Madeline Claire FranklinRezensionen

This story is quite beautiful, with many twists and turns, many dreams and nightmares, many secrets to be kept and that are revealed. An amazing story I read first in sections as she wrote them, in a small collective of very lucky audience members.

It has witches, werewolves, kings, and magical jewelry and spells. And truths as deep an as powerful as the universe. I recommend it to everyone.

*wipes a tear away*

The highest compliment I can give Madeline Claire Franklin's Robot Pony is that I wanted so much more! Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely perfect as a short story. In fact, I'm almost certain that anything else would ruin the magic of it. Still, I can't let it go. It hit me in just the right spot.

A human girl. A robot pony who is meant to be nothing but a mere toy. The utterly beautiful friendship that builds between them. I loved it. Loved it all. I picked this up to take a break between longer books, and found myself wishing for more.

What else can I say without ruining this for you? Read this. Thank you to the wonderful people who suggested it to me in the first place!

*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com, at my request.

Ana has started to see beings, like her mother did in her last days with the brain tumor. The Sura, or demons, is what she believes they are. But she doesn't remember all the stories about demons, angels, and the dead that her mother told, and her mother's clan won't allow her into their fold because her father is not like them. She's an outsider. However, the world she doesn't know much about has found her. Ana will have to learn to control the powers she possesses by opening herself up to another, feeling all the emotions she has hidden away after her mother died. And to fight in order to survive.

The first chapter is a catcher. I'm curious as to where the world will go with demons, angels, and dead. Curious about Ana and the man who magically winds himself around her heart that day at the cemetery.

Maria does a magnificent job of the quick moments then slowing with the feelings. She speeds the sentences and they are still clear and crisp, but move the scene in a cadence that makes us feel the rush and eases of moments, fear then calm. There is a background sound, a light static? of sorts. I don't notice it as much when Maria is speaking, but I do notice it when she's done speaking and there are a few seconds at the end of a chapter, it's absolutely quiet. Easily missed in listening because the story is your focus. Maria voices the characters, bring there dispositions to voice. Her vocals of Trebor and Ana create them as individuals in a three dimensional way.

I was drawn into this story from the beginning. I was curious with just enough hints and details of the world of demons and angels. It's subtle yet impacting with what Ana comes across, what she sees in the shadows. Then her tarot readings are chilling. They feel to have a greater meaning. We can see the relation of them to the past we learn and the present events we see, so the future telling feels as it'll be a huge impact for her. But what's told to come, will it solidify the idea of what's foretold or will they change what fate has written for them?

Fascinating, crafted writing to draw a world, characters, and events all together and rely on each other to create the story here. I didn't want to stop listening as I was so engrossed with the creations here. Madeline has written the scenes in a way to show us through experience, with the characters, who they are and how they feel.

Wow. The growth of Ana's relationships amaze me. Her time with Trebor is always magical. I love them together and what lingers there with them. There is something more, but Ana doesn't know it and Trebor doesn't tell but there are hints. Such a sweet relationship starting! Ana and Andy, I have my suspicions about him. lol. It's nice to see a new friend that has interest in things Ana does, like her mother and her clan. But there are traces it could be a deeper reason there, we just don't know it yet.

Madeline could have taken the easy way out and ended the story at a few points of the book. I'm sooooo glad she didn't! There is so much that Ana and friends go through. And it's an amazing story to journey through with her.

There was a moment, much later in the book, that caught my heart. I figured I knew what was going to happen, and it did, but it was a powerful moment with the characters. An internal realization and acceptance. Maria's narration helped make my heart thump at that moment.

I've already looked, there is a book 2. I can't wait for it to come out in audio and hope Maria is the narrator again!

This is the best book I've read so far this year.

I had a couple of concerns going into this book. (Is it religious? Is it YA Dystopia?) From the description, it sounds as if it could be a overly religious book. It's not. Certainly spiritual (It is called 'Ghost' City after all), but perfect for both the religious and non-religious alike.

It is not another YA Dystopia. Are there young adults? Yes. Is it post apocalyptic? Yes. It is also completely different from anything I have ever read and is certainly written with a more adult audience in mind. This is literature. And you certainly don't need to love fantasy or science fiction to love this book.

Kiddo is quite possibly one of the most enigmatic characters I've read in a long time. She's so, so strong. Isn't she? We never really know for sure, but she certainly seems to be...

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

Robot Poooohhhhnnnnnyyyyyyy!!!!

Sick of the army of dolls that have invaded her closets and toy chests, little Amanda desperately wants a pony for Christmas. A real, living, breathing pony. When dad brings home a robot pony, brand spanking new out of his tech company's lab ("Not a doll!"), she's inconsolable. (The horror!) Big sister Jenn, who's more into her father's gadgets than she, offers to assemble the pony for her...and promptly falls in love with Po, as Jenn names him/her/it. Over the course of the winter, Jenn and Po share many adventures together. She grooms the robot pony, reads to him, and snuggles up against him at night. Since robot ponies are the next big thing, Amanda sometimes "uses" Po as well, her lack of care and compassion causing this reader to breathe a sigh of relief that she didn't receive that "real" pony she originally asked for.

But with spring's promises of rebirth and new travels for the two friends comes news of a recall. Po is dangerous, says Jenn's dad, and must be taken back to the lab and melted down. But not before Jenn and Po get one last day together.

Robot Pony is a bittersweet story about love and loss and what it means to be alive - and "human." It sucked me in with the '80s style artwork and had me hooked, start to finish.

Alas, the story only occupies the first 34% of the book; the rest is bonus features, including excerpts from Madeline Claire Franklin's fairy tale series The Poppet and the Lune. While I expected a short story, the conclusion caught me by surprise: the story can't be over, I still have 66% of the book to go!

Robot Pony ends abruptly and much too soon. Normally I'm down with dark, melancholic endings, but this one just bummed me out. I sort of expected the plucky heroine to save the day, but no such luck.

I was all:

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/robot-pony-ending.gif

Robot Poooohhhhnnnnnyyyyyyy!!!! ((shaking my fist at the sky))

And yet, no regrets. Franklin's writing is so evocative and masterful - and so full of heart - that I plan on checking out some of her full-length novels in the very near future.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/04/07/robot-pony-by-madeline-claire-franklin/

I saw a fellow bloggers review for this one and I thought it looked like a neat story so I went and checked it out and it was free so I grabbed it. It's a short story, a very short story. The story itself only goes to about the mid 30% on my kindle and only took a few minutes to read. At first I was thinking it was a very simple story that was easy to read no matter the age group. I was right about it being easy to read but I was so very wrong about it being simple. A simple story couldn't make you feel this way in only a few pages. A simple story could not make you care about the characters so quickly and a simple story could never pull at your heart in such a way. The message is as universal as it is timeless and yes it can be understood by nearly any age group but simple this story was not. Saying it's simple would be wrong unless you want to say it was simply beautiful in which case you'd be right.