The Girl with the Red Balloon {by Katherine Locke}

Title: The Girl with the Red Balloon
Author: Katherine Locke
Series: The Balloonmakers #1
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
source: NetGalley

When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She meets members of an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall—but even to the balloon makers, Ellie’s time travel is a mystery. When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process.

This book took awhile for me to get into. I don't know if it was the writing style, or Ellie's narration, but after I got into the story, I was drawn into the story.

The story is told in three POV's: Ellie, Kai, and Benno. Honestly, I probably liked Kai's the least. His seemed more like info dumps, and not things that actually moved the plot along. I think I liked Benno's the best, although his were also the saddest.

I liked our characters, but still felt meh. I didn't feel that I really connected with any of them. I think they could have been written to be a bit more complex. There seemed to be a lot more telling than showing. I wasn't really drawn into the story through the characters, if that makes sense.

The plot had me intrigued and is what kept me interested throughout the story. The magic system of the balloons, although at times a bit confusing, kept me intrigued. I wouldn't say this was so suspenseful or anything, but I liked it.

In general, I felt a little mediocre about this book as a whole. It definitely has captured my interest, so I will probably pick up the second one. It has potential, and I'm curious to see if that potential is fulfilled.

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