A Tangle of Knots is a middle grade novel with a lot of ambitions. The characters are all interesting, the premise is interesting and the plot is fast paced and filled with action. The problem is that the novel bites off more than it can chew in the relatively few number of pages it calls its own. There are way too many characters and not enough time is spent developing them all. I understand what the novel intended to do with this set up but unfortunately, for me, it failed. This does not mean I didn’t enjoy the novel, I did. It was quite charming.I just think that it could have made a lot more impact, could have been way more solid had the author decreased the number of characters, things would have come together and clicked with a more audible (figuratively) click than they did. As it is, there were some characters who were well developed and others who weren’t. Toby, for instance, was shadowy, more shadowy than we needed him to be. “The Owner’s” motivations are blurry, what makes him the way he is, what changed him from the earnest young man we meet in the beginning. The children are well characterized as is Miss Mallory.The ending is a bit rushed and while things are resolved, there is still that feeling of being rushed. However, it just may be that because I am not the target audience, I am unnecessarily overthinking things. Younger readers who question far less than adult readers do will be entertained by this charming tale.
