Furthermore

by Tahereh Mafi

Amazon Prices:

Paperback: $8.99

Hardcover: $18.99

Kindle: $8.99 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Audible: $26.95 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited) 

Before Reading Facts:

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi was published in 2016 by Dutton.

Page Count: 432 pages (paperback) 416 (hardcover) 402 (kindle)

Audiobook length: 08 hrs 12 mins

Chapters: N/A (Chapters not indicated)

Language: English (also available in the following translation: Portuguese)

Summary of Book:

“There are only three things that matter to Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and, most important of all, Father, who always loved her. It’s been almost three years since the day Father disappeared from Ferenwood with nothing but a ruler in his pocket, but Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’ll have to embark on one to find the other.

To bring Father home, Alice will travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver, who is an experienced guide with his own tangled secrets. It will take all of Alice’s wits to make it through Furthermore and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of uncertainty and loss.

Bestselling author Tahereh Mafi takes readers beyond the limits of their imagination in this captivating tale where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.” -Dutton

Author Biography:

“Tahereh Mafi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Santa Monica, California, with her husband, fellow author Ransom Riggs. She can usually be found overcaffinated and stuck in a book. You can find her online just about anywhere @TaherehMafi or at www.taherehbooks.com” -Dutton

Book Review:

Overall Book Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

After reading the Shatter Me series, I look for more works by Tahereh Mafi. I came across Furthermore, and picked it up because I was curios to know more about it. It was so much different than the Shatter Me books that I was fascinated to read something different by this author. 

This story was very different than anything I have read recently. The world Mafi creates for this story is so captivating, and the challenges she has Alice endure just had me speechless. I could not believe how in the world Mafi could have created such a world. It was just so interesting. I found myself continuing to flip the page cause I wanted to know more about this world. Reading this reminded me of Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Something that took me for a loop is the serious problems the main character undergoes. Her internal and familiar conflicts make her such a relate-able character and one that readers can sympathize with.  To a certain extent the story seemed “dark,” and I was worried what was going to happen to her. I found myself really wondering what it was she would find on her adventure and feared for her life. Her personal conflicts and struggles are those that I would expect my younger sisters to encounter and love that Mafi create a novel that expressed a young girl’s problems in a way where they could relate to it.  

The ending was surprising. I will not reveal what occurred to avoid any spoilers, but this is the first story that I have read in a long time with that type of ending. It was refreshing to read one like this after having read so many novels with various endings. This is a story that would be great to read together as a family. I can see this a story for both parents and children to enjoy together. 

Audible Review:

Narration Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

Narration by Bronson Pinchot

Pinchot’s narration at 1.0 speed was too slow for me. Starting at 1.25 speed, I extremely enjoyed his narration. His narration was not over-dramatic or over-the-top. I found his narration to be so well done and as if I were listening to a bedtime story told by a parent to their child. The best speed for me was 1.50. For those of us who like to multitask and listen on the go, I recommend listening at at either a 1.50 or 1.75 speed so one does not miss anything. For those who are listening while reading the book, I found 2.0 and 2.5 speed to be the best speeds. 3.0 and 3.5 speed was too fast for me, and I was missing a lot of what the narrator was saying and had to eventually slow down the narrator’s reading speed. 

Other works by this Author:

Novels

• Furthermore
• Whichwood 
• A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Shatter Me Series

• Shatter Me
• Unravel Me
• Ignite Me
• Restore Me
• Defy Me

Novellas

• Destroy Me
• Fracture Me
• Shadow Me

Novella Collection

• Unite Me