Book Review: "The Candy Shop Wars" by Brandon Mul

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

Nate is a kid moving into a new town that seems small and dull. He isn't even impressed with his new friends but things change when he meets Mrs. White, the owner of a candy shop. She offers him and his friends candy with magical properties if they do certain tasks for her. But things get confusing as the tasks get more dangerous and they start to wonder who is trustworthy.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Nate is the main character. His family has moved to a new town and he has to go to a new school. He is less than thrilled at the prospect. His observations are often sarcastic and exaggerated.

Pigeon is the geek of the group. His parents are rather protective of him and later plays a role that involves snooping and acting.

Summer is a daredevil, not easily intimidated nor lacking in energy. She isn't afraid to get dirty, or to go crashing on a bicycle.

Trevor is slightly less distinct than the other three characters. Although later he shows that he is selfless and brave.

Mrs. White is the owner of the candy shop. She seems sweet and dull at first, until she reveals the secret of her candy.

John Dent is introduced in the beginning. He has a vast knowledge of the world that our characters enter.

Mr. Stott is an elderly man who has an ice cream truck. He plays an important part in the story.

PROLOGUE

The prologue doesn't show the main characters but instead John Dart. It paints a world that is full of questions, and pushed me right into the story. Why does he have so many weapons? What are “the council”? What is the “secret” they talk about?

PACING-SPOILERS

The pacing is decent. Once our characters get the candy, they get missions that aren't super fast, but definitely keep you anxious. Both involve sneaking and breaking into somewhere. Although we do get some action fights in the book later on, when some school bullies get involved.

MYSTERIES

The story doesn't just have action, but some mysteries as well. We learn of a Family called Haag but have to find the family member that is important. There is also another mystery presented early on that we know has to play an important part in the plot. As well as an incident that frightens Nate's mom that is later explained.

FORESHADOWING

There is good use of foreshadowing with both Dart and Mrs. White. Since we get Dart in the prologue and the reader keeps wondering when he is going to come into the story. And when he does, we don't get his name introduced, just his physical appearance. So we start wondering, wait, is this him? This helps push the reader forward. Also, a seemingly unimportant character gets a small part but plays a key role later on. See if you can spot them.

And the mysteries I mentioned above are foreshadows of things to come as well.

SPLITTING WAYS-SPOILERS

There is a point in the story where the kids are questioning Mrs. White. Pigeon and Summer admit they will no longer work for her but But Nate and Trevor agree to stay. I felt like this should have been slightly more dramatic.

LEAVING ONE BEHIND-SPOILERS

A character gets left behind in one mission and the surviving character doesn't react too strongly when he leaves them behind. But later it shows him breaking down and crying. I thought this felt out of the blue and some of these feelings of anxiety and hesitation should have been expressed earlier on.

THE FUDGE-SPOILERS

Mrs. White gives out fudge that dulls the senses of adults, so the kids can use magic around them. This gets so out of hand that the kids notice their parents are morphing into other people, less caring people; lazy people. I really appreciated seeing this aspect of our main characters: how they relied on their parents and loved them.

Too often the parents get neglected in childrens' books, either ignored or portrayed as a nuisance. Seeing as the relationships between parents and children are the most important in all of our lives, I loved how this was accurately shown.

CLIMAX

A large portion of the climax leaves most of the action to Nate. Nate's idea isn't revealed on on how to defeat Mrs. White, so the reader has to keep pushing on and guessing what is going to happen. And when the truth is revealed you have to recall an earlier event and then it all falls into place perfectly.

CONCLUSION

Mul creates an original story with likable characters, from the bold Summer, to the geeky Pigeon. The candy abilities create unique situations and the pacing is good; The characters have good back and fourths where Mul reveals his sense of humor. There is enough foreshadowing and hints at what is to come and Mul puts all of the pieces together rather well. I give “The Candy Shop War” four stars.

Book Review: "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

When Prosper and Bo's parents pass away their Aunt Hartlieb only wants Bo. So Prosper takes his brother and heads to the one place his mother told him all about, Venice. In the city he meets a group of kids that live by stealing and reside in an abandoned movie theater. Their leader is the Thief Lord, a mysterious boy name Scipio.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Prosper's one purpose is to keep his brother safe. It's important that his brother has nothing to do with any attempts at theft.

Bo loves exploring Venice and is happy as long as he is with his brother. But his growing admiration for Scipio may get him in trouble.

Scipio is the mysterious young man who wears a bird mask and brings the group various rare items for them to sale. Because of him they don't go hungry. But he may not be what he seems.

Hornet is a bookworm who takes the role of Bo's mother. She is also very fond of Prosper. She is blunt and forceful.

Victor Getz is the private detective who Aunt Hartlieb gets to find the boys. He is an odd person, who actually has a huge collection of beards so he can go into disguise.

PACING

The pacing is decent, because the story isn't laid out in a typical fashion. The goal isn't quite obvious. First we think it's keeping our freedom, then stealing an item, then it becomes something else. That helps push the reader along.

WHIMSICAL VICTOR

Oddly enough, my favorite character was not Scipio or Prosper, but Vincent the detective. I looked forward to his chapters the most. He was so odd and had a funny way of describing things. He never felt like a threat to the boys, and that was fine. There were other threats. So many of his reactions or views made me smile. It felt original.

TWISTS & TURNS

When reading the book, I wasn't quite sure where the story was going. At first, I thought it would be about the Thief Lord and his taking of a job. There's a revelation that destroys that idea. So then you think it's going to be about Prosper keeping Bo safe from his Aunt. But then the job is back on, but it doesn't lead to where I expected it too. I liked this aspect. Although near the end, it became more predictable.

EXTRA CHARACTERS

There are two other boys, Mosca and Riccio, who I don't really feel add to the story. The relationships are mainly between Bo, Prosper, Hornet and Scipio. They just aren't distinct enough for me to describe or important enough to the story to get a mention.

THE FATE OF BARBAROSSA

When the merchant Barbarossa impulsively uses the stolen item, he gets a horrible surprise. There is much time spent on fixing his problem. I knew almost immediately what this was going to be, although I had to wonder why I was supposed to care. This character was basically a jerk. Then I thought it was showing sympathy for Aunt Hartlieb, which would be kind of nice. But since we find out it all turned out terrible, I don't know exactly why it was so important, taking up multiple chapters.

THE FATE OF SCIPIO-SPOILERS

Turns out Scipio's father is a jerk and his home life is hell. So when he discovers the item that he was sent to steal could solve all of his problems, he takes it. He doesn't really think of the consequences. I kept expecting this to be undone somehow. The idea of running away didn't seem like a victory. I would rather Scipio had reconciled or stood up to his father. But I suppose this wasn't really possible, as the man was painted as rather two dimensional in his evil characteristics.

RECONCILIATION-SPOILERS

I wanted more scenes with Scipio and Prosper near the end. But instead we just see Scipio go off and get a job. It felt lacking to me.

CONCLUSION

Funke creates some likable characters, in the enchanting world of Venice. And their fondness for each other feels real and the adventure they get drawn into feel original. Even though I am less than happy with the ending, I would still give “The Thief Lord” three and half stars.

Book Review: "Doctor Aluminatus" by Martin Booth

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

When Tim and Pip move into a new house with their parents, they discover a strange boy, Sebastian. Sebastian looks like a kid, but it actually much older. He explains that its his job to stop Pierre de Loudeac, which is why he has woken. At first, they don't believe him, but eventually some strange events lead them to believe he is telling the truth.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Tim is blunt, honest, and sarcastic. He tends to be dramatic and exaggerate. He does most of the research and investigation regarding Sebastian's claims.

Pip is artistic but practical, and is usually the calmer of the two siblings.

Sebastian is calm, and acts more like an adult than a child. He speaks in a rather old fashioned way but it knowledgeable of the modern world.

Pierre De Loudeac is Sebastian's sworn enemy. He wants to make a homunculus and Sebastian is trying to stop him.

PACING

The pacing is rather slow, and the story doesn't really have any action until half way through the book. Sebastian has gone away, and it feels as though the reader should be seeing his perspective, instead of the siblings. When he returns, we only get a vague idea of where he was. I suppose it was supposed to be mysterious, making Pip and Tim investigate, but we never really figure out what he was doing, exactly.

THE PROBLEM OF SEBASTIAN

I think the major problem with this book is Sebastian. I realized I couldn't connect with him. He was born in the 1400s, so it makes sense that he would talk so old fashioned. But honestly, I expected some sort of “fish out of water” aspects to him; some misunderstandings about the current culture and his culture. But this is never explored. Nor does he have any awkward moments or wonder at the latest inventions. He simply explains he understands how it works because he is so smart.

Now it is revealed that Sebastian has awoken recently, in the past fifty years. But regardless of how many times he has awoken, his goal has been to defeat De Loudeac, not to alter the ideas and values he was born with.

Perhaps this part of him could have left him cold, not really having any friends. Simply waking, doing his job, and going back to sleep. Not quite human. But this is never implied either. He just feels lacking.

A NEW FRIEND

Because of the problem of Sebastian, I couldn't get why Pip and Tim wanted to learn more and put themselves at risk. There weren't any endearing qualities that would make me take such risks. I felt like they were investigating because the story called for it. It did help to learn more, but they never seem to figure out where this could lead to: danger.

To be fair, when this comes, they do wonder if they can trust Sebastian. But it's a mere second of wonder and seems out of the blue. They never doubted him before, not that they know much about him other than a dry history lesson he gives them. Even when reveals something personal its hard to connect to him.

OUR VILLAIN

We only get to see De Loudeac when he has shape-shifted, so I didn't really feel like I got to see who he was. I understand this is the first book of a series, but he just felt like a shadowy figure. And shifting into a cranky old man sure didn't make me fear or hate him.

EXPLICIT CONTENT

There are some rather detailed descriptions of ripped apart bodies, including a dog. And we actually see the dead people later one, including one who has had his head cut open. I honestly wasn't expecting this in a fantasy book for kids. Just something to note.

CLIMAX-SPOILERS

In the end we do get to face the homunculus. And although exciting, I thought Sebastian disappearing in the end was just another way to try to make him seem mysterious. But it this point I couldn't imagine there is much more to him. So I don't think it had the intended effect on me. It just felt awkward. Also, the dead bodies we so grossly witnessed, can apparently be undone. A reset button made their original scene feel cheap.

CONCLUSION

Alchemy and a time traveling boy are very promising ideas. Pip and Tim and likable enough. And although the pacing is slow, when the book starts it does get interesting. But I just never bonded with Sebastian, who feels so dull, even when he has shape-shifted into a dog. He is just so matter-of-fact when the reader wants to feel amazed. Sadly, Pip and Tim don't make up for that fact. I give “Doctor Aluminatus” two and half stars.

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