I tried to read this novel multiple times during Halloween, but always ended up putting it aside because I just couldn't click with the writing style.
Since it has been years from the releasing day, I decided it was about time to finally read it, an this time finish it.

After I got used to author's voice (it's still not my favourite) I enjoyed the story and my favourite part was the world.
I would love to visit it myself.

Overall, I think this is good middle grade story and I'd recommend it to younger audience.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. I will not be posting a negative review on Goodreads.

A beautiful book with a really good plot, lovely characterization and a very strong background. It was well worth all the time in the world!

This book was well thought out! The story never let me go and I was sucked up by the pages. The characters were intriguing, interesting and unique.

This book was well thought out and edited.
The characters were intriguing and i never felt like i was bored.
I would definitely recommend to parents

Mothers are disappearing. When Nell's mother is turned into a bird, she and her little brothers go to see a shopkeeper Duke Badger for help. She finds out that the coven of Dark Daughters have taken her mom and put her in a cage. Why? With Badger Nell and her little brothers travel to the Wicked Places, a land of nightmares to find a dreamer who can make Rose human again. Will they succeed?

In this amazing fantasy, there are talking animals, magic spells, evil clowns and animated skeletons. In this action filled story, with twists and turns, Nell becomes a fearless traveler. It is a delightful and engaging story which I couldn't stop reading!

If you have children who love to read, love fantasy, and enjoy travelling from one world to another, you definitely should purchase this book. I was intrigued by the very begining and recommend this story to those with kids that struggle finding a great story that is easy to understand, but not so simple to become boring. I found it to a great one to read with my 6th grader together. Great read!

I read a lot of middlegrade novels, mostly fantasy ones and I could not let this one go by without picking it up.
It was a quick and fun story, with a handful of diverse characters and a great lot adventure that reminded me a little of Jed and the Junkyard war! Highly recommend!

I liked it it was entertaining. I am going to buy it for my lilbrary.

Ah! I found a hard copy of this book recently and had to leave a review! I so enjoyed this fantasy! The characters were well developed. Loved the plot- children trying to save their mom. World building was well done- nicely detailed. Witches were really neat! It was just so much fun to read this story. Just magical from beginning to end. I think kids 6th grade up will love it.

I must admit that the cover of this book is what caught my attention on Netgalley. Look at how the different elements blend together, creating this sense of some sort of eerie fog hovering off in the distance. I love how the different dream elements are creeping in from the edges as the three children stand in the middle waiting for a confrontation. And don't miss the ominous, looming purple cloud. It really does a great job of setting the tone for the story that readers will encounter.

Unfortunately, I read this book months ago and got so busy that I did not get a chance to write a review immediately after finishing it. I'm terrible about keeping notes as I read, so only major details stick around when I get ready to write reviews. Maybe that makes my reviews more authentic? After all, don't we want to experience those stories that linger with us long after the covers have been closed?

For me, I found, The Fearless Travelers' Guide to Wicked Places to be best suited for younger middle-grade readers-- probably the 4th to 5th grade age range. Sitting at 384 pages, it might be a bit daunting for younger readers, but a good fan of fantasy/ adventure stories can easily over come the length. The confusing plot, however, will be a bit harder to overcome for a struggling reader. I remember running into a few places that made me pause and reread. I cannot honestly say if it was wording or maybe just descriptions, but something through off the flow. When I read books geared towards the kids I teach, I tend to imagine what they might experience as I read so I can be prepared for my recommendations. I also found a few places that I felt had pacing issues. They either moved too slowly to keep interest or sped through scenes that could have benefited from more development. The good news, though, is that the characters are different enough that readers looking for something "scary" will probably stay engaged by the novelty without running the risk of being kept awake at night from fear (no Stephen King quality chills here).

A very imaginative book, it will appeal to fans of Tim Burton and Neil Gaiman. Follow Nell and her brothers as they attempt to save their mother. Their journey takes them to Dream World where characters and readers meet the Dreamers and the Nightmares. While I feared the book would be too dark, it had just enough humor to make it bearable.

I had so much fun reading this book! I would highly recommend it to any middle grade readers - it is such a rip-roaring good time and so creative. It reminded me of Tahareh Mafi's FURTHERMORE and I think it'll appeal to a similar audience of imaginative middle grade readers and the young at heart.

The first thing I'll say is that this was a very interesting book. It is aimed for younger readers, but I found it so incredibly dark and in a way quite brutal and intense. It was beautifully written - a fiercely imagined world which was brimming with magic and folklore. This is definitely a book that is right up my alley, I mean firstly, witches. But going beyond that, it was a lovely tale of friendship and family, and moments of it reminded me of fairytales I read as a kid - and thinking back on them now, they were daaaaark!

This book has it all. From the gothic-like cover to the unique title, this book has already made the rounds in the middle school media center where I work. We have a waiting list 7 kids deep which is unheard of even when a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid comes out.

I love that this book connects on two distinct levels. The most obvious is the line where Nell discovers mothers missing suddenly and for no apparent reason. Everyone believes Nell is "off" but she perseveres and through grit, determination and a little bit luck and magic, Nell wins. The second line is the power of love. And when I mean second--I'm not being dismissive about it. Love definitely plays a powerful role. This so should be made into a movie but only if Hollywood gets the casting right and there is not a lot of artistic deviation from the plot

That cover is just begging you to pick this book up and open it, go ahead you know you want to. I truly confess that the cover is the main reason I picked up the book. Having an awesome cover makes recommending a book, to a tween especially, that much easier. The cover does represent the book in it’s creepy, magical manner. Many of the story elements are right there, the creepy witches, the skeletons, the clouds. I could use a few more of the weird dream creatures that the children encounter, but then I guess the cover would be too crowded and busy.

Sorry I couldn’t find a better summary and I’m not very good at writing them. That summary does give just the right amount of the essence of the story to make you want more though, so I guess it will do.

The story starts off a little weird, Nell sees a skull shaped cloud in the sky that she gets a bad feeling from. She then witnesses a shoe falling out of it. Nell starts to tell us about the unexplained disappearances of mothers in her quiet little town. After witnessing her mother’s disappearance, she finds the town recluse, Duke Badger, giving her and her brothers advice and help. He is a fearless traveler, and he is the one that understands what has happened to her mother and how to get her back. I liked Badger, even when he is leading them into trouble, he is always up front about it. And he always manages to get them out again.

I also liked Nell. She is considered rather odd by her classmates at the beginning of the story. Mostly because she can see everyone’s ‘inner animal’. By this I mean that she will be looking at someone and part of their body will suddenly morph into an animal. For example, someone’s head suddenly becomes a bear’s head. To make this ‘sight’ disappear, Nell has to say her full name out loud. This inner animal stuff happens a lot, so she is always stating her full name. But Nell is brave, and she takes her new found status as a fearless traveler well. It is Badger who helps her accept herself and her abilities.

The witches in the story are called the Dark Daughters, and they are super nasty. As are many of the creatures they encounter in the Dream world. Some are kind and helpful though. At times as they were traveling through the Dream World, I had to let me imagination take over and really work hard to keep my rational side in check. There were some mind bending concepts in the Dream World that I really had trouble with.

Altogether this was a good read, that often times read like a movie. In fact it would make a good movie, or TV show. I think that most tweens that like a scary, creepy fantasy will enjoy this one.

This book was right. It's concept is not original but good for younger readers. Reminds me of series called Well of Witches

This was such a fun read, it was quick, exciting and all around a good time. I don't read a lot of children's fiction anymore so I don't have much to compare it to, but from everything I have read this topped a lot of the books on that list. I really loved all the mythology shown and how there are different types of dreamers, I will definitely recommend this to friends.