Liesl & Po audiobook

Every once in awhile, a children's book comes along that whisks you away to another world--and if you're very lucky, at the end of the story, it's one that also illuminates your own. Liesl & Po extends a delightful invitation to wizardry and adventure, but it’s also a gentle and poignant rumination on love and loss.Liesl has been locked away in her stepmother’s attic for a very long time, ever since her beloved father got sick. One night, a pensive ghost named Po appears in her room and lifts the veil between the everyday world and the one Beyond. What follows is a wonderful journey overflowing with heart and hope and humor.I was thoroughly charmed by Liesl, whose plucky courage and ingenuity are matched by the thoughtful, drifting Po and the hopelessly smitten Will, a young alchemist’s apprentice who accidentally sets off a troublesome chain of events when he misplaces a box full of magic. The trio is joined by an unforgettably madcap cast of characters, each with their own identities and worries and dreams, and the author deftly weaves all their interconnected threads together into a story that feels fresh and funny and thoroughly original.Not at all as mannered or as self-conscious as Breadcrumbs, which ultimately showed its seams perhaps a little too much, this fairy tale adventure is tripping with charm and written with exceptional intelligence and sensitivity. The author’s note indicates that the book was written in just two months following the sudden death of her best friend, and the extraordinary love behind that inspiration hovers wistfully over every page.*******************************************************************Excerpts:...he had imagined it perfectly: how he would come around the corner and see that tiny square of light so many stories above him, and see her face floating there like a single star.andHe might have begun to blur, letting the infinity tug on him gently from all sides, like sand being pulled by an eternal tide. He might have already begun the process of becoming a part of Everything. He would begin to feel the electricity from distant stars pulsing through him like a heartbeat. He would feel the weight of old planets on his shoulders, and he would feel the winds of distant corners of the universe blowing through him. *******************************************************************My heart swells with ineffable love for this book, which has instantly found its place beside classics such as Peter Pan and The Secret Garden--and yes, it really is that good. Between the dizzying adventures and the sly cleverness of the writing and the quiet emotion, Liesl & Po reminded me especially of Mary Poppins in a huge way—particularly in the moments when you catch a fleeting glimpse of something bigger than your own story and your own self.If there’s a child in your life or a child in your heart who still longs for shining adventure, Liesl & Po will take her there. It’s beautiful. It’s transformative. It’s magic.This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. A Note About the Book:I'd highly recommend obtaining the hardcover of this book if you can. The cover is gorgeous (click on it to enlarge and see for yourself!) and there are wonderfully simple pencil drawings throughout, some of which can be seen on the author's website here. It will make a spectacular gift for the right person for the holidays. Mwark.

A truly magical story! Liesl & Po will open your heart and make you reminisce on your childhood days when you believed in magic and when anything was possible.The first thing I noticed and fell in love with in this book was the wonderful illustrations inside it's pages:Also, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found under the dust jacket:These added greatly to the imagination and increased the charm of the story immensely. I loved the way the characters were defined in the images. They were exactly how I would have pictured them.The story takes us on a journey with Liesl and her friend ghost, Po, to bring her father's ashes to a house they lived in before her stepmother got in the picture. The same evil stepmother who locked Liesl in the attic since her father got sick - which was a year ago.This book held extraordinary characters. Each and every one of them were fascinating and I couldn't help but be enthralled by them. When I met Liesl, I was immediately drawn to her innocence and devotion. I really enjoyed her trek to get her father's ashes to their house and how all the characters came together in the most uncanny way. What I also found great was how every characters had a big part in the novel. It didn't necessarily have one main character, it had many and you get to understand and adore every one of them, as well as despise the villains.It didn't have the most unpredictable plot. It was actually pretty foreseeable from an adult standpoint. But this is a story that is written for children (9-12). Of course adults can enjoy this as well, much like the well loved Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Coraline and lots of others novels. The predictability of the plot never affected my appreciation of the book for a minute. The characters, the magic, the heartfelt moments were sufficient enough. It gave me the same feeling as when I curl up during the holidays to watch my favorite movies that I've seen a hundred times but never fails to make me laugh and smile.Liesl & Po is a an enchanting tale that will bring tears to your eyes and won't fail to make you smile. I look forward to reading this to my son in a few years.Ineffable!

If you don't have this on your to read list, put in not there right now. Ahem. Come around, everyone, and join me and my cat in this amazing review of a truly amazing book.[image error]Such a peaceful scene........my cat and me.I know that I don't write many five-star reviews, or even give out many five-star ratings in general, which I why I waited a solid day to let my feelings germinate about whether or not that this book truly deserved such high praise from me. And I can honestly one-hundered percent tell you all with absolute certainty that this book does. I honestly wish that more authors would write like Oliver does; even if they aren't strictly children's story writers like Oliver. Her writing is so prolific and gorgeous. Basically, kind of like what I said on my A Monster Calls review, she makes you think and opens you up to new ideas that would never had occurred to me before without experiencing it personally. That, in and of itself is one of the grew attributes of Liesl and Po. She makes you feel like you're actually right there, standing alongside Liesl as she hovers on not just the threshold of the attic where she's been kept for over a year, but also on the precipice about making a choice between staying with what she knows or becoming who she wants to be. Who she was before. When she makes her choice and steps out of the room with this upcoming quote, the realization is just as much of a breath of fresh air as it is to her: Perhaps that's how the sparrows did it too; perhaps they were looking so hard at the peaks and tips of the new rooftops coated with dew, and the vast new horizon, that they only forgot that they did not know how to fly until they were already in midairJust to add icing to this already delicious cake, she is able to weave together incredibly beautiful phrasing and then to come back and end them with such simple, matter-of-fact statements is altogether mind-blowing and beautiful in its own way: Time ticked forward. Stars collided. Planets were born and died. Everywhere and in every fold and bend of the universe, strange and miraculous things happened. And so it was, just then. I bow down to your wordy prowess, Oliver. And weep because I will never reach that same kind of level. I just said wordy, for pete's sakes. The plot and different POVs of Liesl and Po are also great. It just chugs along and always kept me entertainedas I read; there was never a point where I was totally bored. If I wasn't reading about Liesl and Po on their adventure together I was learning about the amazing Other Side from Po, being disgusted by Liesl's stepmother, and learning about all of the characters. Now, normally, all of those POVs just doesn't work, but without them in the story, I don't think the final scene would have had the same affect as it ending up having for me. I doubt that this will happen, but if the many point of views bother you or you think that they're boring, just wait for the ending of this novel and it will all work out. I sure as hell got a little misty-eyed by the end of this amazing little tale so, yes, have a couple of tissues to dab your eyes. It's not as gut-wrenchingly sad as A Monster Calls (another great great great story that you should all check out if you haven't already) but it still twinges the heartstrings in just the right way to get a reaction out of me every time I read that section.The famous poet Pablo Neruda (who is pretty much my favorite poet, and if you haven't seen any of his work you should really check it out) really helps to explain this book as a whole. From one of his most famous works Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines, he states, "loving is so short, forgetting is so long" Besides the great eloquence and sheer amazingness from that statement along, not forgetting the poem as a whole, that's really what this story is about. No matter how much you try, you cannot escape, cannot "forget", yourself; your true self. The Lady Premire will, for all her posturing, be that whiny, poor, fisherman's daughter. A little, blonde-haired, girl with a face to match her kind heart locked up in an attic for over a year will never stop being that bright, creative soul. A small ghost named Po, and a cat/dog who mwarks his way through conversation will, no matter how much the Other Side deigns to pull them apart; make them shadows of their former selves, will eventually return to the light, to who they were before. Even nature, the biggest, most complicated, and, yet, one of the most simple matters of our existence will go back to what it used to be-what it should have been. However, whether that ineffable (if anyone has read this book already you may give me some props for that) part of you; your Essence, essentially, is good or bad is up to you to make as a child. Which is why I believe that childhood, and what you do with it, is so enormously stressed in Liesel and Po. That's the time where you make yourself, mould yourself into who you will always be, even if you change paths as an adult. A little boy who grew up wanting to be a fireman and is now an adult will always be, deep down, that little boy wearing an overly large fireman's jacket and bright red hat; maybe even holding a whistle, strutting around the house proudly displaying that he is the protector of that house. Maybe he does become a fireman/police officer as an adult, but he will almost always be a brave soul, even if that little boy grows up to be a marketing salesman. Another girl *cough cough* me *cough cough* who was always ran around catching frogs in her muddy little stream, attended animal adoption gatherings like it was a party, and was enamored with doctors shows and watching surgeries even from the age of seven, will probably do something in the medical field as an adult. Even if she doesn't she will most likely always be a kind and caring soul. Childhood is something that's enormously precious to each and every single one of us, and since most children won't exactly understand that if we tell them, and that mostly ruins the point of childhood; that soft, brilliant, innocence, it's our job as adults to just give them the nudge in the right direction. They still might make it there without us, that's one of the great attributes of children, but isn't that the point of life? One of the points that Oliver tries to teach? Why even claim that you have life if you do nothing with it? Nothing productive that changes the world- whether it's by drawing a small ghost paintings of trains with wings and honoring your father's final request, or giving a small little boy a hat who looks like his ears are cold even if it means chasing him across the country to do it? It's your life, folks. Do what Oliver suggests in this book first by reading it, understanding it, then doing it. You never know what may come of it. Thank you all for joining me in this little chat. You may pet the pet owl on your way out:[image error][image error]And if you don't want the owl, you may also have this kitty cat:[image error]

Coincidences; mix-ups; harmless mistakes and switches. And so a story is born. I usually do not read children's books, but when my good friend, Wendy, told me about it, I knew I couldn't resist. And I'm so glad I didn't. This book has that unputdownable quality to it. Lauren Oliver, this is the kind of magic that I fell in love with when I read Before I Fall.Liesl is a young girl locked in an attic by her evil stepmother. It has been almost a year since she left the attic, let alone stepped outside the house. One day her father dies and she, sadly, was not allowed to say goodbye to him at the hospital. So, for three days she does not light her oil lamp and or draw. It is then that she meets a lonely ghost named Po, who lives on the Other Side. Meanwhile, there is Will who is also horribly mistreated by his adoptive parent, an Alchemist. He is sent on an errand to deliver the Greatest Magic in the World to Lady Premier, but takes a detour to Liesl's house as he usually does, which leads to a mix-up. As fate would have it, Liesl ends up in possession of this Great Magic. She along with Po, Bundle, and Will travel on a journey where they discover friendship, say goodbyes, and find a new and brighter beginning. This book was very charming and I'm quite impressed with Oliver. I found the characters Liesl, Will, Po and Bundle to be very lovable and I constantly worried for their safety. They'd all been dealt very sad cards in life and I kept thinking, "Those poor children. Give them to me. I would love them." The mistreatment of children is just something that deeply bothers me to the core. But through all their difficulties, I loved how they kept on moving forward. Even when situations seemed very bleak, they did not give up. It reminded me of the 1995 version of The Little Princess . I simply adore that movie and the main character, Sara, possessed the same fighting spirit of Liesl that I looked up to as a small girl. Sometimes awful things happen to you in life and it can be hard to pick yourself up, but you must, but more importantly, you can do it. It's a wonderful message to present to young people. This is definitely a story I see myself reading to my kids when they are older.More reviews and more at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

****Re-read in December 2019!Loved it even more the third time around. This is such a special book to me and it's a perfect winter read. :)______________________________________5 STARS!! Now that was entertaining!It is easily one of the BEST books I’ve ever read and has now become one of my favorites of all time! This was such a cozy and magical read. I wish I had read it in the fall or winter. It would’ve fit perfectly with either of those seasons.The first thing I have to mention is that this is a pretty damn dark book and grotesque at some points and I loved every ounce of it. I tell you, I’m sick in the head haha I love my dark middle grade reads. Not only was this dark, it was also touching and heartwarming at the same time. I found myself reaching across my bedside table for a tissue every so often (I still have tissues on my bedside table because I’m still under the weather.) and when a book can tug at you like that, it’s a gem! I loved all of the characters, even the nasty, evil ones. This book is 307 pages but feels like it was 600 at least, but I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. It was paced beautifully and almost every character got their moment of development, which made the story much more magnificent. Lauren Oliver really outdid herself with this one, it was written amazingly. Liesl, Po, and Will are the MAIN characters of this book, but the other characters might as well be main too because as I said, almost everyone had their POV and usually that bogs a story down for me and makes me lose interest in the story but in this book, it did the exact opposite. It made everything even better and I didn’t want it to end. Just a little side note: I had my music on shuffle while I was reading the last 100 pages of this book and right when I was reading the LAST page, “Can’t take it in” by Imogen Heap began playing and holy crap it fit the ending PERFECTLY! That really made it an even better reading experience. This book features: a strong twelve year old girl, a spunky genderless ghost, another brave young boy, a cute little cat-dog spirit, murder, mayhem, suspense, dark-comedy, adventure, heartbreak, darkness, and plenty of magic. If any of those things above interest you, PICK THIS BOOK UP NOW!I’m waiting for this to be adapted into a movie. It would be perfect. :-)- Richard

“A Tale about a mix-up that changes several characters’ lives forever!” For many years now, I have been reading the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling and I really enjoyed every single one of them! Now, I have found this quite unusual book (thanks to my friends!) called “Liesl and Po” by Lauren Oliver along with illustrations by Kei Acedera and boy, was it an enjoyable ride that I would not mind reading about again!The story starts off with a young orphaned girl named Liesl being able to see a ghost named Po along with its cat/dog companion Bundle and how she became fast friends with the ghost. As the story unfolds, we are also introduced to a young orphaned boy named Will who is an apprentice to a well-known alchemist and how he was sent on retrieving an important box that contained great magic made by the alchemist. Unfortunately, Will accidentally mixed up the box containing the great magic with another box that had Liesl’s father’s ashes in it! To further add to the mix-up, after Po tells Liesl that her father, who had died years ago, wanted Liesl to put his ashes near the old willow tree at their old home, Liesl decided to go on a journey to her old home to put her father’s ashes near the willow tree, when in reality, she had the box containing the magic created by the alchemist! Understanding the story so far? Do not worry; it will start making sense when you read this book! The reason why I mentioned “Harry Potter” earlier was because this book was really similar to “Harry Potter” as both books have fantasy elements, an intense story and gorgeous illustrations that accompany the story. Probably the best thing about this book was Lauren Oliver’s writing style for this story as each chapter focuses on a different character, but each character arc slowly builds up to a larger story towards the end. Lauren Oliver has done a brilliant job at developing each character in this story as we feel sympathy for both Liesl and Will as not only are they orphans, but they are hunted just because they were carrying a box that supposedly has great magic in it and they did not know about how important the box was. I also loved the supernatural elements in this book as there are ghosts and magic galore and it really brings a creative streak to the story (especially for me since I love reading about supernatural elements!) and having a ghost as a best friend was a truly unique way of telling a ghost story where the ghost actually helps the main character! Kei Acedera’s illustrations are reminiscent of the illustrations in the “Harry Potter” books and they are extremely beautiful to look at. I always loved the two page panels of the illustrations done by Kei Acedera, especially the image of Liesl’s old home as you can see a gorgeous looking willow tree near a pond on the left side of the page and then an old moss covered house on the right side of the page. The black and white colorings of the illustrations really bring out the dramatic tensions shown in the story and make the story even more effective to read through.The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because I felt that there were many scenes where the book moved too slowly in pace. The beginning started off really slow and I was waiting for something exciting to really happen to the characters. It was not until the second half of the book that the story really started to pick up and even though I loved the second half of the book, I wished that there were more dramatic scenes regarding the characters.Overall, “Liesl and Po” is definitely one book to check out if you are a huge fan of the “Harry Potter” books and you also love children’s books that deal with supernatural themes! Since this is my first book by Lauren Oliver, I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her works in the future!Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book BlogI would like to thank my Goodreads friend, Brenda for recommending me this book!

I must surrender my breath as it is threatening to choke me with all that this book put me through. Lauren Oliver's Liesl and Po is a beautiful, painfully moving declaration of love, loss, yearning, despair and discovery. It is about a sad and lonely but hopeful and pretty little girl called Liesl who, with the help of her ghost friends boy-or-girl-but-most-likely-boy, Po and cat-or-dog-but-most-likely-dog, Bundle and young-but-poor-and-recently-homeless-former-apprentice, Will, sets out to lay her dearly departed father's dust in peaceful rest at the "pond by the willow tree". There's a lot going on in this book. Its so heart-wrenching - and I don't like using that expression because it is so overused but this book is...There's so much wanting and wishing; some grand, some mischievous and some devastatingly simple. What struck me most was how knowing Oliver is of the human heart and all of its nooks and crannies. Not that its hard to understand ourselves (although it is), but her intent is so clear that it is because I know exactly what the characters want and need that my own heart broke. Liesl wishing her father back, Po finding again what it is like to feel and remember, Will looking for someone, anyone, to think more of him than useless...Mo, ever grieving his long lost sister; the alchemist, hungering for his long overdue glory; the Lady Premiere denying her shameful past...so much running from and racing to, all desperate, lost and determined in their own way.The writing is exquisite. Oliver's language is soft and poetically abstract. She compels us to live in her world where time and space are both infinite and palpable; where one dies and dissolves back into the universe and becomes part once again of stars and space dust; where one has an Essence, within which one can hold another...a world so vague in its rules and regulations but so lovingly written that we know almost exactly what she's talking about...know what I mean? Like how someone rambles on, trying to describe something and failing at words but it doesn't really matter because you understand completely before they even get there. Reading Delirium, I knew Oliver was a good writer, but Liesl and Po has nearly no faults. There is one particular scene where she opens up a pocket of possibility, narrative but then emotional, and with a single blow dashes it to pieces before your very eyes. No, not dashes, because there's no mess, it leaves no fragments. She simply wills it gone and with it my breath. (view spoiler)[Its the scene when Po and Bundle, for just a sliver of a second, become real...and I thought...oh, but I didn't even have time to hope -- (hide spoiler)]The plot is a tangle of journeys; different intentions, good and bad, urging the pages on. There are several story lines playing simultaneously but it is impressively and neatly synchronized. The navigation throughout the interweaving narratives is seamless. We never seem to forget where characters leave off; each resume effortlessly. The book moves like a movie (only in that it is so visual and even) -- which is fitting as the book begins with really cool, movie-like credits. Let me gush about the illustration, just for a moment...they were beautiful! Gorgeous! Who's ever idea it was to open the way this book opens seriously deserves a raise. It isn't exactly brilliant (we should try not to throw that word around so carelessly), but it was very nice, and it certainly put a smile on my face. Its incredible how much disdain and malice an artist can infuse in the slight tilt of a woman's head, or how the smooth flow of a young girl's hair around her ear and down her shoulder can make her so real and endearing...I'm going to buy a copy of this book. This is one I know I'll be revisiting in the future. Its an easy read; it goes so fast you hardly believe where all the pages have gone. But it really does reach out and hit you in the heart (wink, wink). Liesl and Po is a triumph...well done, Oliver. Well done, indeed. You say this story was your confession...here is your absolution.Also, Mwark. Is that not the best invented animal sound you've ever come across? ---Excerpts:Coincidences; mix-ups; harmless mistakes and switches.And so a story is born.-It was snowing, and late, and already getting dark, and as Will passed by Kevin Donnell's house, he had seen a door flung open. He had seen light and warmth and the big, comforting silhouette of a woman inside of it. He had smelled meat and soap and heard a soft trilling voice saying, Come inside, you must be freezing....And the pain had been so sharp and deep inside of him for a second that he had looked around, thinking he must have walked straight into the point of a knife.Looking at the girl in the attic window was like looking into Kevin Donnell's house, but without the pain.-Po had never seen a ghost cry before. There were no actual tears: just quivering little dark spots, like shadows that pushed apart the atoms of Liesl's father's face, temporarily revealing the starry sky beyond. Ghosts, even the newest ones, just weren't held together very tightly.

so. cute.I recieved an ARC from a teen library group that I'm on. :D So, first things first: I have wanted an ARC forever. I have always dreamed of it, wanted to see the typos and unfinished artwork, wanted to be one of those people who gets to see the story first. And finally, I got one.I'd hoped that it would be amazing. But I promised myself, even if the story stunk, I would still keep it on my bookshelf. It would be an ARC, mine, something to be proud of. The truth is that I had nothing to worry about. Liesl and Po was a great introduction to the world of ARCs, and a delightful book to read.The basic story is simple: Liesl lives alone, locked up in her attic by her cruel stepmother. One night, Po, a ghost, arrives, accompained by his half-cat, half-dog pet, Bundle. Liesl and Po become friends, and Liesl asks Po to venture into the Other Side (the land of the dead) to find her recently deceased father. Po does, and finds that Liesl's father wants nothing more than to be placed beside the willow tree, thousands of miles away, beside his late wife.The basic concept is a bit cliched, and when I saw that Liesl was locked up in her attic I rolled my eyes. Fairytale cliche one, in my opinion--locked up girl, not knowing what to do with herself but reading her way out of situations and scheming about how to get out. But Liesl turned into so much more than that. She was strong, inquinstitive, funny, and creative. She was truly very strong, but also a bit nutty (which more than one character remarks upon).Po was less developed in terms of the main characters. To tell you more about his back story -- well, I can't (major spoilers). But he was still funny and cute. My favorite line of his was from about page 3:"Are you here to haunt me?" Liesl asked.Po sighed. He hated when humans thought ghosts existed only to jump out at them, hide behind abandoned wearhouses and scare them."No," he said finally. "We have better things to do with our time."He was probably the cutest character in the story. :)Will was equally well developed, but then I come to my problems with the characters. The minor characters were all a bit cliched. There was evil stepmother Augusta, complete with murder, a rotund body and an icy daughter; thickheaded Mo, soft and sweet; the Lady Premiere, who was like a stepsister; and then the alchemist, who seemed a bit Jack Frost-esque to me. The characters were cliche, but they were a bit obvious.They all seemed to fall into the same character holes: sweet, slightly naive and thickheaded; evil and mean with almost no reason (Augusta had no reason, really, but the Lady Premiere did), and wanting revenge and being dasterdly.I'm probably going too deep -- the book is MG, and the characters are developed well enough that you still like them -- but they seemed a bit too obvious.Onto the plot. I thought the plot would be cliche when I read the description (which by the way is different then the one on my ARC, HECK YEAH), but it wasn't. Oliver's lyricsm was on full blast, with goregous descriptions of scenery and characters. Sometimes the lyricsm seemed a bit much, like Oliver had written it that way since lyricsm was her "trademark". After Delirium, Oliver's last novel, I was worried about her next book.But she triumphed. The book is a cute, fun romp full of twists and turns and a story I definitly would have enjoyed when I was younger. I still enjoyed it, though, and I think teens would still find it a fun, quick read.Now, the part where I get to brag and talk about funny things in my ARCs. On the back, where the Library of Congress description is and such, Lauren Oliver's name is wrong. :P She's credited as Laura Schedenfrude. Apparently she changed her name right before the book went to print. XD It's a small mistake, but it was still funny.There are also some cool tidbits, like on one page there is no art and instead gray boxes saying "ART TO COME"; the author and illustrator bios are missing and replaced with "LAUREN OLIVER BIO TK" (not sure what TK stands for; "To Come" has no K), and most of the art are sketches. It's obvious because there is some finished art, and it's a thousand times more clear and fleshed out then the rest. So, to finish up, I recommend getting Lisel and Po the second it comes out. ;D Lauren Oliver has triumphed again, and I think she has returned to her "groove", especially after so many people disliked Delirium. A cute, fun, middle grade romp that's sure to be a delight for everyone, filled with Oliver's goregous writing and a clever plot.

Termasuk buku tercepat yang aku selesaikan. Cuma dalam 3 hari yeyy. Page turner, karakternya lucu, si Will yg jatuh suka ala2 anak kecil sama Liesl wkwk, si Liesl yg polos tapi gemesin, Po dan Bundle si karakter hantu yg banyak berperan juga dalam cerita ini, karakter2 pendukung kayak Mo dan kucingn

When I saw this was a nominee for the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, I decided to listen to it on audio. I loved it! It was reminiscent of Roald Dahl's work as well as Kate DiCamillo's "Tale of Despereaux". Such a sweet story, but not sugarcoated and full of cliffhanger moments. Liesl has been imprisoned in the attic by her evil stepmother after her father's death and is befriended by a ghost, Poe, and its pet, Bundle (Mwak!). There is a delivery mixup of wooden boxes resulting in a a scramble for all the characters to end up at the same red house. It looks like the print version may have some delightful illustrations, so I will have to get a hold of that edition to see the story illustrated as well. Highly recommended!

This ia a very charming book, though a total departure from BEFORE I FALL (which I also loved). In this old-fashioned tale of orphans, ghosts, and runaway apprentices, a little girl and her new friends go on a strange adventure which is by turns humorous, tense, and poignant. Such a good book! And it's illustrated, too. I read the Advanced Readers' Copy, so the art wasn't final, but it still looked fun, and I can't wait to get a real copy!

I've been waiting forever and then some to get my hands on this book and let me tell you - the wait has been well worth it. One of the most delightful and charming stories I've had the pleasure of reading in recent times! Pitch perfect in every way. I was shocked to see that Oliver, who also wrote the insipid "Delirium", can deliver such an outstanding book!Oliver's writing was, at least for me, one of the highlights of this book. Mildly reminiscent of Enid Blyton, it was extremely endearing. THIS is how a story from a child's POV, but also appealing to the adults, should be written. The gorgeous illustrations are another wonderful thing about the book and make the story all the more enjoyable to read!Highest possible recommendation for Liesl and Po. Must read.P.S - The unnamed, grouchy, old, cat-allergic lady might possibly be my favourite character in the book (Behind Mo, ofcourse :D )!

Ahhh I am so charmed by Liesl and Po!I was first delighted by the fairy tale storytelling of Plain Kate by Erin Bow, which I found excellent; Liesl and Po is a book worthy of the same praises.Liesl, Po, and Bundle are a quirky trio who are on an adventure together. Pair that with alternating chapters where we meet Will, and you'll be reading long into the night with a huge smile on your face.This is a perfect read-aloud for a classroom or family, particularly because of its middle grade classification. The teachers, parents, siblings, and grandparents reading this aloud will be begging to read just one more chapter right along with the children listening.A fantastic book by Lauren Oliver. I'm so amazed at how her writing has changed throughout her three novels - what a mark of an excellent author.