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| My hardback edition! |
By: R.M. Ballantyne
My Rating: 4 stars
Ages:
(Family read-aloud) 11 and up
(Personal Reading) 13/14 and up (for sometimes difficult-to-understand words and phrasing. Also, there is a scene with drunk men, and in the beginning chapter there are some deaths that can be skimmed over when reading to young kids. And there is a skeleton.)
I had The Island Queen by R.M. Ballantyne sitting on my shelf, left untouched, for some months before I picked it up one Saturday morning a while back and started reading it (randomly. I do this sometimes - haha!). The beginning line has such a poetic, scene-setting touch that I decided to read on, completely interested.
And it was a fun read.
It felt a bit different from the other Ballantyne books I've read. It was shorter, or felt shorter, for one thing, and everything moved rather quickly (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing).
I really enjoyed two of the main characters' playful banter - they made for moments of laughter! I also smiled through almost a whole chapter, which never happens to me! The three main characters - Pauline, Otto, and Dominick - are a good bunch, if a bit too perfect.
Plus, one of my favorite authors used a quote from this novel in one of his blog posts, and when I came across it, I thought 'That's familiar!' and then realized where I had read it before. I was slightly excited... (Okay, so, yes, I was excited...)
I do want to note that I would've preferred a different ending. Not that the ending was bad (it wasn't), but, I suppose, I just wish things would've happened with more of an actual end. Something from the book leaves us hanging, and there weren't really many hints as to what happened afterwards.
Overall, I enjoyed this book! It was a quick, light, and charming read, with funny moments and some enjoyable characters. Recommended!
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