Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Part 2

New Warhorn Media post by Nathan Alberson:

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Great episode. I’ve read Dahl (including Charlie) previously but its been years - 30? We enjoyed this one at my house. He’s definitely worth revisiting, but I dont know that I’d put him on a level with EB White.

You guys mentioned the Wingfeather Saga. I wonder if you’ve read it.

(I was reading it to my kids and took a break between books 2 and 3 to read Charlie. The children had different opinions of this decision. Some were all about Charlie and others were ready to mutiny story time. Charlie took less than a week so it really wasn’t much of a pause.)

If so I was wondering what you - or anyone else here in Sanityville - thought of the ending…

VAGUE SPOILER AHEAD:

Talk about a book that doesn’t let its protagonist off easy. This one is heart-crushing. I was mad at Andrew Peterson for weeks. I’ve only read it once previously and am interested in how it will strike me this time. I’m not sure what I will think, but I’m really curious about how others have perceived it.

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Never read it, know many people who love it.

Loved the Wingfeather Saga. Really liked the family/sibling dynamic. I remember thinking that book 4 was on par with Narnia (but I don’t know what I would think going back now).

VAUGE SPOILERS
The ending was heart-wrenching, but I thought it was perfect. It completes his character arc in a beautiful way. And it gives you just a glimmer of hope right at the end…

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I’ve read the Wingfeather Saga four times, @acmcneilly twice, our older kids (8 and 9) once or twice each. We’re fans. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

The end of Warden and the Wolf King is devastating, but exactly right. It’s the end of Monster in the Hollows that actually gets me bawling each time though.

Reading the series has become a postpartum tradition for me. (I Kickstarted books 3 and 4 and they happened to arrive right after the birth of my third, then I reread them after my fourth and the tradition began.) But I think I won’t reread if we have another baby - it was harder to gloss over the lower writing quality of books 1 and 2 during this last time through.

I’d like to hear Peterson read them aloud. Some friends really enjoyed his nightly online read alouds last year.

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We just finished the third book of Wingfeather, and I must say, the third book is when it finally hits its stride. The first time I’ve wanted to immediately read the next one.

I had trouble getting through the first book. Too many basic mistakes of amateur fantasy writers (you don’t need a special crop called “totatoes.” Just use tomatoes or potatoes. Just one example of many). And so many footnotes.

The first book’s pacing is just a slog. It ends just when it should be beginning, IMO. The second book is better because stuff actually happens. :slight_smile:

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