- Hardcover: 278 pages
- Publisher: Orchard Books (NY); Reprint edition (November 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0439025540
- ISBN-13: 978-0439025546
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 15.1 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,154,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7. This story of a troubled child is set in the real world of Wales, yet it incorporates strong elements of fantasy. Dinah, 11, is bright and self-sufficient but has a young, single, and somewhat immature mother. Ever since the child can remember, they have moved from one makeshift living arrangement to another, till Dinah's greatest desire is to have a stable home for the two of them. When the mother's new, wealthy boyfriend moves them into his huge dilapidated old mansion, Dinah determines to make her wish come true. That wish becomes desperate as the girl is left alone more and more by a Mum increasingly preoccupied with her boyfriend?a man who heartily dislikes Dinah. She finds a solution when she happens into a fantasy world in which the stone figures of wild animals, carved in bas-relief on an old castle wall, come alive at night. She summons them to patrol the garden of the old mansion and protect it from demolition. At first they serve her, but as her anxiety about her future mounts, they turn on her and bring her to the edge of disaster. Dinah is a strong, likable character, as are the two boys in her class who befriend her. However, several of the plot elements are muddled or unexplained, and the fairy-talelike ending is so contrived that it diminishes the story.?Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
A neglected child's supernatural defenders turn against her in this brooding fantasy, set in modern Wales. Dinah's mother, Rosalie, has a new paramour: wealthy, ruthless Gomer Gwynne, who parks the two in a decrepit, overgrown mansion--just for a while, he says. Savvy beyond her 11 years, Dinah sees how much Gomer wants her out from underfoot, but a lifetime of being unwanted has toughened her, and the chance, however quixotic, of having a settled home prompts her to dig in her heels. She finds unexpected help on a visit to town; animated by her fierce wishes, some of the wild animals carved on a stone wall follow her home, to lurk menacingly in the shadows outside, harassing and attacking Gwynne at her command. When she tries to leave the house on Christmas Day, however, she suddenly finds them ranged against her. Nimmo (The Witches and the Singing Mice, 1993, etc.) tests her smart, strong-minded protagonist with a series of challenging situations, a powerful enemy, dangerous magical servants, and a trio of would-be allies: a battered old tomcat and two schoolmates able to see past her brusque exterior. The story has a dark, mysterious tone, but ends on a bright note... A well-told story with unusually strong characters. (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Griffin's Castle by Jenny Nimmo, Jun 13 2009
By Sandra K. Stiles - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Griffin's Castle (Hardcover)
Dinah is an eleven year old girl neglected by her mother and despised by her mother's new boyfriend. All she has ever wanted was a home to call her own. When her mother's new boyfriend moves them into his family's dilapidated mansion, Dinah fantasizes about the way she wants it to look, believing she can wish it into existence. She calls upon the stone figures of a nearby castle to come to life and come to her garden to protect it from being torn down. The book was well written and a pleasure to read. However, the abrupt, happily-ever-after ending was unexpected and disappointing. There was nothing leading the reader up to the way the book ended it was just suddenly thrust upon the reader to accept. I would most definately give this book a four out of five stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A 'must' pick for any who enjoy fantasies and strong characterization., April 4 2008
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Griffin's Castle (Hardcover)
Pre-teen Dinah is determined to make a run-down old mansion a home at last for her and her mother, when her loneliness leads her to wish the animal statues at a nearby Welsh castle would come to life and keep her company. When magic brings them to life she's delighted at first - but when they limit her freedom she comes to realize they are not a delight but a danger - a danger which could threaten her new life. GRIFFIN'S CASTLE is packed with delightful fantasy and a 'must' pick for any who enjoy fantasies and strong characterization.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
All dressed up and nowhere to go, Mar 13 2012
By Pop Bop - Published on Amazon.com
First, if you are thinking of sampling a Nimmo book or moving on to another Nimmo book after the Charlie Bone series, I recommend Nimmo's "Magician Trilogy". In those three volumes Nimmo uses mostly the same young characters, set in the same Welsh village, to live out one major story arc, and three individual stories, all of them based to some extent on actual Welsh legends and tales. It is a very satisfying reading experience and almost as good a treatment of Welsh legends as Susan Cooper's "Dark is Rising" setThat said, "Griffin's Castle" is a very weak addition to the canon. It has a nice atmosphere, but its basic conceit, stone figures that come to life and threaten the heroine, is not at all compelling. Even with a relatively strong start, (that is, though, awfully loaded with heavy-handed teen girl angst), the book sort of drifts to an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion. If all you want is a wintry mood piece, this should fit the bill. Otherwise, to borrow from the editorial review above, the work is awfully muddled and contrived.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Children's Books > Literature > Action & Adventure
- Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
- Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror
- Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Explore the World > Fiction
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
