EMILY
WINDSNAP AND THE MONSTER FROM THE DEEP: For middle-grade female readers
Emily
Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep is the second book in the Emily Windsnap
series. Emily Windsnap and her family just moved to Allpoints Island, and she
still has the same fears of not belonging and being different. To gain the
approval of the dwellers of the island, she went to a lagoon that wasn’t
supposed to be explored, only to unwittingly awaken a monster from the deep.
I
have mixed feelings for this book. I can’t decided whether it’s better or not
than its predecessor, The Tail of Emily Windsnap. This book has some points
that are better, and some points that are worse, and, of course, some points
that are neutral.
The
neutral points are the writing and the prose. They have the same upsides and
downsides when compared to the first book. Upside -- the book is easy to
understand because it is middle-grade. Downside -- the style lacks
distinctiveness and the words used tend to be over-descriptive, sacrificing the
pacing in some instances.
The
better point is the story. The story is just much more thrilling, because it
involves factors that could affect the world of Emily Windsnap in a grand
scale. I mean, this book tackles a monster after all, a monster that could
cause devastation. And when you compare this plot element to the main plot
elements of The Tail of Emily Windsnap, this is inherently more stimulating.
Overall,
the story feels more like a long novella than a novel, if that makes sense. The
story is driving to a very specific direction every chapter, and even though
there are only a few threads to weave in the story, it remains engaging -- as I
said, this is because of the scale of the consequences.
Another
thing I like is the conflict between characters, particularly the conflict
between Emily and Shona. It just adds more depth. It’s not necessarily a
subplot, but it does add threads to weave in the story. We also get to see an interesting
perspective on Mandy, which is nice.
As
for the illustrations, I admit that I’m a little indifferent to them, so I
think it is unfair to classify them as a worse point. But when you think of it,
the fact that I neglected them could be a sign of them being bad, don’t you
think? Or maybe they’re not just my cup of tea. To avoid controversy, I’ll just
say that they’re a neutral point.
The
book’s worse points are the morals of the story and the characterization. But
wait, don’t get me wrong. The book has some good morals, mostly involving
friendship, and Liz Kessler (the author) has some interesting attempts to add
depth to the characters. This is particularly obvious in Shona and Mandy.
But
as much as I appreciate her attempts, I think she has failed on adding real depth
to the characters. Yes, she has added depth, but not enough to make these
characters compelling.
My
problem with the morals is how they have been portrayed. How the story
emphasized friendship and forgiveness is not pulled off quite well, not to mention
that it doesn’t really open the characters to sufficient character development.
But
let us remember that this is a middle-grade book, and how these morals are
executed is actually passable for the middle-grade audience.
Overall,
I think Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep is a cute read. It has a
very vivid world to share, and this world will easily be loved by the readers,
especially the female readers because of its feminine sensibilities. The
characters may not be solid, but the prominent ones have some depth to keep
things going. This lush imagery and middle-of-the-road characters are portrayed
in a story that has interesting morals to share. This is recommendable,
particularly to the female middle grade audience.
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