The Beginning Woods

‘The Beginning Woods is an old book. The moment I started reading it it was like I'd pulled a well-worn favourite off a dusty shelf. The characters, the writing, the story, it all feels like an old folktale you half remember hearing before but the feel of London in the grip of a disaster beyond anyone’s control is so modern and compelling. This book is like seeing The Never-Ending Story for the first time, or Labyrinth or discovering Lyra in her Oxford. This is a book that deserves your time. A lot of your time. We've never met, The Beginning Woods, but I think I've always loved you’ – Graeme Williams, Trade Marketing Manager

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

3.5 Stars

I've been picking up this book and putting it down for a few days now. The writing is fabulous. It has a fairytale quality to it as you can see in my quote below....

“We found out about snowflakes today,” he’d told them. “How they’re shaped like a star, with all these patterns and diamonds. Mr Chandra told us that’s how water crystals form when they freeze.” “That’s right,” said Forbes. “And did you learn how they all have eight arms? Like an octopus?” “Six,” said Alice, giving him an elbow. “It’s six, isn’t it Max?” “Yes,” said Max. “But Mr Chandra is wrong.

It doesn’t have anything to do with how water freezes. It’s the Starmakers. “Oh-ho!” said Forbes, wriggling with pleasure. “Who are the Starmakers?” “Don’t you know?” Max had been surprised at this, because Mr Chandra hadn’t known either. “If you look even closer at a snowflake, if you look much more closer than ever, you see tiny chisel marks on the snowflake. Tiny chisel marks made by tiny silver chisels.” “Is that so?” Forbes said, winking at Alice.“The chisels belong to the Starmakers,” Max explained “Snowflakes are stars that weren’t good enough. Each Starmaker makes thousands of stars a year, and they throw most of them away because of little mistakes.

But now and again, once every million years, one of the Starmakers looks up from his anvil. And all the other Starmakers look up as well and put down their chisels, because they know what’s happened—finally there’s a star perfect enough to go in the sky."

Certain parts would suck me completely in, while others seem to drag on a bit. Hence the picking up and putting down over the course of several days. I enjoyed the characters though. The World building was interesting. A bit of an old World feel, but with modern touches. Actually, it had a bit of an Alice In Wonderland feel to it.

Overall I enjoyed it.

A fairytale to get lost in on a chilly autumn night.

I loved this novel: it has everything I look for in a YA book. Beautifully drawn setting with credible intriguing characters that I instantly believe in and a magical character in Max.

The intriguing premise of 'The Vanishings' drew me in immediately and made me want to read on from the very first page. I got lost in this world and think that any young person reading it would too. Comparisons with 'The Princess Bride' are (for once') justifiable and I can imagine a beautifully bound copy of this having a similar effect on a young reader.

I can't wait to see if it'll be turned into a movie. If it does I hope it's as captivating as the print version. A fantastic read. Five stars!

I particularly enjoyed the opening and the theme of the hot air balloon following Max. The concept was incredibly interesting. I enjoyed the book a lot and would recommend it.

The Beginning Woods by Malcolm McNeill is a book which certainly ticks the world-building box. We start with the fact that there has been a spate of disappearances, people vanishing and leaving just a pile of empty clothing. This intrigued me - I started to think of Boojums and Squonks* - and then I was led further into the story by hints of science and witchcraft and an abandoned changling-like child. The plot became more and more complex but also quite philosophical - at the heart of the story is the orphan child Max who needs to find who he is and why he is there. This book is listed as a children's title but I would say there is enough depth there to interest any adult with a liking for fairy tales and myth. And, in terms of children, it would best suit an older, more thoughtful child who doesn't need the story to be full of fights and excitement.

*I was right about the Squonks too...

I requested this book without knowing much about it and I'm so glad I did!

The premise is completely unique and I loved the fairy tale quality of it. The book also felt very tightly plotted and the descriptive writing style suited the genre really well.

Another strength of the book was that there was a strong plot driving it. The characters were also interesting and believable.

The only part I was less sure about was what audience it was aimed at from a marketing viewpoint. Although I loved it, I came away not really knowing whether it was aimed at a teen or adult audience.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of fantasy authors such as Philip Pullman.