The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda, a book review

As with The Key to Rondo, I had a difficult time making myself finish The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda. There are good scenes in it. There are slightly funny scenes. There are a couple good action scenes… but mostly it was difficult for me to enjoy. This is not really because of the book, I think, but because I prefer relationship driven stories. This book, and thus far the trilogy, is action driven.

My two eldest daughters really enjoy the story. They are twelve and 9, almost 10 years old. They like the fantasy of it. They like the adventure of it. Neither of them have the preference for another sort of story that I do, apparently.

As far as the content of the story, I can recommend it for children of well-read 9 years or 10 years and older. There are a few new characters in Rondo, who are based on nursery rhymes. Some of them potentially funny. Most of the characters, though, are pretty flat. I think this is a sort of result of being part of an adventure tale.

Have you read The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda? What do you think of it?

The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda, a book review

This is a good book. It's a good story. It is an adventure/action driven tale. The main characters are a boy and girl, so it can readily be attractive to both tween guys and girls.

By reading this book, I learned (or re-learned) that I tend to prefer relationship (particularly romantic relationship) driven stories. It was rather difficult for me to get “into” The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda because it isn't driven by a romantic relationship. I mention this in hopes of conveying how my review is skewed.

My two oldest children really enjoyed this story. My eldest urged me to read it. She is twelve at this writing, so I think she's a better gauge of whether children would enjoy it. I think they will because she adores it.

I like that there is obvious character development through the course of the story. I rather dislike that a good portion of that happens most obviously when the characters get new clothes.

Some of the lesser characters are silly but enjoyable with good character development.

The end of the story does leave room for continuation, but not in a cliff-hanger sort of way. I'm sure my two eldest daughters will look for more by Emily Rodda when we return to the library.