Confessions of a Literary Addict

This review is spoiler-free!

Jackaby by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #1
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy
Release Date: September 16th 2014 by Algonquin Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 299 pages
Rating: ★★★★☆
Find it here: Goodreads || Book Depository

I’ll admit it, I let the initial reviews of this book deter me from picking it up. I was excited by the premise, enticed by the cover, and discouraged by the reaction to it. Then, I saw a review from someone I follow and enjoy reading from, and they had given it a positive reaction, so I decided then and there (because I was in the library at the time) that I needed a copy to read so I could come to my own conclusion.

And that conclusion was: pretty damn good. I can see why some people would have been unhappy with how the story went or how it was written, but I personally found myself really liking how things were unfolding. I loved the little twists that were thrown in and the quirky attitude of not only Jackaby but the world we were reading about. (Jackaby, though, was the selling point for me.)

It did read somewhat like Middle Grade fiction, rather than Young Adult, but it didn’t bother me too much since I’ve recently been into Middle Grade more than I used to be. (See: The School for Good and Evil.)

Looking forward to the next books, and to see what relationships get built and who gets killed off. I want to know more about Jenny, too! I hope she gets a book or something, it looks like the second and third books have women’s silhouettes on them. Maybe that’ll give a hint? Maybe not. I guess we’ll see.

Thanks for reading!