Wicked As You Wish by Rin ChupecoMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was really fun, and the chapter headings were some of the best I've seen. Chupeco takes fairy tale elements from some of the most beloved stories and uses them as elements in this adventure. She also weaves in her Filipino heritage and traditions into the story and characters in such a big way. I will say as someone not versed in that culture, I often had no idea what the characters were talking about when they were making reference to certain foods or things that would seem very natural to someone part of the culture. A bit of an explanation of what they were doing, eating, or wearing would have been helpful. It did make me go look all that stuff up, so if that was her goal, she succeeded in teaching me something.
Chupeco uses this novel to make a lot of social commentary and political statements. There are quite a few references to racial inequality, political corruption, and moral compass. While this does take place partially in a fairytale setting, there are some parallels with the real world. I think this is important for young readers especially if it gets them talking about big topics.
Because the author chose to utilize familiar fairy tale characters that we already know, there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I often find that when there are so many characters, they end up lacking development. This was the case here. I would have loved to see more development in the Bandersnatchers in particular. I hope to see them develop further in the next book. The plot meanders around quite a bit, causing the pace to lose steam in places. Everytime the group seems to be focused on their current task something derails them and no one seems to quite be in charge to get them back on track.
Overall, I really like the concept of this story and I'm looking forward to where it goes next. There are quite a lot of unanswered questions. The end was pretty unexpected, it was a pretty great twist that I don't think anyone saw coming.
Chupeco uses this novel to make a lot of social commentary and political statements. There are quite a few references to racial inequality, political corruption, and moral compass. While this does take place partially in a fairytale setting, there are some parallels with the real world. I think this is important for young readers especially if it gets them talking about big topics.
Because the author chose to utilize familiar fairy tale characters that we already know, there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I often find that when there are so many characters, they end up lacking development. This was the case here. I would have loved to see more development in the Bandersnatchers in particular. I hope to see them develop further in the next book. The plot meanders around quite a bit, causing the pace to lose steam in places. Everytime the group seems to be focused on their current task something derails them and no one seems to quite be in charge to get them back on track.
Overall, I really like the concept of this story and I'm looking forward to where it goes next. There are quite a lot of unanswered questions. The end was pretty unexpected, it was a pretty great twist that I don't think anyone saw coming.
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