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102 reviews for:
Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery, a Very Strange Adventure
Lissa Evans
3.81 AVERAGE
102 reviews for:
Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery, a Very Strange Adventure
Lissa Evans
3.81 AVERAGE
engaging, touching, funny and intriguing. Stuart Horten is our main character who embarks on a strange adventure, a quest to find his great - uncles's long lost workshop full of wonderful things to do with magic. Delightful little book for younger readers but will also captivate older readers too. Shortlisted for the CILIP 2012 Carnegie Medal.
My son and I both really liked this book. I'm giving it 4 stars, but strongly considering going to 5. The characters were interesting and with the exception of having to explain WW2 and how things were in Europe, my son had a blast trying to figure out what would happen next.
Very enjoyable middle grade book. I will definitely be recommending this to my future students. It was a perfect mix of magic, mystery, & adventure, just as the cover says. This book was more wonderful than I expected! The writing was top-notch; Evans has a way with words. It's a very quick read and utterly unputdownable. I look forward to the sequel.
This children's novel is set in England. When 10-year Stuart's family moves back to the town his father grew up in, just at the start of summer vacation, Stuart looks for ways to amuse himself. When he discovers his father's uncle was a magician and went missing years ago, he is intrigued and wants to know more about the man. Trying to hide from the triplets next door, April, May and June, Stuart looks for ways to learn more about his great uncle, and is surprised when magical things start to happen to him.
Stuart's father is a bit absent-minded and his mother just wants him to be happy, so his escapades as not too hard to manage with them. He has bigger trouble avoiding the menacing Jeannie and her sidekick and figuring out where he needs to go next.
A novel with mystery, adventure and magic, this will capture the young reader.
Note that it was longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in the UK for 2011.
Stuart's father is a bit absent-minded and his mother just wants him to be happy, so his escapades as not too hard to manage with them. He has bigger trouble avoiding the menacing Jeannie and her sidekick and figuring out where he needs to go next.
A novel with mystery, adventure and magic, this will capture the young reader.
Note that it was longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in the UK for 2011.
Quick, fun, nice to have a story about STAGE rather than REAL (mostly) magic.
Colin loved it, and I really liked it, too. A fun read with an exciting ending.
What an enchanting book! It reminded me of a mix of the Mysteries Benedict Society and Escapes from Mr. Lemoncellos liberty with a dash of a Series of Unfortunate Events tossed in for good measure! That may not sound fantastic at first but I assure you this little book is delightful and well worth a read even by people older then the main target audience! My only real complaint is that it is to short! I want to know more and I can’t wait to pick up the sequel!
Great mystery for intelligent kids - the characters are flesh-and-blood, not just caricatures of kids. Makes one wonder if there is real magic? It sure seems so ...
Stuart Horten, aka S. Horten or "Shorty Shorten" has moved to Beeton at the beginning the summer. Which is terrible. With no time to make friends Stuart is looking forward to a long lonely summer vacation, and Beeton seems to be a quiet town. That's until he finds out about his great uncle Teeny-Tiny Tony Horten, magician and creator of the most mysterious and magical contraptions.
The story follows Stuart as he discovers clues left for his lexigraphically inclined father and finds himself on the trail of his Uncle's mysterious disappearance many years before. The story is fun, would be a good read for kids who enjoy mysteries, stage magic and secret codes. Would be a good first book for readers who aren't quite ready for the Mysterious Benedict Society.
The story is imaginative and while containing some of the regular "growing up" tropes, had some unique characters and a few interesting twists to the story.
The story follows Stuart as he discovers clues left for his lexigraphically inclined father and finds himself on the trail of his Uncle's mysterious disappearance many years before. The story is fun, would be a good read for kids who enjoy mysteries, stage magic and secret codes. Would be a good first book for readers who aren't quite ready for the Mysterious Benedict Society.
The story is imaginative and while containing some of the regular "growing up" tropes, had some unique characters and a few interesting twists to the story.
