Book Review: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Tuesdays at the Castle

Jessica Day George

Publication Date: October 25th 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 254

Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic.

When I was reading Flora Segunda part of my issue was that it was not the type of book I was expecting. Tuesdays at the Castle was the book I was expecting. Due to it's middle-grade nature, I had designated this as a before bed book, which turned out to be a mistake as I couldn't stop reading it and ended up halfway done before I realized it ("just one more chapter, then I'll be done"). An then as soon as I woke up (to a day off) I just had to finish it, so I did.

This book in short is absolutely magical. I want to own it and reread it over and over again. The only books that I love about as much as this or more that cater towards younger readers is The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, and the Deltora Quest series.

The moral of this story is don’t mess with magical castles, as they will mess with you right back and it's absolutely splendid how it does that, with help from the royal children of course. The way they all hold themselves in an impossible situation was brilliant and I truly enjoyed reading it.

Once again I don’t feel the need to review anything spoilerific, so straight on to the conclusion/recommendation.

I 100% recommend this book to anyone who enjoys light hearted fantasy, who enjoys buildings who are a character of their own and the feeling of overcoming impossible situations. I recommend this to any fan of Jessica Day George, especially if you liked Dragon Slippers because the writing is a similar vein (though much more polished, I love seeing authors improve).

4.5 Bookmarks