Rating: 4 out of 5 peaches
Review:
James and the Giant Peach is one of Roald Dahl's classics. It has all the charm and absurdism that you would expect from the mind that created Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Witches. This is a quick and fun read that is appropriate for middle-grade readers and above. Young ones may want to skip this one due to some of the scenes being a bit dark and scary. It is also recommended that the reader has a basic knowledge of Dahl's previous works before picking this one up. There are joke references in this book that will only land if you know the other stories. However, this is just a recommendation and not a law. The story is a perfectly self-contained story outside of the jokes.
What's It About?
This story is about James, a young orphan sent to live with nasty aunts, who makes a daring escape with a motley crew of insects. How? Simple. He is gifted a bag of magic alligator tongues by a strange man who pops up in the garden. These tongues can do wondrous things for James, but he drops them by an unyielding peach tree on the way to the kitchen. The next morning comes and a lone peach is growing on that tree. Bigger and bigger it gets until the fruit is bigger than the house. James finds a tunnel in the peach and, like any good child, decides to explore. This is where he meets his new insect friends and the wild adventure begins.
The journey brings obstacles such as; James' aunts being literal speed bumbs to the rolling peach, a massive drop into the ocean, hungry sharks and seagulls, angry cloud people, and eventually the New York PD.
The pacing is quick and the conflicts aren't drawn out. The story is just a rollercoaster of charming moments that is fun for all but the youngest of ages.
Extra Credit:
One of the mentions of previous works is the destruction of the chocolate factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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