Liesl and Po

Author: Lauren Oliver
Goodreads Rating: 4.00
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pages: 307


My mom had brought home this book, it sat unread as many books do, on a shelf in a closet until I read Delirium and saw that they shared an author. So I snatched it up and decided that my boyfriends little sister would enjoy it, so I read it up to pass on to her. If you have read The Series of Unfortunate Events, you can see how the world that Liesl and Po live in is very similar because it takes our world and makes it their own.


Goodreads Synopses:


Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.

My review after the jump!

I thought this book was overwhelmingly adorable. As I said earlier this book reminded me of The Series of Unfortunate Events. If you've read even one book in that series, you will understand what I mean by the similarities of the worlds created in these books. They seemed to be the most simple forms of our world, just with magic which makes them the best for young minds and their imaginations.

The book starts with Liesl who is locked in her attic by her stepmother and her father just died. Clearly this is not a world that pays close attention to what is happening. I also liked how there was an alchemist who was trying to make the best magic ever. This book does a great job of bringing you back to your childhood fantasies and belief in magic.

Through the story there are several story lines that come to collide as one. The story of Liesl who just wants to bury her fathers ashes next to her mother, then there is Po who is a ghost who likes to watch Liesl draw, Will who likes to watch Liesl in her attic window, Augusta who poisoned her husband for his money and locked his daughter in the attic, Lady Premier who wants the ability to raise the dead, the alchemist who can make the potion to raise the dead and Mo who just wants to give Will a hat. All of these stories converge to make one really fun magical one.

I'm sorry that this one is another short post, but the book was simple and perfect for the middle school group it is targeted at. Not only that but I felt the book is good not just for girls but for boys as well, since it doesn't get too girly in the book. Liesl and Po also helps to teach readers how to move on when someone they love has died.