Lauren Oliver

Accompanied by an eccentric, human-sized rat, Liza embarks on a perilous quest through an underground realm to save her brother Patrick, whose soul has been stolen by the evilest of creatures--the spider-like spindlers. 150,000 first printing.

The Spindlers

Monicap

I swear, if goodreads keeps DELETING MY REVIEWS I will BLOW A GASKET.
Right so unfortunately I no longer really remember what I said in THE REVIEW THAT I WROTE AND POSTED but let’s try.

This book follows a young girl named Liza who feels stifled by her parents, as they often ignore or don’t understand her imagination. She misses her babysitter (who’s name I can no longer recall, THANKS GOODREADS) Who’s off at college now, but used to tell Liza and her brother stories. The book begins when Patrick’s soul is taken by the spindlers, spider creatures who featured prominently in some of the babysitter’s stories. Liza tries to tell her parents and eventually enters an underground fantasy land through her basement, encounters a rat named Mirabella who agrees to guide her through the fantasy land (I forget what it was called, THANKS GOODREADS) and eventually finds and rescues her brother’s soul.

This story had some sweet moments but ultimately fell flat. The parts I was most compelled by, to be honest, were how Liza missed the babysitter. Her relationship with Patrick was believable, I guess, but it walso wasn’t truly the focus of the story since Patrick was a damsel for most of it. The relationship this book centered on was between Liza and Mirabella and it just didn’t work. Firstly (view spoiler)[Mirabella agrees to help Liza under false pretenses (hide spoiler)] but also that doesn’t truly make sense (view spoiler)[How were the Spindlers to know in advance that Liza would come to save her brother to instruct Mirabella to guide her to them? Is this something that happens often? Because the book very much seemed like Liza’s the only sibling to have even caught on to the Spindlers game and gone down there (hide spoiler)]. But you know what, lets just chalk that up to a plot hole.
Thing is, Lizza and Mirabella start of annoyed by and prejudiced against one another, Liza learns nothing (maybe Mirabella does idk), they remain annoyed by and prejudiced against one another UP UNTIL THEY SAY THEY’RE BEST FRIENDS all of the sudden.

I’m probably more annoyed writing this review than when I wrote my initial one BECAUSE MY INITIAL ONE WAS DELETED THANKS GOODREADS but yeah this book was very mediocre. Would not reread.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

3.5-4 stars? There were parts that I really liked, and others that I didn't. Spiders? No thankyou.

Jessica Nottingham

I'm in love with Lauren Oliver's writing, and to be honest all I've read so far are her Middle Grade novels. If they are at all indicative of her overall writing style, I'm sold. Head over heels in love. Even as an adult reader The Spindlers captured my heart and mind. You couldn't have pried this book out of my hands.

Liza is our main character and I adored her from page one.Strong, stubborn, and braver than most young girls I know, she was a wonderful character to follow. Her belief in magic was sweet, and the relationship that she had with her brother Patrick was even sweeter. We all know that siblings bicker. That you can love the stuffing out of your younger brother or sister and still thing they are utterly obnoxious at times. I loved the reality of Liza's relationship with Patrick for that very reason. She knows what drives her crazy about him, and yet she sets it all aside to save him when he needs it.

What really sparked my imagination was the world that Oliver builds in the "Below". Liza must face some rather terrifying events and inhabitants to save her sibling. I loved how they were just the right amount of scary, without being too over the top. Also, they are offset by the cunning that Liza must use to solve puzzles in her quest as well. There was such a nice mix of trials for her to pass that, despite being an older reader, I found myself entranced by her journey. It reminded me slightly of Alice in Wonderland. A girl who is young and on her own, and yet does great things.

The Spindlers deals with sibling relationships, friendship, and finding courage within. Best of all, it does it in a format that is friendly to young readers. If you have a reader at home who loves adventures, or who believes in magic, this is a book for them. Actually, even if you are adult and have these same qualities, you'll love this book! I did, and I can't wait for more from Lauren Oliver.

Bridget Howard

Very cute middle-grade fantasy with a fun story, good adventure and interesting characters. I would highly recommend this book to middle grade children I think they would really enjoy it. For a full review visit Dark Faerie Tales: http://darkfaerietales.com/review-spi...

The Spindlers

Reviews