The Tale of Despereaux

This is a lauded book, a Newbery Medal winner, so I was really looking forward to reading it. But while it was fine, I was not nearly as impressed as I was expected to be. I've read a good amount of children's fiction, both as a child and as an adult, and I wasn't particularly captivated by this story. And ultimately, light wins out in the end, but most of the book is very dark and cynical. That's not to say that children need to be shielded from all darkness; I just didn't find the book charming enough to outweigh the more sinister aspects.