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mscoutj's review
3.0
This was actually a pretty good story. A young boy, Ludlow, on the run from abusive parents meets up with a mysterious stranger, Joe, who buys people's secrets from them, along with their junk. He is a secret pawnbroker. Life is bad, then it is good, then kinda bad agin before the clever ending. Saluki just might be my favorite character this year...
avanders's review against another edition
4.0
Ludlow Fitch, a young boy (somewhere around 11-14) lives a hard life in the City, where his parents have taught him to pick-pocket for his and their livelihoods. When his parents and the dentist, Barton Gumbroot, try to pull his teeth out, one by one, for a small profit to his parents, Ludlow escapes his parents and the City and finds himself in the small town of Pagus Parvus.
There, he meets local tyrant Jeremiah Ratchet and the new secret pawnbroker, Joe Zabbidou. Zabbidou takes on Ludlow as his assistant and Ludlow begins to learn what a secret pawnbroker really does, why, and how the people of the world are impacted by it.
Zabbidou and his Black Book of Secrets, of which Ludlow becomes secretary and keeper, infuriate Ratchet, who sees his power slipping from him in an intolerable manner. Ratchet and his efforts to undermine and undo all the work that Zabbidou has done with his secret pawnbroking ultimately culminate in a town-wide confrontation, from which all the involved players will learn something.
Higgins creates a fast-paced, interesting, original, and fun tale. The story is subtly dark and subtly fantastic. This would be a great book (reading level) for older elementary school kids and younger middle schoolers. Of course Higgins' story can appeal to all levels, and I quite enjoyed my read!
There, he meets local tyrant Jeremiah Ratchet and the new secret pawnbroker, Joe Zabbidou. Zabbidou takes on Ludlow as his assistant and Ludlow begins to learn what a secret pawnbroker really does, why, and how the people of the world are impacted by it.
Zabbidou and his Black Book of Secrets, of which Ludlow becomes secretary and keeper, infuriate Ratchet, who sees his power slipping from him in an intolerable manner. Ratchet and his efforts to undermine and undo all the work that Zabbidou has done with his secret pawnbroking ultimately culminate in a town-wide confrontation, from which all the involved players will learn something.
Higgins creates a fast-paced, interesting, original, and fun tale. The story is subtly dark and subtly fantastic. This would be a great book (reading level) for older elementary school kids and younger middle schoolers. Of course Higgins' story can appeal to all levels, and I quite enjoyed my read!
directorpurry's review against another edition
3.0
CW: child abuse, alcoholism, gambling addiction
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I love it when middle grade books aren't afraid to get weird and creepy and a little bit political.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I love it when middle grade books aren't afraid to get weird and creepy and a little bit political.
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
This is a pretty cool book which several reviews have called Dickensian. Not exactly being an expert on things Dickens, I'm not sure I can comment one way or the other - though I will say it has that bleak, cynical and sort of gothic atmosphere to it, which is what I think they're talking about.
The gist is that Ludlow Fitch escapes the horrors of his parents and the City, and stumbles across the path of Joe Zabbidou, he of the eponymous Black Book of Secrets. See, Joe is a pawnbroker, but while he does trade in the usual sort of junk, he is also a broke of secrets.
The book alternates between first person narrative of Ludlow's memiors, excerpts from said Black Book, and third person - which is, ostensibly, the author piecing together the "true story" from fragments she's collected. Honestly, I think it could've worked either in all third person or, perhaps, first person except for the secrets bit (though since the secrets are recorded as they're told, you could even just have that as extended dialogue.)
One of the faults of the book is that the characters aren't really developed or defined enough - and this includes the narrator. The voices don't change enough - the first person bits sounding rather similar to the third person bits - and breaking up the narrative in this fashion sort of serves to highlight the fact that the author doesn't have the felicity to pull it off. (Felicity? I think the pseudo-Victorianism is wearing off on me.)
Ditto with the excerpts/secrets - there's not enough variety in language and representation, and it was annoying that each entry started off along the lines of "My name is so-and-so and I have an awful secret to tell." They just didn't sound like stories being told the way people would tell stories, if ya ken? (And now I've slipped into Dark Tower.)
Anyway...
I also wish that both Joe and Ludlow were developed more, that a lot of the mystery of Joe is based on the fact that he won't explain anything (a device which routinely irritates me), and that Jeremiah - the villain of the piece - was a bit less ham-handed.
The lack of real character development is even more important because, well, not a lot really happens. This is very much a character book, in many ways, so it would be nice for them to have some meat on their literary bones.
That said, it did have some interesting sort of commentary on humanity and society. As I said, it comes from a bleak and cynical place, but I can't really say anything strike me as particularly unlikely - just, as I said, a bit ham-fistedly handled.
And, overall, I did enjoy the story. It dragged a bit towards the middle, but as the story progressed I wanted to learn more about the town and the people and their secrets.
It only sort of whet my appetite, though, and never really satiated it. But maybe that's for the good, as it's a series and there's more to come?
I hope further installments improve in execution because, really, that's the thing that's mostly lacking, it seems.
The gist is that Ludlow Fitch escapes the horrors of his parents and the City, and stumbles across the path of Joe Zabbidou, he of the eponymous Black Book of Secrets. See, Joe is a pawnbroker, but while he does trade in the usual sort of junk, he is also a broke of secrets.
The book alternates between first person narrative of Ludlow's memiors, excerpts from said Black Book, and third person - which is, ostensibly, the author piecing together the "true story" from fragments she's collected. Honestly, I think it could've worked either in all third person or, perhaps, first person except for the secrets bit (though since the secrets are recorded as they're told, you could even just have that as extended dialogue.)
One of the faults of the book is that the characters aren't really developed or defined enough - and this includes the narrator. The voices don't change enough - the first person bits sounding rather similar to the third person bits - and breaking up the narrative in this fashion sort of serves to highlight the fact that the author doesn't have the felicity to pull it off. (Felicity? I think the pseudo-Victorianism is wearing off on me.)
Ditto with the excerpts/secrets - there's not enough variety in language and representation, and it was annoying that each entry started off along the lines of "My name is so-and-so and I have an awful secret to tell." They just didn't sound like stories being told the way people would tell stories, if ya ken? (And now I've slipped into Dark Tower.)
Anyway...
I also wish that both Joe and Ludlow were developed more, that a lot of the mystery of Joe is based on the fact that he won't explain anything (a device which routinely irritates me), and that Jeremiah - the villain of the piece - was a bit less ham-handed.
The lack of real character development is even more important because, well, not a lot really happens. This is very much a character book, in many ways, so it would be nice for them to have some meat on their literary bones.
That said, it did have some interesting sort of commentary on humanity and society. As I said, it comes from a bleak and cynical place, but I can't really say anything strike me as particularly unlikely - just, as I said, a bit ham-fistedly handled.
And, overall, I did enjoy the story. It dragged a bit towards the middle, but as the story progressed I wanted to learn more about the town and the people and their secrets.
It only sort of whet my appetite, though, and never really satiated it. But maybe that's for the good, as it's a series and there's more to come?
I hope further installments improve in execution because, really, that's the thing that's mostly lacking, it seems.
wordnerd153's review against another edition
4.0
A dark tale about someone who buys secrets and what happens to the people who sell them. The author's use of descriptive language was exquisite and made me feel like I was suffering along with the main character. I thought the explanation at the end for the Book of Secrets didn't quite synch up with the rest of the story, but overall this was an engaging read that was different from anything else I'd read in awhile.
ameliacook13's review against another edition
3.0
Although interesting, I feel we never really got to know Joe. The change from first to third person was unusual but continued with the theme that this was a true story.
fionareads2much's review against another edition
1.0
Boring from the start. no way I could get into it.
lemoon's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
neonnikki's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first read for #ayearathon's March Bench Warmers read-a-thon. It was super intriguing and the writing style was really good. It sort of felt Victorian, with just enough hint of horror. Not super fast paced, but I had to know how this one ended, and that kept me turning the pages. The characters could have been a bit stronger, but overall I really enjoyed it.