Book Review: The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken

#1 in the series
Pages: 362
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Released: September 5, 2017
Received: ARC from publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Alexandra Bracken and I have a rocky relationship. It started out with flailing love, fizzled with lukewarm disappointment, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean with a vow never to pick up another one of her books again.  

So why in the world was I reading The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding then? Well, because I'm  a sucker for pretty things and when the publisher sent me an ARC in a pretty box with fall leaves, throwback Halloween candy, apple cider mix, and other goodies? Um, yeah, like I said, I'm a sucker.

I'm glad my will is so weak and Disney decided to send me an ARC because, overall, I had a nice time with Prosper Redding. It's not a perfect book. It's actually pretty rough. The pacing is off, the plot is tenuous, the characters are underdeveloped and pretty stock, and the main character felt like he couldn't decide if he was 12 or 17 years old (for the record, I would have preferred 17. It rang truer.). If I didn't know any better I'd think this was a debut.

But all that said, I still just liked the book. It felt good, if that makes sense. It felt like a Disney Channel Original Movie. Kind of goofy, far from perfect, but light, airy, and fun. The atmosphere of the story evoked all the right fall feelings: crisp air, the silliness and creepiness of Halloween, sweater weather, and childhood bliss.

Not much happened overall, and while there are a lot of pages in the book, this is very much just an introduction to the story. I suspect that when all is said and done, all the books in the series probably could be edited down into one book. So, will I read the sequel? Maybe. I'm not rushing out to get it, but if I came across it in the library or was sent a copy, I'd read it. If not? I don't know that I'd go out of my way to get it.

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