D

I am partial to stories like these, so my review may be a bit biased, but I want to put in a good word anyway. The story has big parallels to Narnia, Oz and Wonderland, but with its own brand of bizarre. It makes a delightful ode to language and nods to Dickens along the way. If that sounds like an odd mix, don't worry, Michel Fabre manages to make it work! While there are obvious love letters to the strange fantasy of yore, D: The Tale of Two Worlds is still a rather unique, offbeat and outlandish adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dhikilo is our plucky protagonist and her mission to discover why the letter ‘D' has disappeared from the English language sends her into a world that is fearfully strange and full of surprises. I liked Dhikilo as a character, which is important as she's the driving force behind the whole story. Maybe some would accuse her being a Mary Sue, but I still like characters that try to be decent human beings, so it didn't bother me. If you like stories like Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz and your fantasy a bit bizarre, then I think you'll enjoy this one, even if it's never quite a favourite.

I thought this was an enjoyable children's novel, that, as an adult, didn't put me off. The main character is likeable, there's some nice fantasy involved. I passed it along to my 12 year old.