Liesl & Po

Author: Lauren Oliver

Format: Hardcover, 307 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins (October 4^th 2011)

Indonesian Publisher: Mizan Fantasy, 320 pages (April 2013)

Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice, until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10425811-liesl-po?ac=1).

Review:

TIMELESS AND MAGICAL

This book is amazing, the illustrations are stunning, and the whole plot is unpredictable. One of my favorite children books ever. I cried many times while reading this book. It's heart-warming and funny at the same time. Made me missed my childhood and the adventures. Liesl is a strong little girl with all the difficulties come to her life. Neither has mother nor father and lives with her wicked step mother who locks her in the attic room in her own house. However, being friends with a ghost and his ghost cat-and-dog-alike pet (Po and Bundle), and Will (an Alchemist's student) makes her stronger. Together they take a long journey to bury Liesl father's ashes beside her mother's grave under a willow tree. The ending was very sad when Liesl has to be separated (again) with her father's spirit, Po, and Bundle. And the writer's note behind the book was.... very true.

“. . . Liesl & Po is the embodiment of what writing has always been for me at its purest and most basic - not a paycheck, certainly; not an idea, even; and not an escape. Actually, it is the opposite of an escape; it is a way back in, a way to enter and make sense of a world that occasionally seems harsh and terrible and mystifying, 

And, of course, it is a way of finding a happy ending - even, or especially, when the happy ending is denied me in real life. Let it be an escape for its readers. For me, it is a way of not letting go.”

I usually don't like horror genre, but the ghosts here are very adorable and nice, not frightening at all. This book is recommended to.... EVERYONE who loves children books. Salute to miss Oliver!!