A review by aman757
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

adventurous reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a book I think my sister may have read in elementary or middle school. I used to see it pretty often on my mom's bookcase when I was a child, but I didn't read it when I was younger partly because of how big of a book it seems to be. However, what I often failed to realize is that so many pages are filled with sketches that the text, often times not even covering a full page, only comprises about 1/3 to 1/2 of the book. So for that reason, the book would likely be a good choice for late elementary or early middle school children wanting to begin challenging themselves with reading books that have a higher amount of pages. One aspect I liked about this book was the unique blend of sketches and narration it's author, Brian Selznick, utilized. I also believe the story does a good job imitating in a book form the type of earlier motion pictures it includes in parts as subject matter.

Yet another aspect I enjoyed was revealed in a later part of the book when Hugo and Isabelle discover that the toymaker from the train station is the famous film pioneer Georges Miliés who made the favorite movie of Hugo Cabret's father, Trip to the Moon.

And lastly, I like how the book bends genres in that it has many aspects of a graphic novel but maintains enough core elements to remain a written story first. I would definitely recommend this book for elementary or middle school readers, and also fans of film history and its early pioneers.