I liked it; it was good
Book five of the series! I brought this, along with the rest of the books, with me on a week-long road trip to Edmonton for my cousin’s wedding.
Read: June 25, 2024
Genre: Classic, Fairy Tale
Audience: Children
Book contains: mild bullying, lying, good vs evil, super annoying/spoiled kid
Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca
Eustace Clarence Stubb is a spoiled brat, but one day, while his two cousins Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are visiting, they all get sucked into another world, where Eustace is forced to face who and what he is. Together, the three of them—along with King Caspian—journey East to the end of the world.
This book is almost a direct sequel to the previous book, Prince Caspian, unlike how the other books have gone thus far, and I was super excited to read it—if not for the new child character introduced in this book: Eustace! He is introduced and is immediately worse than Edmund was back in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
For the most part, C.S. Lewis’s third person omniscient perspective follows Eustace, who is the new character being introduced in this book. Readers who’ve read the other books already know who Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian are, but Eustace is a mystery. He is also the character who gets the most development in this book, hence the emphasis, but Lewis invites the reader to follow the other characters as well.
I listened along to this book in the car. The book was in front of me, and I sometimes followed along with my eyes, but for the most part, I watched the road so I wouldn’t get motion sickness. I loved the pictures in my illustrated version.
I could complain for hours just about Eustace alone, specifically because I knew a kid in real life who resembled him so much. For half the book, I dealt with reading about this kid, and I am loath to admit that by hearing things from his point of view—though intensely irritating—I could understand his thought process. He was a kid raised by his parents to be who he was, and he never had reason to act differently until now. I love how this adventure forces him to grow up and change for the better.
Edmund, Lucy, Caspian, and the others continue to be amazing characters in this story. They’re old friends reuniting and going on quests like the old times. The three of them are super close from the very beginning, and they are distanced from Eustace until one large plot point in the story. As Eustace changes, his relationships with those around hm obviously also begin to change.
The quest is straight-forward: sail East to the end of the world to find the seven lost lords. On the way, they face many perils and discover many new islands. Each character faces their own challenges, which is an excellent method of teaching valuable life lessons to children. Lewis’s style continues to be child-friendly while remaining entertaining to older readers.
The story starts by introducing Eustace, but almost immediately, the three children are drawn into Narnia, where the quest is already underway. They quickly fall in stride with Caspian, and each subsequent adventure keeps the pace of the story moving.
The character of Eustace was so aggravating, but he was relatable and a great person for teaching life lessons. Highly recommend this book—especially to parents!
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 1: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 2: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 3: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 4: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 5: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 6: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia Book 7: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 1: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Alice in Wonderland Book 1: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
*The Wicket by Carlee Coton*
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.