“The Children’s Crusade”
By Ann Packer
Published by Scribner
Finished 6/7/16
- 3/5 Stars
When I read “The Dive From Clausen’s Pier” a few years ago I
absolutely loved it and gave it 5 stars so was disappointed when I read “Songs
Without Words”, which was just a 3 star read for me. When I saw Ann Packer had a new book coming
out last year called “The Children’s Crusade”, I was anxious to read it with
hopes it would be as good as Clausen’s so I dove right in. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it so I
put it aside to try again another day – I couldn’t completely abandon it
because I felt it had potential. Fast
forward a year and I was ready to give it another try – after all, sometimes
you simply have to be in the right mindset to enjoy a book. This time I finished it……but it was just
another 3 star read for me. I enjoyed
it, but just didn’t love it. I did like
the majority of the characters (the mother is truly the worst character, no redeeming
qualities) and there was plenty of dysfunction in the family to keep you “entertained”
but I don’t think it quite flowed well together. I’m not sure if it was the way it was written
with chapters devoted to different characters or if the characters themselves
just didn’t mesh well. The storyline was
good and the characters were well developed but I truly think if it had been
written in a single point of view or simply narrated instead, it probably would
have been more enjoyable. Obviously,
that’s just my opinion. And I’m not
giving up on Ann Packer – I’m sure she’s got another 5 star read in there for
me one day.
Thank you to Net Galley and Scribner for the advanced copy
in return for an honest review. Granted,
the “advanced” part didn’t really come in handy for me since it’s now a year
later. Sorry about that.
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