Monday, October 3, 2011

Review: Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver, Kei Acedera (Illustrator)

Liesl & Po

Description

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.
 
That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable
 
Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.
 
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places. (Goodreads)
 

Book Details

Title: Liesl & Po
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Middle Grade, Paranormal
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: October 4, 2011
ISBN-10: 006201451X
ISBN-13: 978-0062014511
Source: NetGalley/ Publisher


Review

I am honestly having a hard time expressing my ineffable love of Liesl and Po. Lauren Oliver has created a beautiful ghostly fairy tale, filled with magic, evil step mothers, and unsuspecting heroes that I will not soon forget.

Liesl’s world is very grim she lives in an  attic room all alone. She was locked away by her stepmother when her father became ill. Now that he is dead she has no hope of leaving. (I just wanted to hug Liesl throughout the entire book.) This all changes when Po enters Liesl’s room one night. I loved Liesl and Po’s friendship. Even though Po does not have a lot of physical attributes because Po is a ghost, Oliver did this amazing job of keeping Po detailed in my mind. Even though I thought of Po as young like Liesl, I guess because he had been on the “other side” so long, he had this very adult “I know what we should do next” air to him.

Speaking of the other side, the way Lauren Oliver depicted the “other side” and the new and old people in it was outstanding. I thought it was so inventive how she described people on the other side and how, as a new dead person, you remember pretty much everything about your life, then to being like Po. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Don’t want to give to much of a spirit spoiler.

After Po helps Liesl escape her home prison they run into Will who has ran away from his only home as well. Will has admired Liesl from her window without her knowing for quite some time, but he is too shy to tell her. They will soon realize they are all running from the same people. I couldn’t help but love Will, he is this incredible young and courageous boy who  liked this girl who saw ghosts enough that he stood there long enough to see them too.

Tomorrow when Liesl & Po goes on sale I will be buying myself a hardcopy. Why? You ask when I have read it? Well I will tell you. Because Liesl & Po is beautiful. The characters are beautiful, the writing is beautiful, the illustrations are beautiful. Add a little bit of wonderful to your life go read Liesl & Po, let it pour feeling into your bones, and lose yourself for a while.

Happy Reading,

Loved it! I want to know about everything this author writes.

Recommended For
8 and up: Talk of poisoning and murder.

5 comments:

  1. hearing some great stuff bouth liesl and po

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  2. I can't wait to read this one!!! All I hear are amazing reviews. It sounds so original and just amazing. Great review!

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  3. Y'all have to read this one it's amazing!

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  4. I just finished reading this book. Your review is spot on. It is a beautiful book.

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Thanks so much for the comment love!