Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Apr 12, 2019
The characters were fine, although there were moments that made me a bit uncomfortable. Chevie is Native American, when the pair travelled back in time, the story was rife with racial slurs. While, yes, these were period appropriate, I think they were unnecessary. I think Chevie and her surroundings could have been better adapted, especially considering this is a middle grade novel?
However, the writing style was very true to Colfer's original. It was light and fast-paced and funny when I didn't expect it to be funny. I didn't completely dislike the book - there were moments where it was perfectly entertaining! But The Reluctant Assassin feels like more of a library book than a buyer for me. Then again, I am many years older than the target audience, and I can see middle schoolers finding this particularly amusing. But it was a little off center for my tastes.
Generally speaking, I'd say that while I wouldn't necessarily recommend The Reluctant Assassin, I still recommend Eoin Colfer, and any fan should try out this series and see if they enjoy it. :) But I'd start with Artemis Fowl or The Supernaturalist.