A Clatter of Jars

This book was beautifully written, and I only allowed it to receive four stars from me because at a few points in the book, the characters or their families became confusing as to who adopted who and who loved or married who and so on. I have heard people refer to good books as tapestries, yarn that is woven into intricate, deliberate patterns to create something marvelous. I have also heard of some books being referred to as fruit, a more . . . . strange description, but understandable, as to when a book is called a fruit, it is meant by the speaker to mean that the book may look beautiful or unique or rotten or tasteless before you open or peel or slice it so you can gobble up the insides, of which can be entirely different from the shell, but never are the two the same. For example: I once came upon a very dull- looking book. I will not say the name as to not hurt the author, but the book was about a dog. The cover of the book was uninviting and mainly colorless, and it was very thick (some of you people might relate to me by judging the thickness of a book, because when you are eleven years old like me a thick book can decree quite an impact on your decision as to if you will read the book or not) and at first I treated it like an envelope of which I already knew what was inside and its contents did not please me. I did not know why I persued its story, but I seemed to be expecting something. Looking back, I am so glad that I did. By the fifth chapter, I was hooked like a fish on areally tasty fishing line. Sometimes, "don't judge a by its cover" is true.This book truly is both a tapestry and a good fruit that I would eat/ read again and again, and I hope everyone else enjoyed this masterpiece as well.

I went into this book with high hopes, as I really enjoyed reading the first book in this series. I'm happy to say this one didn't disappoint. Although it was a different set of characters, I liked those just as much as I liked the other ones, who are in the book a little. It's a great coming of age story about children learning how to use their talents, and then having them taken. It also show the complex relationship between a set of twins, and the tense situation between a rather unusual set of brothers. Overall, I really liked this book and recommend it to anyone would enjoys fantasy.

A charming tale of belonging and hope. I loved how the storyline circled around and linked the end and beginning. Another book I will happily share with my granddaughter.

A Tangle of Knots was my first Lisa Graff novel and I've purchased every novel of hers for my classroom library ever since. You definitely must read A TANGLE of KNOTS first and I suggest having the word SEQUEL on the front cover. There are so many characters and talents to keep track of in a CLATTER OF JARS that I'm afraid it's going to be too confusing for most of my students. I, myself, will need to read it again.

Got this for my eleven year old granddaughter and she loved it!

Awesome read with my 11 year old son!

Lisa Graffe creates characters that are endearing to the reader. They want to get to know the characters better.

In this whimsical children’s fantasy, the sequel to the highly acclaimed A Tangle of Knots, readers are transported back to Lisa Graff’s magic-filled world where children have special “Talents”: Lily is a “Pinnacle” who has the ability to move things with her mind; Renny has a reputation for being a “Recollector” (i.e., the ability to transplant memories from one mind to another); and, Chuck, much to her own surprise, is about to uncover her own secret Talent.As the most remarkable children in the world gather at Camp Atropos for summer camp, little do they know that the camp’s director, Jo, has brought them together with her own purposes in mind. When a jar containing a mysterious talent is dropped in Lake Atropos, it sets off a series of events that will change the children’s and the camp director’s perspectives of their Talents forever.A Clatter of Jars is a delightful fantastical tale weaving together the themes of family, forgiveness, jealousy, and self-acceptance. The story is told through the eyes of four characters (3 children and 1 adult), each of which is struggling with their own issues concerning their family. Children will likely be able to identify with the thoughts and emotions experienced by at least one of the characters, although the change in perspectives may be difficult for some children to follow. I also thought the inclusion of recipes for some yummy summertime drinks was an added bonus!Also of note, I would recommend reading A Tangle of Knots prior to picking up A Clatter of Jars as I think it would have helped orient me to the story. The Prologue in particular was confusing for me and felt disconnected from the rest of the story. I also felt like it took a bit of time to get into the story, but once it got rolling, it was very enjoyable.My Bottom Line: I recommend A Clatter of Jars to fans of magical realism looking for a fun adventure and a story with themes which are significant and meaningful to the target audience, 8 to 12 year old children.* This book was provided to us by the publisher free-of-charge in exchange for our honest reviews. All opinions expressed are our own.