The Apothecary (The Apothecary Series)

The whole family ended up reading this book--from Nana (70) to little bro (8). We also listed to the audio version, which has a fabulous reader. Everyone loved the story! My daughter, who is in 6th grade and had resisted the novel because I suggested it (we're at that stage...), ended up falling in love with the book and has read it numerous times. My eight-year-old surprised me by not only loving the story but also developing an interest in World War II. I thought that elements of the story might be confusing for him, but instead of being confused he became very curious and began asking questions about the McCarthy era and drawing parallels between those times and our own. The magical bits are well done--fantastic and yet still believable. It's funny and has a touch of romance, but not so much that boys are put off by yucky "girl" stuff. The mix of characters makes the book appealing to both girls and boys (not an easy task in the YA world). And there is enough adventure to make everybody ask for "one more chapter!" when you say it's time for bed.Bottom line, this is a fabulous book with characters you will have such affection for that you will be sorry to see the story end. It's literary and engaging and well written and yet the whole family can enjoy it (the audio version is particularly great for multigenerational family car trips). We can't wait for the sequel! (And if you are a grownup, be sure to check out Maile Meloy's other work, which is equally awesome, though very different.)

Intended for a younger audience but this book is a great adventure for the adult with a touch of magic nostalgia. I also have it on audio and have listened many times.

This book keeps the reader pulled into the unfolding and intriguing story! We do "family read aloud" with a book each night and this tradition continues to be popular even as our kids age (now 11 and 13). This book was so good, all of us had difficulty putting it down. We've bought the other two in the series and have recommended it to friends and given it as gifts. High quality story (my kids describe it as a mostly "spy action" story with a minor coming-of-age reference to slight interest in another student, but it is not distracting to the story.) It has solid character development, interesting for both girls and boys, no foul language, respectfulndult interaction by the characters who are kids. Highly recommend the read.

I liked the plot, the characters, it was all good. Nothing terribly memorable but the illustrations were also great and I would recommend this to middle readers and adults with a child-heart :) The only thing was the characters were suppose to be 14ish and I kept thinking they were 9 or 10 based on their thoughts and actions, until they were kissing and then I was surprised until I remembered they were suppose to be older. Oh, yeah. Nice to have a female protagonist that boys will probably not mind reading about.

When literary writers shift gears into writing for young adults the enterprise is risky. Will they overload the narrative with complexities of language or ambiguities of perspective that swamp the action? Will they create central characters that are believably complex children or adolescents? In Maile Meloy's case the payoff was worth the risk, though any reader of her previous works would expect this to be the case. She is a writer of deceptive simplicity whose tales are full of details that are rich and make a powerful impression without being flashy.In "The Apothecary" she has crafted a story that is adventurous and historical without being didactic -- the bleak post-war London she evokes with a few key words comes to life in sight, sound and smell; the story uses it's Cold War setting as a fabulous backdrop to make readers think about loyalty and moral choices without preaching. Her teenagers grapple with the feelings of no longer being children, but not really being adults and not always understanding adult motivations though they are beginning to realize they have power to act, even if they don't understand everything around them. The romance between the central characters feels true and undated, despite the nearly 60 years between the novel's 1952 setting and the present. And, even better, there's magic. Magic that works with the plot and with the characters, magic that feels magical and somehow realistic at the same time.There are flaws, of course, but they are forgivable. Does literature need another cockney kid descended from the Artful Dodger (with the appropriately Dickensian name of Pip) who nearly steals the show? Probably not, but Pip is more than entertaining and you feel he deserves every bit of the energy Meloy invests into him. Are the bad guys too simply bad, the good guys too good and some of the plot twists too obvious? For me as an adult, perhaps so, but for a reader between the ages of 10 and 16, probably not. Is the framing device a bit clunky? Yes, but it's needed to tidy up what would have otherwise been some very messy loose ends.Small reservations aside, I'm extremely glad that the door has been left open for sequels. Let's hope Meloy decides to walk through and bring us more Jainie and Benjamin, Pip and Sarah.

Kid likes it

This book was certainly not what I expected! It surprised me in a very good way! I was afraid it would be extremely scary and strange, but decided to get it anyway. Although it did have magical/fantasy parts it also had action, adventure, and spine tingling suspense. I do not want to give away the book, but if you do not enjoy fiction and fantasy you should not get this book. Instead of an ordinary apothecary the apothecary in the book conducts spells, the change of matter (and humans changing into birds). But, the author combined fantasy and real-life events in a very interesting and engaging way. The book was extremely well written. I would recommend it to anyone of any age! Well done Maile Meloy!!!!!! :-D

Quite affordable with price and as expected .

Great book couldn’t put it down

Era para mí hija ,lo compré para un redding circule de los que compran todos los niños uno para leerselo en casa y le gusta mucho me ha hecho un pequeño resumen y al final vo a leerlo...

A school teacher recommended this book to me, even though I am an adult. I LOVED it, and very quickly purchased the two sequels. "The Apprentices' & 'The After Room' It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a series of books this much. I highly recommend these books for any age 10+.

An absolutely fantastic book. A real page turner. I read it aloud to my kids (ages 10,11 and 14) and they were clamouring for me to read more at the end of every chapter. My son likes it so much that he's now reading it again on his own. I highly recommend it, as well as the next book in this trilogy , The Apprentices. (We are waiting for the third book to arrive... It's just been released)