The Land of Stories Review

Ok, this is a review, so by its very nature, I'll be talking about The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer and things that pertain to it. THIS MEANS THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!!!!

I don't think I'll be doing plot spoilers or talking about anything too specific, but I am publishing some quotes and there will be a lot of spoilers for the tone, pace, and feel of the book.

You've been warned!!

So, my bestiest friend was lucky enough to get her hands on an advanced reading copy of The Land of Stories. (From this point further referred to as TLOS, because I'm not a masochist and I do not wish to type the entire title out fifty billion times in one sitting. So keep up.)

After she had her way with the book, she was generous enough to share her copy with me as well. Which means I also got a sneak peak into the mythical land Chris Colfer created. YAY!!!

Since I don't want to get TOO detail specific before the book actually comes out, I'm going to be giving the 'Cliffs Notes' version of my thoughts. A general outline, if you will. If I come back to add in more specific information, it'll be after the book is released.

(Better to be safe than sorry. I don't want to release anything I shouldn't or step on anyone's toes.)

Ok, let's dive in shall we?!

*FLASHING RED LIGHTS* SPOILERS AHEAD!!! BEWARE!!!

First and foremost; this is Chris Colfer's book. It's blatantly obvious and (for better or for worse) you can tell there wasn't a ghost writer driving the formation of this story. Even though this is Chris's first novel, you could tell that TLOS was written by him and that his signature was all over it. From the witty dialogue, badass characters (particularly the female ones), to the interesting social commentary (more on that later), I was certain Chris had penned this novel.

Which frankly, is awesome and pretty damn impressive. It's not always easy for a first time writer to define themselves and deliver their voice so clearly straight out of the gate. Considering that this is the boy’s (I can totally still call him a boy because I'm a year older than him. YUP, totally pulled the 'I'm older than you card!!!' #Mature #Classy) first book, defining his VOICE as a writer could have been quite difficult.

But yeah, if you know anything about Chris; the things he speaks about in public and the way in which he speaks about them, you can hear him telling this story.

So major props for that.

That being said, sometimes I questioned whether or not his particular humor/tone fit into the realm of children's literature.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily think that a children's book needs to written like a 'children's book' (Harry Potter anyone?). But it does need to be appropriate for children and they do need to be able to understand what is happening.

Sometimes in TLOS I felt like that wasn't managed quite as well as it could have been.

As I was talking it over with my friend, I mentioned to her that I thought TLOS was a book for either really smart children or really whimsical adults. Which is great!! There’s nothing wrong with that, we need books of all kinds. But if Colfer wants his stories to become literally staples, especially in the children's department, (which I'm assuming he does) then he has some smoothing out to do.

I feel like this book is a solid first novel. Although, you can definitely see some birthing pains.

For instance, the notorious deus ex machina was used in the story quite a few times over.

Although it isn’t one of my favorite tools for storytelling; I have less of a problem with this literary feature if it's used WELL. And I have to admit, there were some cases where it was just clunky and obvious.

That's a big turn off for me.

At first I could disregard the more heavy handed 'get out of jail free card' techniques because it's a 'children's book'. But then I would read some of the ADVANCED dialogue and banter between the twins and I would say to myself: So wait, this ISN'T just a book for kids. He's trying to make this something adults would enjoy as well.

And if that's the case, I'd say he's on the right track but he just missed the mark.

I don't know if this is insulting to say or not, but I feel like TLOS as it stands now, is a solid later draft. Like if it had gone though, maybe one more round of rewrites, it could reach the target it was aiming at.

But that knowledge and skill takes time to cultivate. And personally, I think Colfer has promise as a writer. On the whole I can say that I really did enjoy reading TLOS. I never got bored, it was a fun romp, and I personally loved the more 'adult' moments (even if I was a little shocked to find them in a story aimed for kids).

But what I enjoyed MOST about the book was the glaring (to adults) social commentary.

This is something that Chris did and did really well with TLOS. He managed to make these very profound and insightful comments about our larger social dynamic, while fitting everything seamlessly into the story and keeping the tone age appropriate.

For instance, this line: "The world will always choose convenience over reality," the Evil Queen said. "It's easier to hate, blame, and fear than it is to understand. No one wants the truth; they want entertainment."

QUITE an interesting thing to say, don't you think?? And very heavy for a 'children's novel'. But whether you're reading as an adult or as a child, you're going to appreciate that line. A child may see it as the ominous and frightening babblings of an Evil Queen, but an adult can read that and take away SO much more.

The book is littered with lines like that, and I found myself tabbing the book like crazy to catch the ones that struck a particularity strong cord inside me.

Here's another interesting one: "I always laugh at the term Cinderella story, because, if you ask me, it doesn't matter what life you're living, life never has a solution. No matter how hard the struggles are you leave behind, new struggles always take their place."

And another: "living a public life is a difficult thing to do, and even now I still find it a bit overwhelming. No matter what you do, you can never please everyone. And that was the hardest lesson to learn. In fact, I'm still learning it."

As I was reading, those two excerpts really stood out to me. Mostly because I felt as though Chris was speaking about this directly.

You can hear the truth and experience in those words and I was almost certain he was speaking from a personal level.

Sure enough, when Chris spoke at ALA this weekend, he confirmed as much by saying that his celebrity gave him a new perspective and insight into some of the characters. It's obvious and I liked that a lot.

So in conclusion: I really liked TLOS but admit that it could use a bit of improvement.

More than anything, the book got me excited for Chris's potential. And I'm fairly confident in the fact that if he keeps at this writing thing, he could refine the talent that is already there and tap into something really impressive.