Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver {Review}

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publish Date: October 4, 2011

Source: Library (but I'll be getting my own copy soon, promise!)

Goodreads

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.

To simply give you an idea of how this book made me feel I’ll tell you this: I finished the story with a smile. Now, I’m a crier when it comes to books. It’s pretty easy to get me worked up, but I’m not ashamed, I love when books make me feel. However, it’s not very often that a book actually brings a smile to my lips, but Liesl & Po managed just that.

Liesl &Po is an amazing journey made even more amazing by Oliver’s personal reason behind the book. I shan’t delve too far into that though since it doesn’t actually have anything to do with my enjoyment of the book. This book contains an amazing journey full of magic and mix-ups and wonderful characters.

Leisl & Po managed that awesome Middle Grade adventure experience while making sure you didn’t feel like you were being tossed around from one plot point to another. It was all quite seamless and spectacular.

I adored every single character, even the horrible ones (I liked hating them, that is). Leisl was strong and brave considering her situation and her life. I could almost feel her warmth and hope coming out of the pages. I loved Mo and how determined he was to enjoy his life and do nice things for others though nearly everyone was mean to him. For someone who doesn’t know whether it is a boy or a girl, Po has a lot of personality and though it was grumpy at times, it was pure goodness at its core.

I love that the story follows so many little plotlines that all meet up in the end to create a nice little package that all makes sense.

The Nutshell: Liesl & Po is an absolutely fantastic read. The characters are all outstanding and the journey is one you’ll both feel is for the characters as well as yourself. Oliver creates a fantastic world full of characters and plots that all seem a little jumbled at first but end up becoming clear at just the perfect moments. This is one you certainly won’t want to miss. I know I’ve said it before, but if you’re afraid of MG, try this. I mean, it’s written by the genius behind Delirium so you could at least give it a go, right? Oh, did I forget to mention that there are illustrations? Because there are ;]

Pages: 307

Series: No

Rating: 5 stars