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angiebayne 's review for:
The Boundless
by Kenneth Oppel
The Boundless is a train like no other. It is a city in itself. It is making its maiden voyage across the country. It stretches miles down the tracks and has 900+ cars. It includes Cornelius Van Horne's funeral car rumored to contain untold treasure and 80 circus cars. Will's father works for the railroad and will be driving the train. That leaves Will on his own for the trip. When he witnesses a murder, Will doesn't know who to turn to for help. Luckily Mr. Dorien, the circus owner steps in. He and young Maren, the tightrope walker, disguise Will as a spirit artist in order to help him make his way back to the front of the train. The villain, Brogran the breakman, wants the gold from the funeral car and has enlisted to the help of other train workers to get it. Will, Maren and Mr. Dorien must make their way to the front of the train and the funeral car before Brogan and stop him.
I like the claustrophobic feel of the train as they travel through the classes of cars. It adds a lot of atmosphere to the book. I did think the story was a bit of a mismash though. You have fantastical creatures like the sasquatch and the wendigo and the swamp hag. You also have the myth of the Fountain of Youth and the Portrait of Dorian Gray coming into play. Most middle grade readers will not have been exposed to Dorian Gray yet so that seemed like a real misstep to me. I thought the story would have been stronger without these supernatural elements, but they did add a bit more suspense and tension to the plot. Brogran was a bit one-dimensional and the ending was a little too perfect, but other than that it was a fun train mystery.
I like the claustrophobic feel of the train as they travel through the classes of cars. It adds a lot of atmosphere to the book. I did think the story was a bit of a mismash though. You have fantastical creatures like the sasquatch and the wendigo and the swamp hag. You also have the myth of the Fountain of Youth and the Portrait of Dorian Gray coming into play. Most middle grade readers will not have been exposed to Dorian Gray yet so that seemed like a real misstep to me. I thought the story would have been stronger without these supernatural elements, but they did add a bit more suspense and tension to the plot. Brogran was a bit one-dimensional and the ending was a little too perfect, but other than that it was a fun train mystery.