By: Will Shetterly Publisher: Magic Carpet Books Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Magic Carpet Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 264 Publication Date: August 01, 2004 Reading Level: Young Adult
When Ron runs away, he ends up in Bordertown, a grim city that lies between the real world and the world of faerie, a place where elf and human gangs stalk the streets side by side, and where magic works better than technology. If the city doesn't kill him, it just may teach him what it is to be human.
Wolfman and the rebel causeless Ron Starbuck sets out for Bordertown to seek his brother in this fantasy future where the fay land of Faerie has returned, and magic lives at the edge of the human the world. A runaway can find refuge in this urban jungle where the law governs little with the gang ruled streets. He is befriended by Mooner when is is thrown off the train for having no ticket. His life seems upbeat until that one fateful day. The slide downward is fast ( we learn his brother's fate) , but he is saved by a curse. The writing here is pretty good, but not enough for me to want badly to read the next one?
Simple praise is not enough... One of the best books I have ever read. I picked this up about 10 yrs ago, and couldn't put it down then either.The only book I've read twice in one sitting,simply amazing.A dose of reality of living on the streets with a flash of fantasy.Shetterly conveys every grand feeling through his writings.I wish I could do more than just prasie with simple text.If you haven't read this book, you've wasted your life.
well, i read it once and it was alright, but i wouldn't read it again Like the title says, I wouldn't read this book again, and probably won't read the second installment. While surrounded by "mythical" creatures, it still seems like they were just thrown in here to make it more interesting. It's more of a teen angst story than anything else, which is fine, but not really my kind of book. If these kind of stories don't irritate you, you might really like it. I decided to try it out and found it wasn't for me. Even though I didn't particularly like it, it was interesting enough that if i had to put it down for awhile, i was eager to get back to it. I don't like that Ron sides with Mooner for most of the story, cuz Mooner's an egotistic moron. But besides him, all the character's have their own distinct personality and they seem real enough. I think this book deserves 3 1/2 stars, actually. It might not've been my kinda book, but it was written very well. Throughout the story, Ron is looking for his older brother, Tony. We learn little tid-bits about Tony throughout the book, until the end where we find out exactly what happened to Tony and why Ron thinks he's there. I suspected the outcome from the beginning, but even so it was interesting reading up to it. Although the main character is a guy (obviously:P), I didn't have trouble understanding the way he was talking/thinking (this is written in the first person from Ron's point of view), which was great, because i know a lot of books from a girl's point of view aren't really guy-friendly. Anyway, i would recommend this book to you if you like teen angst mixed with the mythical and some great characters thrown in.
Well it's no shakespeare but... ...I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Maybe it's my enjoyment of teen angst that did it. Shatterly made a pretty cool kid here, tough big mouth, little body...I did occasionaly get the feeling that the whole angry teenager(grr) thing was a bit over the top but there wasn't much that stuck out sorely (besides -some- character interactions)
The end was little problematic. Be warned, the ending seems to have been written with the sequel Never Never in mind. I ended to book with the feeling that there was never a plot, just this place called the Bordertown and this kid called Ron who's learning about it as I am.
That was good enough for me though. The world and the people were fantastic enough that I ignored the disregard for linear tale. Overall, it's just a fun read.
Height of my Teenage Years I still remember seeing this book on the shelf of my high school library. I picked it out, read the back, checked it out of the library, and took it home. The very moment I opened this book I knew it would be great, and it was. After I took it back to the library I didn't see it till today. I feel like I have found and old friend. Definatly a good read for ANYONE who enjoys a good fantasy about elves, humans, magic, street life and how they all collide.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
