difficult, long & vaguely repetitive an Xcellent debut novel, looking forward to the rest! ( )

A father daughter story that is part adventure, part ghost story. Full of books, treasure and emotion; This a family tale so well done that it brings to light harsh realities of grief, life and coming-of-age unlike any other. One of the best debut novels I’ve ever read.
*fans of Philip Pullman will enjoy !! ( )

A father daughter story that is part adventure, part ghost story. Full of books, treasure and emotion; This a family tale so well done that it brings to light harsh realities of grief, life and coming-of-age unlike any other. One of the best debut novels I’ve ever read.
*fans of Philip Pullman will enjoy !! ( )

A strong start from newcomer Crosby, with a strikingly original and genuinely childlike main character, and a particular strength with foreshadowing using the girl's mole and the father's giant mobile constructions; descriptions of the father's artwork in the children's book series and of the bizarre cult of celebrity that the books bring down on their tiny family and ramshackle country home ring strangely true despite being fairly outlandish. Two elements that detract from the story (one that seems lifted from "Life of Pi" by Martel and another that feels too forced at the moment of its twist reveal near the end) seem unnecessarily additional to a family story constructed from believable characters that is, by itself, sad but beautiful, with some fascinating choices of phrase and rich landscape, both physical and psychological. Looking forward to this author's next effort. ( )

3.5 stars

When Rommily is 9 years old, she and her dad move to a place in the country; Rom doesn’t remember much about her mom. Her dad, an artist, decides to write and illustrate a picture book, with Rom as the star. This turns into a series of books as Rom grows older. Not only that, but there seems to be a treasure hunt with clues in the books. Rom, herself, doesn’t know what the treasure is, and fans of the book are constantly showing up, looking for it.

It was good, but there were odd parts that I wasn’t sure about – magical realism? A fantasy in Rom’s head? Real? I couldn’t figure out a few of those things, and (no surprise to me) I did lose a bit of focus in those parts. I did not like Rom’s friend Stacey at all. It did get a bit more interesting/fascinating at the end (if also somewhat sad). ( )