It's very easy to get into, but there are lots of things that aren't quite right. Let's start with the characters.

Chloe started out interesting. She had the whole scarred physically and emotionally thing going for her, and she has a cool grandpa and works at an old movie theater. But let's face it, not only is she somewhat 2D, her actual personality is pretty annoying. She doesn't listen and plunges straight ahead no matter what anyone else says. She's ridiculously stubborn.

Nick is a deceptive character. You'd think he'd be a main char, but no, not really. He's only in about one third of the book, and does absolutely nothing. He starts out mean and annoying, then disappears for the middle part of the book, and comes back and... well, wasn't all that similar to the original Nick in the beginning. I'm not saying it's character growth, I'm saying his character isn't consistent at all.

Scout and Nob were okay though. Very flat, just like everyone else, but they were okay. Grandpa Salvador is easily the best, and he doesn't get to do much at all (naturally). Then there's the villain, Vaepor. He...hardly exists. There's not much going on there. He really is only in the book so there will be a villain.

The world, Retinya, is pretty cool. We just don't really get to spend much time there or see many sights in detail. All our time is spent getting through the adventure, which makes less sense the more you think about it.

I mean, they make it work. But oftentimes it's hard to tell how the characters got wherever they are, and why they're doing whatever they're doing.

But let me also say that the ending memory scenes were pretty cool. If you read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about.

So it's not a -bad- book, but it's far from -good-. It's just kind of... a book. A quick and easy read, though, so you probably won't feel like you've wasted a bunch of time reading it.

Full review: http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2012/11/persy-aldos-fantastical-movie-palace-by... ( )