5 stars

This was an amazingly phenomenal book. I couldn’t remember if I had read this growing up or not. I distinctly remember the movie, but I don’t think I ever read the actual book. So I picked up a copy of the audiobook from the library to listen to while driving for work.

This is such a magical, wonderful adventure. Typical Roald Dahl fantasy: dark, yet whimsical. There are a few dark, morbid things in the book (in classic Roald Dahl style) and some not-so-nice language (idiot, ass), but nothing too bad. It shouldn’t deter readers or their parents, just something to keep in mind.

I loved this book. It is such a great adventure story. All these weird things happen and there are all of these amazing characters, it’s just perfect. It all feels so effortless.

Even if you’ve read the book, I recommend the audiobook as well. Julian Rhind-Tutt does an amazing job doing the voices and it includes sound effects, which makes for a very fun story.

A very, very wonderful story. I loved every moment of it.