Rating: 
Summary: Just my kind of story
Review: A real page turner. I bought this book while I was reading Dumas' but, because I have read another Voigt's novel, Elske, I decided to put down the Dumas' (since I have arrived at somekind prolonged part) and picked this book.This book made my day!! Really happy to have bought it. Girl in adventure and subtle romance :)) just my kind of story.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment - Generic Fantasy
Review: After reading the reviews on this page, I had high expectations for this young adult fantasy novel. While Gwyn is an admirable heroine and the "Jackaroo" legend at the core of the book is a great plot idea, the overall story has many flaws. It starts slow, and there is no humor or romance in it--just a little adventure and mystery. My main complaint is with the characters. The two young boys, Tad and the young Lord Gaderian, have no personality and they don't act or talk realistically for children. Except for Gwyn, all of the characters are stereotypical and boring. Even characters who figure significantly in the story, like Burl and Cam, are totally forgettable, with no distinguishing personality features. The fictional world is also lacking in creativity. Called simply the "Kingdom," it contains the "Inn," the "Village" and the "King's City." Come on, we could think of better place names than that! The common people are oppressed by the wealthy Lords, but no explanation is offered for the root causes of this situation, what the Lords are really up to, and why even they can't leave the "Kingdom." The setup is flat and generic, with few imaginative details to make it come alive. There is a certain gritty realism here in that the novel depicts a bleak upbringing without material comforts and security. In this I'm reminded of Margaret J. Anderson's "Searching for Shona" and "To Nowhere and Back," which I recommend reading instead of Jackaroo. They also feature strong heroines in bleak fictional landscapes, but they are more convincingly written.
Rating:
Summary: A legend comes to life!
Review: Although I do not consider Jackaroo Voigt's best work, it is a masterpiece nonetheless. She gives us a charcter to love in the daring Jackaroo, a fearless personage whose role is similar to the Scarlet Pimpernel, or Robin Hood. Gywn is the hardworking daughter of the inkeeper of the Ram's Head, an inn which prospers in a time of hardship. The inn is patronized by a lord and his young son, who claim to be making a map of the northeastern kingdom. Gywn and the inn's servant, Burl, accompany the lords on their rounds of the kingdom and are caught in a sudden blizzard. Gywn and the young lord, whose name she learns is Gaderian, are stranded in an isolated cabin as the storm runs its course. Gywn and Gaderian become friends, and together speculate on the differences between the lords and the people to pass the time, Gwyn learning new things about herself in the process. While residing in the cabin, Gywn makes a startling discovery, which soon transforms her personality completely. The story is an exciting one of adventure and suspence. The fast-paced ending peppered with romance makes up for a somewhat slow beginning. Voigt's kingdom sequels, On Fortune's Wheel, The Wings of a Falcon, and Elske share subtle connections that add greatly to each novel. Overall, Voigt creates engrossing fantasy world targeted toward youth but appropriate for readers of any age.
Rating:
Summary: One worth the reading and rereading and rereading....
Review: Cynthia Voight is an Arachne of storyweaving!
The dusky warmth from a fireplace, seated content of a full stomach after supper... sit back, and succumb to this tale.
Yes, there is adventure, yes there is romance (as in the archaic use), and yes, a hint* of fantasy; but more importantly, this is a tale of and for all ages.
This is what I believe Tolkein loved best... After myth searching, dragon slaying, discovering new languages and worlds, and even after creating history... coming home. The Shire was exactly that.
Jackaroo cannot compare with Tolkein's works in its wide worth on any level, except its author's heart.
That is what this book is to me.
It is not one of sheer thrill, or complexity, or corniness (thank goodness!), but of heart.
And yes, I agree with all those that said it has a taste of Scarlet Pimpernel or Robin Hood... more like the idea of these.
Alright, enough of reading the reviews, go out and read this book! On the the third reading, be sure to gather your children, or your younger siblings, and start making a tradition of reading a chapter after supper... if your family will be patient enough to draw it out that long.
Rating:
Summary: One of Voigt's worse books.
Review: Cynthia Voigt is one of my favorite authors, but this book was not her best. Jackaroo is very boring at some parts of this book. I read this book for a summer reading book report and halfway through the summer I decided that I needed to choose a different book to read. Another thing that was bad about the book was that the pages were horribly bound together and as soon as I started reading the book, they began to fall out. If you do read this book, try to get it in the hardcover edition, because the book is not worth trying to balance all the pages as you read it. The only person who I would recommend reading this book is a person who really likes fantasy and andventure books, otherwise, I would skip it.
Rating:
Summary: just as good the second time around
Review: I had read Jackaroo several years ago--probably 12 or 13 years now--and only remembered the basic story when I read it again with my son. He's a 10-year-old boy, and in the first few chapters, he would ask, "When is it going to get good?"--for a boy his age, it was a rather slow start, but I enjoyed the descriptions, the setting up of the story. But once Gwyn was trapped in Old Megg's house with the lordling, he was hooked and many nights he begged for another chapter. And he didn't even mind that it had a mushy, romantic ending, which is saying a lot.
I loved the characters of Gwyn and Burl--I'm not quite sure what book one of the other reviewers was reading who said the characters were one-dimensional. And what's so bad about a nameless kingdom? It's not as finely drawn as Tolkien's Middle Earth, that's true--but then I wasn't reading it as a fantasy reader. I just like a good story with good characters, and Jackaroo certainly delivers that.
I do agree that both Tad and Gaderian were not much like 10-year-old boys that we see in 20th/21st century America, but that is not where they were living. They were living in a time and place where Gwyn was almost considered an old maid at age 16!
We are going to read On Fortune's Wheel next (the next Kingdom book) but will probably skip Elske because it's too girly. I've read On Fortune's Wheel before, and I'm looking forward to re-reading it as well.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, thought-provoking read
Review: I read this book many, many years ago for the first time and was so enchanted by it, I had to have my own copy. To this day, JACKAROO and the "sequel" ON FORTUNE'S WHEEL bring to the forefront what it was like to live in a period where, depending on what station you were born into, you stayed in that station. People who expect action out of two dimensional characters should try reading the "Pick your own adventure" books, because the plotline in JACKAROO is obviously too advanced. Let the book do what it's supposed to do: take you to a different place and time, regardless of whether or not there's action on every page.
Rating: 
Summary: Great start
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was a much stronger told story than Voigt's more experimental Orfe. All the characters get a chance to mature over the course of Jackaroo and enough loose ends are tied up by the conclusion to give the book a satisifying sense of closure while still leaving the Kingdom interesting enough to start off a series of book. I certainly will want to read more of the books in this series! The book would have been even better if Voigt had tightened up the first half of the book where she introduces Gwyn and her motivations for her adventures in the second half of the book.
Rating:
Summary: A great book! Romance and Adventure.
Review: I said that this book should be 4 stars because nothing really happened in the book. I really liked it though. It was intresting in the end. It is about 16 year old Gwyn who has made up her mind not to marry. When she is trapped with a strange lordling, she finds clothing like that told of the old story Jackaroo. Gwyn becomes that person. She only stops when soldiers are about to hurt the people close to her. Ever since Gwyn told in the story that Burl whould go in the village to find a girl to marry, I thought that he should marry Gwyn. I had that feeling for most of the book. This is a great book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting start for a great saga
Review: I've now read all the books in the Kingdom saga, and I must say I enjoyed it very much. The great thing is, all the books are connected, and you can see character traits from previous books in the new characters! Jackaroo is an interestingly deep look at the life of the Innkeeper's daughter, and how her voyage to help people becomes very dangerous. She is a strong and good character, and the supporting characters have depth. I especially liked her relationship with her brother, who seems bratty at first but becomes better, and their servant, who turns out to be more than he appears to be.
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