You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This is a difficult one to review, not least because I as an adult reader am still not sure how much of it I enjoyed. While Cogheart is definitely styled for a Middle Grade/Young Adult borderline audience, it does stray into rather unsettingly violent territory left a distinctly sour note in what I'd expected to be a sweet steampunk mystery.
We follow the intertwined stories of Lily Hartman, a plucky young girl who's too tomboy-cool for school, and Robert Townsend, an apprentice clock-maker who's all fingers and thumbs. When Lily's father's airship crashes, he tasks his automaton fox Malkin to deliver a very important message to his daughter. But bad men with silvered eyes are out to stop him, and an injured Malkin ends up in the care of Robert. Together they begin to work out the mystery of Lily's father and the strange men who will stop at nothing to get their hands on his secrets.
Don't be fooled by a cute cover; this isn't some happy-go-lucky adventure. I guess I liked it enough because I finished it, even if it did need some skimming. The plot is obvious if you've read much MG, but it works. It's just the details I had issues with.
Firstly, characters. Both Lily and Robert are supposed to be thirteen, yet the both seem strangely young and naive even when you take their limited backstories into account. I expected them to be younger from the way they behaved. They are also both the usual old tropes: the spirited girl rebelling against society (and occasionally motivating male characters to come to her aid - though she'll conveniently not need it by the time they arrive because feminism), and the awkward quiet boy with some issues to overcome (which he will conveniently do over the course of the narrative because kids need to learn it's easy to conquer life's hurdles if you just believe). I felt like I'd read them before countless times, and there wasn't much to make them stand out.
I didn't care much for Malkin, who was generally quite rude. I wanted to like the mech characters, but their constant exclamations got old pretty fast. Other non-evil adults are generic adults-in-kid-books affairs; not much to go on beyond being the kind and caring types. The evil characters range from that "it's so unfair!" sort of ugly stepmother trope all the way through to potential child-murder-while-gloating type. Yikes.
Secondly, pacing. My goodness was that first 150 or so pages slow. Until the characters actually get together to do something, it felt like the plot wheels spinning in place. It was nearly a DNF for that reason alone.
Thirdly, dialogue. It is weirdly contrived, unnatural and oft used as exposition. I didn't believe that anyone would actually speak to another person in such a scripted sounding way. The villain monologues in a disturbingly detailed way at the end, which leads on to...
Last point: tone. It stays uncomfortably tense and queasy, punctuated with violence, threat and death. Sure, it's not described in graphic bloody detail, but some of it towards the end actually made me feel ill. I didn't expect that from an MG book. It seemed like it was going for a steampunk His Dark Materials sort of vibe, but wasn't sure if it should be sweet or straight-out disturbing.
Now I like the imagination, and to a younger reader the tropes wouldn't seem to obvious. I don't know if I'd recommend this book or not. If you are looking for one for an MG age reader, I think it'd depend on how appropriate you thought the more frightening aspects would be for them.
We follow the intertwined stories of Lily Hartman, a plucky young girl who's too tomboy-cool for school, and Robert Townsend, an apprentice clock-maker who's all fingers and thumbs. When Lily's father's airship crashes, he tasks his automaton fox Malkin to deliver a very important message to his daughter. But bad men with silvered eyes are out to stop him, and an injured Malkin ends up in the care of Robert. Together they begin to work out the mystery of Lily's father and the strange men who will stop at nothing to get their hands on his secrets.
Don't be fooled by a cute cover; this isn't some happy-go-lucky adventure. I guess I liked it enough because I finished it, even if it did need some skimming. The plot is obvious if you've read much MG, but it works. It's just the details I had issues with.
Firstly, characters. Both Lily and Robert are supposed to be thirteen, yet the both seem strangely young and naive even when you take their limited backstories into account. I expected them to be younger from the way they behaved. They are also both the usual old tropes: the spirited girl rebelling against society (and occasionally motivating male characters to come to her aid - though she'll conveniently not need it by the time they arrive because feminism), and the awkward quiet boy with some issues to overcome (which he will conveniently do over the course of the narrative because kids need to learn it's easy to conquer life's hurdles if you just believe). I felt like I'd read them before countless times, and there wasn't much to make them stand out.
I didn't care much for Malkin, who was generally quite rude. I wanted to like the mech characters, but their constant exclamations got old pretty fast. Other non-evil adults are generic adults-in-kid-books affairs; not much to go on beyond being the kind and caring types. The evil characters range from that "it's so unfair!" sort of ugly stepmother trope all the way through to potential child-murder-while-gloating type. Yikes.
Secondly, pacing. My goodness was that first 150 or so pages slow. Until the characters actually get together to do something, it felt like the plot wheels spinning in place. It was nearly a DNF for that reason alone.
Thirdly, dialogue. It is weirdly contrived, unnatural and oft used as exposition. I didn't believe that anyone would actually speak to another person in such a scripted sounding way. The villain monologues in a disturbingly detailed way at the end, which leads on to...
Last point: tone. It stays uncomfortably tense and queasy, punctuated with violence, threat and death. Sure, it's not described in graphic bloody detail, but some of it towards the end actually made me feel ill. I didn't expect that from an MG book. It seemed like it was going for a steampunk His Dark Materials sort of vibe, but wasn't sure if it should be sweet or straight-out disturbing.
Now I like the imagination, and to a younger reader the tropes wouldn't seem to obvious. I don't know if I'd recommend this book or not. If you are looking for one for an MG age reader, I think it'd depend on how appropriate you thought the more frightening aspects would be for them.
This was a good one, I really liked it. I was never bored and I really like the characters.
It's also surprisingly dark in certain ways*, which I always appreciate in a middle grade book.
It was a bit predictable, but I don't mind if the execution of the story is still done well, which was the case here.
The only part that I didn't like was the villain: he was fine during most of the book, but at the end he became very cartoonish, and not in a good way.
Really looking forward to the next adventure.
*1. the fact that Robert's father is really dead and not surprisingly alive by the end of the book.
2. the fact that Lily's father had to choose between saving his wife or daughter (you don't read that on page, but the author still could have easily written that the wife died on impact and it wasn't a choice, but he went with this detail and I kinda like that).
3. the way the villain gets crushed and mangled in the inner clock workings of the Big Ben is at the same time cheesy, fitting and really gruesome.
It's also surprisingly dark in certain ways*, which I always appreciate in a middle grade book.
It was a bit predictable, but I don't mind if the execution of the story is still done well, which was the case here.
The only part that I didn't like was the villain: he was fine during most of the book, but at the end he became very cartoonish, and not in a good way.
Really looking forward to the next adventure.
*
2. the fact that Lily's father had to choose between saving his wife or daughter (you don't read that on page, but the author still could have easily written that the wife died on impact and it wasn't a choice, but he went with this detail and I kinda like that).
3. the way the villain gets crushed and mangled in the inner clock workings of the Big Ben is at the same time cheesy, fitting and really gruesome.
I can't put this book down! It's very exciting but I think the villains are too evil for 9-12 fiction.
A fun book to read. I know I’m not the target market but there is lots to enjoy in this story for adults. A sense of adventure and what life means in family and friendships. I came away feeling uplifted and also wanting a mechanical Fox! Lily is the central character who’s father has gone missing and mysterious men with eyes that are made of mirrors are hunting her. Her friend Robert and Malkin her mechanical fox go on an adventure to out wit them and find out what they want from lily. If your looking for a good old fashioned adventure with a touch of steampunk thrown in then this could be the story for you.
A predictable middle grade adventure that will find fans among steampunk aficionados.
I found the plot very by the numbers (except for the big reveal about the cogheart). The villains are classic mustache-twirling evil doers with no depth. I liked the mechanical characters the best.
Recommended for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events. This book may be a little scary for little kids, so I'd stick with middle graders.
Big big
I read an advance reader copy of Cogheart from Netgalley.
I found the plot very by the numbers (except for the big reveal about the cogheart). The villains are classic mustache-twirling evil doers with no depth. I liked the mechanical characters the best.
Recommended for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events. This book may be a little scary for little kids, so I'd stick with middle graders.
Big big
Spoiler
: I did find it very unfair that Lily regained her father (that was obviously going to happen from the beginning) but Robert lost his.I read an advance reader copy of Cogheart from Netgalley.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was so lovely. It spoke of grief and death in such a wonderful manner, in a way so important to children that this book is intended for (I’m only slightly older than that demographic at 19.) I’m glad that this book didn’t shy away from death and touched on the fact that sometimes parents can just be absent, like many were and still are to this day. The portrayal of oppression was represented in such a manner that you don’t usually see, usually its very overt and in your face but this was subtle but still there. I won’t go too much into the plot, because as it’s a children’s book, it can be easy to figure out the story but oh my word… the plot twist!!! Loved this book. I’m taking away a star because I think this would be difficult to follow at some points, especially with a whole manner of complicated terminology being used which could definitely throw readers, especially as it is aimed at ‘middle-graders’ or around 11-14 years of age. I mean it threw me at some points too! Overall, brilliant book and so excited to read the whole series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A wonderfully imaginative and exciting story - I loved the positivity of the characters and the strong message of strength through adversity.
The mechanicals were my favourite bit, the descriptions were delightful and the depth of personality was a lovely perspective on artificial intelligence.
Am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
The mechanicals were my favourite bit, the descriptions were delightful and the depth of personality was a lovely perspective on artificial intelligence.
Am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The writing is okay but the content isn’t what I’d expect from a children’s book. The plot is driven by increasingly awful things adults to do the two children: Bullying, neglect, arson, murder, parent death, torture, abuse. I didn’t enjoy reading it and won’t be recommending it.
Honestly, I would rather give it a 2.5 stars, but since it's not possible it will be 3, as it was a quite pleasant book to read. I really liked the universe in which the story is set, it's steampunk and awesome (mechanimals!! mech-fox! balloons! air-pirates! penny dreadfuls! clocks and cogs! Everything I love), and the story flows rather well, in spite of some lengths (it may be me, but I found the descriptions of fights/attacks really hard to read/boring). However, I was quite disappointed by the plot and the characters, which I found hackneyed and without depth. They are "nice" protagonists but I've met them a billion times already. So if it was the first book I've read I would have liked it more (which makes me think that children may enjoy it more than I did).
1) I found the overall plot very predictable. I had guessed about the Professor Silverfish after a third of the book, and about the Cogheart after half of the book and then everything pretty much followed my predictions (Anna was a nice surprise however).
2) Flat characters: Lily and Robert are likeable but also very empty. She is a tomboy like.... 90% of girl protagonists in adventure books, lost her mother, brave, trouble with authority and beyond that nothing. We don't know how she feels, how she thinks (or very vaguely: she is sad about the loss of her parents.) If I compare with Lyra in The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights, Lyra had such an interesting inner life that the reader got to discover, imagination, lying, plotting, some arrogance, bravery, we knew in detailed ways how she perceived the other characters and her own story. I guess not everybody can be Pullman, but still, I was quite disappointed that Lily did not become more of a "person" and less of an empty protagonist.
3) I may need to think more about it, but gender-wise I was also a bit disappointed, Anna is cool, and initially Lily as well (while Robert had some weaknesses that made him more human), but as the story went by Lily basically became completely passive: she follows Robert, she follows her father, she needs saving again and again, and her main feature, the cogheart, is something that has been done for her. I want her to be able to do stuff! Understand things, or fight, or think. I felt that the book often promised some form of equality between the characters (they are both orphans (sort of) on the same adventure, but that the facts ended up making her quite passive. I hope it will be balanced better in the next volume.
However, I enjoyed reading the book, and absolutely loved Malkin, and would like to know more about whether/how mechs can have a soul or not. There are many good things in the book and I hope they will be developped later on.
Spoiler
To be more specific, here are my issues with the book:1) I found the overall plot very predictable. I had guessed about the Professor Silverfish after a third of the book, and about the Cogheart after half of the book and then everything pretty much followed my predictions (Anna was a nice surprise however).
2) Flat characters: Lily and Robert are likeable but also very empty. She is a tomboy like.... 90% of girl protagonists in adventure books, lost her mother, brave, trouble with authority and beyond that nothing. We don't know how she feels, how she thinks (or very vaguely: she is sad about the loss of her parents.) If I compare with Lyra in The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights, Lyra had such an interesting inner life that the reader got to discover, imagination, lying, plotting, some arrogance, bravery, we knew in detailed ways how she perceived the other characters and her own story. I guess not everybody can be Pullman, but still, I was quite disappointed that Lily did not become more of a "person" and less of an empty protagonist.
3) I may need to think more about it, but gender-wise I was also a bit disappointed, Anna is cool, and initially Lily as well (while Robert had some weaknesses that made him more human), but as the story went by Lily basically became completely passive: she follows Robert, she follows her father, she needs saving again and again, and her main feature, the cogheart, is something that has been done for her. I want her to be able to do stuff! Understand things, or fight, or think. I felt that the book often promised some form of equality between the characters (they are both orphans (sort of) on the same adventure, but that the facts ended up making her quite passive. I hope it will be balanced better in the next volume.
However, I enjoyed reading the book, and absolutely loved Malkin, and would like to know more about whether/how mechs can have a soul or not. There are many good things in the book and I hope they will be developped later on.