On Earth, As It Is by Jim Doran
YA Fantasy, 2019 by Lulu Publishing, 368 Pages
What I Didn’t Like:
- I’m not a fan of starting with a cast of characters, personally. That’s said, I just skipped it. No harm done.
- It is a pet peeve of mine when technical things are dismissed as simple, example: “hacking accounts” is tossed out as if anyone can do it when, in reality, it wouldn’t be that simple once (never mind 5 times).
- There’s a lot of emphasis on contractions and speaking with or without them. Simply because it’s brought to our attention, the reader may notice characters using them (or not) when they should (or shouldn’t) be. In other words, a rule is introduced and emphasized so more careful attention should’ve been paid to following it.
What I Did Like:
- I didn’t remember all the details of book 1, but this book does a good job of recapping everything without burdening the reader.
- I thoroughly enjoyed how this book took characters from our fairy tales away from their traditional tales. Even more than the first book, which I also loved, these characters are stepping out of their boxes and I loved that!
- The ending was great! Just a great way to wrap up this duology and totally worth the journey.
Who Should Read This One:
- Fairy tale retelling fans will love the special attention to various versions of tales.