| Title | : | My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0316228192 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780316228190 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2013 |
My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell Reviews
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Since I read this to my daughter I allowed her to rate it. She wanted to give it "one hundred and thousand" stars but settled on just 5 when I told her that was the highest number she could rate it.
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Yes, this is a book based on a television show.
Yes, it is a television show based on a toy line.
Yes, I bought this book with my own money, and yes, I purchased this it from the evil entity known as Amazon.com.
According to educational experts and literary activists everywhere, I’ve committed four hideous sins against the printed word, no, against civilized society itself. These types of books are trash, cobbled together by underpaid ghostwriters, churned out by the dozens to rake in money for the toy company. These books may contain characters and worlds beloved by children, but they have no literary merit. They are the Kool-Aid juice box of books-sweet, flashy, and inexpensive, and by giving one to my child, I’ve marred her soul forever.
My daughter sat down and read this book, cover to cover, in one night. I did not have to look over her shoulder and press her to read just one more page. I did not have to bribe her. The night did not end in tantrums and tears.
I just pre-ordered the next one from Amazon. (But, argh, it’s not due until later in the summer)
Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.
http://uneagerreaders.wordpress.com/2... -
I am 27 years old and i am a Brony/Pegasister. And I'm proud of it. Therefore when i heard they were releasing books based on the series i just had to get them. Especially since there isn't going to be any new episodes till next winter.
Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell is the first book in the new chapter series. I was pleasantly surprised that it reads just like an episode of the show. Despite what the cover shows the book picks up right after Twilight's princess coronation. The new alicorn is trying to figure out what it means to be a "true princess and good leader". She decides to go ask the ponies of Ponyville for some advice. UnFortunately they seem to be treated her differently. Twilight merely wishes to be treated as the same old Twilight Sparkle she has always been. So she decides to go ask the one pony she knows will treat her the same and have great advice. Her sister in law Princess Cadence. So the story begins.
I have to be honest the book is directed at an audience much younger in mind that myself. Therefore for anyone older remember this when reading it. With that in mind, the book was quite enjoyable. Like i said before i reads like an episode of the show. Not one of the uber amazing ones, but still a highly rated one. Its something that anyone with a young child would enjoy reading as they're reading it to their kid.
5 stars. -
4.5
Lo leyo mi hija de ocho años y ella quería hacer una reseña igual que yo. Ella sola redacto la reseña.
Me gustó la historia un poco entreberada al principio, le puse esta calificación porque es un poco aburrida al principio -
"It was so great and I loved the Trixie part." - Cora
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I have to admit to have been kind of excited about reading this, based on the things I had read about it online. I am a Brony and proud, and it was exciting to think that the story of 'My Little Pony' was being expanded on in the books and the comics.
Sadly, I have to admit to have being disappointed. I tried to keep in mind the target audience of this book, and that I am quite outside of it, and while some reviews I have read say this reads like an episode of the show, I have to disagree (since I've watched them all at least a dozen times).
I'm going to do this a little differently than I usually do my reviews, because this is a different kind of book. So I'm going to list what I liked and didn't like about it, starting with what I didn't like, because I'd rather end the review on a more positive note.
What I didn't like
1. A lot of the characterizations were poor, particularly Gilda and Trixie, especially because Trixie's supposed to be reformed.
2. 'Equestria Girls' kind of dealt with Twilight's angst about being a good leader, and it did it better.
3. Twilight just pops between Ponyville and the Crystal Empire? Is she teleporting there?
4. Although I like the inclusion of a little backstory for Cadence, I thought all of it was kind of rushed and confusing. I was expecting something a little longer than what I read online, but it was about the same length, and brings up more questions than it answers.
5. I feel like Twilight only asked Cadence how to be a good leader because otherwise, Cadance is kind of ignored. She wasn't part of Lauren Faust's plans (Cadance was Hasbro's idea), and the writers gave her a couple obligatory episode and stuck her in her own kingdom with Twilight's plot device brother, where they are safely out of the way of the real story.
6. The lesson was poorly constructed, and come on, a leadership spell? That's just way too easy.
7. Everything feels rushed. I understand that in the episodes, the writers only have 22 minutes to tell a story, so I can excuse them when they need to rush things in the interest of time. Books don't have a set length, so maybe there could have been a couple extra chapters to smooth things along?
I'm really trying to keep this general and not make it too fangirl-y, but it's not working. Sorry!
What I liked:
1. Derpy's cameo! I missed it the first time I read the book, despite it being blatantly obvious. Even though I don't love Derpy like the rest of the fandom, I like looking out for her.
2. Some backstory for Cadence is better than none at all, and I do like how it tries to fix the balance of Alicorns in Equestria. Celestia and Luna are still the only 'real' Alicorns.
Overall, I really did try to keep in mind this is a kid's book, but that's kind of the difference between this book and the show. The show is aimed at kids, but it still tells a story that adults can enjoy. This book kind of dumbs things down and uses characters for the sake of using characters, not because they really have anything to contribute.
Kids will probably enjoy this book, but I think the older fans might agree that there's better fanfiction out there. -
Cute, a good idea for an episode, but as a book it could have used some more descriptions. I liked the backstory for Princess Cadance, but it to could've used some major additions. This one gets only 2 stars because Twilight Sparkle is my most favorite character from the show, and this book does not do her justice.
now, here are a few reasons why this annoyed me more than the others.
1. It needed editing. "Twilight's Cottage"? I mean, really, how did they not catch that? Twilight lives in the Ponyville Library people! Not that hard to remember.
2. Gilda the griffin was being much to nice. maybe they were trying to nice up the character because it's a kids' book, but she's much meaner in the show and would NEVER help twilight. keep people in character!
3. Once again, like with the other books in the serious, the climax was awful. there was so much potential for a battle or them having to forcibly take that necklace from twilight because the spells in the necklace were corrupting her. but no. one little chat with Cadance and all's right in the world of ponydom again. pathetic, even for a little kid book.
But, there was parts I did like. the Mane Six were in character. And the plot was a really good idea. it just wasn't played out to all it could have been. And, of course, the inclusion of derpy hooves/ditzy doo. I do love that cute little cross-eyed pony. :D -
I read this to my 7 year old daughter. It's her first chapter book series and she actually reads them all on her own, but I promised to read one of them to her.
The book is okay, but doesn't really know its audience. At least, in my opinion, this franchise is really targeted for girls under age 10, but the vocabulary in this book might challenge some of the readers that young.
Good thing that it entices kids to read, though. And it's not a bad thing to include some tougher words to help the reader's skills develop. -
A cute, light-hearted, short story about a new princess learning what it means to lead.
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Yes, we like MLP, and the added Cadance backstory was some good (and unexpected!) stuff.
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"Friendship had always been the answer to all of her problems." God that was vomitous!
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Now, I have to provide some degree of context for my particularly harsh scoring of this book!
This book (and I am sure this will explain *everything*) is another in a series of books that I am reading with my youngest daughter, who is currently six.
She, as it happens, *loves* My Little Pony and she has also, in recent months, discovering a flare for the enjoyment of reading, so, of course, I will help her read whatever the heck she wants to read.
If Ffion were to be scoring this book, I'm sure she'd give it four stars. Or something.
However, she is not reviewing this book, I am. As is customary now, I feel that I would ratehr give it a 2.5, as it's not as bad as a 2, but not quite able to merit a 3.
Ho hum.
So, this book is all about the titular character, Twilight Sparkle on a missin to discover how to be a cracking princess.
I get the impression that she has only just earned her wings (literally) and prinessy-ness, and so is new to the role.
I can only asume that these books are new tales that sit alongside the cartoon series. I've seen the recent movie (which was good, as it gave me a very clear idea of the five main characters - I even have a favourite pony. It's Rainbow Dash, if you're wondering), so I was able to emulate (within reason) the Pony's characteristics.
My problem for it is that the story is just a bit on the dull side. It has a fair smattering of characters of both genders, but this is clearly a book for young girls. I'm not sure if I'm disappointed with this or not, because, the previous book to this was the movie prequel, and it actually did have a sense of adventure, and was able to hold my interest (and that of my only son, who often snuck in to catch the story too).
This, sadly, did not have any sense of adventure. There was a tiny little smidgen of - I dunno - peril (?) in the necklace that Twilight Sparkle was wearing, but it really was just an amplifier of her mood and, it seemed, the neagtive thoughts made her worse, and therefore, particularly rude to her friends.
And, er, that was it.
It lacked the humour and even idiosyncacries of the characters (that the movie managed to do), so, for me, there wasn't really very much to get my teeth into (outside of practising my wn take on the voices).
However, the important thing is that Ffion enjoyed it and, as a result, we are now reading the Movie adaptaion. That should provide a bit of adevnture, at least!
So, I hope this range picks up in terms of fun stories, because I've bought her the whole lot (in a sparkly boxset!) for Christmas. I'm very excited to see her little face light up when she sees these, as she thinks she's only getting a few, but if I'm going to enjoy next year at all, these stories better get a bit more lively... -
I love this book! I am a proud Pegasister in the firm belief that if your interests are harmless and make you happy, you should embrace them. And that's exactly why I bought a set of My Little Pony books.
Similar "chapter books" to these often follow episodes from the show, but as far as I can tell this story was totally original! A brand new story with all our favourite characters in familiar locations, even expanding on old concepts and providing new information - such as, not only are alicorn ponies "able to harness the magical powers of the Unicorns [and] the flight abilities of the Pegasi", but also "the strength of a good, true heart of an earth pony."
This was a very pleasant read, even if intended for younger readers. It held my attention all the way through, was cutesy in the iconic MLP way, and had adorable little illustrations!
Sometimes it's hard to get gripped to a book spanning barely over 100 pages, but this book held my interest all the way through. If you're a fan of the show I really reccomend it! Just be wary it does have spoilers of Twilight becoming an alicorn therefore the princess of friendship and such. -
This was a fluffy and warm read with a strong message of friendship.
The book is based on a TV show so there are many references to events that have already occurred. However one doesn’t need to know too much about them as the story explains it in a simple and easy to understand format. That said though, it might be good to watch a few of the earlier episodes to understand the character personalities as they aren’t thoroughly expressed or visited in the story. I personally haven’t watched all of the seasons, but the story was still understandable and enjoyable even though I didn’t know some of the events that had occurred.
The plot was intriguing as Twilight is a newly crowned princess and wants to learn how to be a good leader. Without giving much spoilers, I did enjoy reading about how she goes to meet other ponies and ask her friends for advice, however I think the message could’ve been driven home much better. Rather than a spell, I would’ve preferred to have read how she did something that taught her how to be a good leader, with her friends obviously.
The ending felt rushed and the beginning felt slow. Okay, so a lot of the beginning is used to introduce some of the characters and past events which is great because if you’re new to the show, didn’t watch it at all or just forgot it then that helps. But it started to speed up too fast near the ending so learning all that detail didn’t feel satisfying. The climax was pretty unsatisfying and some of the events near the end didn’t add to the story as much as they did to the word count.
Twilight isn’t perfect and she makes mistakes and wrong decisions just like any other pony. But she admits them and learns from them so she doesn’t do it again rather than shying away and hiding it in a closed memory book.
Twilight’s friends are another gem as they each have their own unique personality. We didn’t get to read about them a lot in the story, but when they did you could see just how caring they were towards each other. They really value their friendships with each other. Let’s not forget our baby dragon, Spike. He’s really a trustworthy and caring friend and I felt bad when he was upset.
This was a light hearted and enjoyable read. I enjoyed some parts more than others but overall it was good.
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Mystic's Review Shelf -
It's probably just because I've read too much fanfiction, but this wasn't my favourite pony story. I looked at it as an episode in book form, and it wasn't an episode I particularly loved. Gilda and Trixie were just a little too conveniently placed, like they needed a villain and decided to use those two without any real reason as to why two non-natives were in Ponyville at the same time, or working together. But it is just a kid's book, so I won't judge it too harshly.
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This was our second foray into My Little Pony books after we accidentally read
My Little Pony: Discord and the Ponyville Players Dramarama first (I think it's meant to be the last of the series). It was atrocious. I read these keeping in mind that they're based on a T.V. show, but I've seen that T.V. show and it's not terrible. It's the usual "let's learn a moral lesson whilst watching a cartoon, yayyyy!" kinda deal (and some of the comic books are quite funny), but this book was just trash. There was 0 story, it literally just resolved itself in the last page with no drama whatsoever, there was no moral, Twilight Sparkle just runs around being a jerk to everyone until she stops. Whoopee.
I haven't asked the kids what they thought of this one yet. We've still got a whole box of these to go, I really hope the quality improves. -
A fun little book that explores Twilight's character a bit more.
It's got some minor highlights, like fleshing out Cadence's backstory, detailing how she became an alicorn.
If you're a fan of the Friendship is Magic TV series, G.M. Berrow's character-centric novels may be a good way to get more content out of the cast. -
I listened to this audiobook with my daughter. It was cute. I liked the way this was read. I've never seen the TV show, so I can't say if this is true to the show. The reader of the audiobook does different voices for the characters. That was my favorite part. This was a cute kids book. I liked it.
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3.5 stars
I forgot I've read this book. I remember liking it, but there wasn't too much story, like I was hoping for. But there's Cadence, so that's great. I wish there could be a tiny reference to this in the show, because I consider these canon. -
It's a super cute read.
As a big fan of the show, I hear the pony voices in my head as I read, which makes it even more fun.
The story was good enough to be an episode.
Definitely recommend it for little kids and MLP fans like myself. -
Excellent story.
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Kindergartener isn’t very excited about these. Light on pictures and basically the exact plot of an episode - so while we enjoyed reading together this isn’t his favorite series.
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I love the pony puns and they have some jokes in here for an older crowd (clean of course). Great build up to the story line, but short resolve.
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Good story but ending was kind of flat.
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SM
