think. We only took on characters' POVs when we really needed to, and only when we had a pretty clear external picture of that person's motivations already. POV is a huge problem in the thing I'm currently writing in first draft.