SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
When Stuart's family moves to a new town just when summer starts, he is left without any friends or anything to do. Then he learns about his great uncle and his mysterious past. Suddenly Stuart finds himself investigating the past, a missing person and a missing workshop.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Stuart is an only child of two smart, if slightly eccentric parents. He is short and kind of sensitive about it. He has a curious nature and is willing to put himself at risk to learn. I found him likable because he had so many instances where he was embarrassed or worried about being seen as silly. Like when he accidentally locked himself out of his house and when he gets covered in mud.
April is a next door neighbor. She and her two indentical sisters run a newspaper. She can be rather nosy and blunt. At first she just wants something to do to stem off the boredom but eventually she comes to sincerely want to discover the truth about Horton. Also she is crucial to the story as she helps Stuart out multiple times.
Leonora is an older, blind lady. She is the sister of Great Uncle Horton's fiance and is kind to Stuart. She is also a retired teacher. She is important to the story by revealing history and by helping April near the climax.
Jeannie is a magician and a teacher to Clifford. She is bossy and rather mean to him. She serves multiple roles in the story, including informing Stuart about the fire that destroyed a factory. As well as being the antagonist.
Clifford works for Jeannie. The burly man isn't too bright but wants more than anything to be a magician.
PACING
The book is a mystery book of puzzles, not an action story. Even so, after a brief introduction, Stuart is learning about his Great uncle Horton through a box with a secret compartment. So he goes off to investigate the old house.
From there he goes place to place, from a library, an old phone booth, and even a museum. In any moment where you are not finding a clue or looking for one, crucial information is learnt, like when Stuart is on a trip with his parents.
There are also a few clinghanger endings of chapters and paragraphs that help with the pacing as well.
HINTS OF MAGIC
There are hints that magic may exist in this world, not magic tricks. Early on in the book, Stuart visits a telephone booth, but he realizes it's broken—and it rings anyway. Also when Stuart learns about the Well of Wishes and that his Great-Uncle Horton vanished, it's mysterious enough to make you wonder if the cause is magical.
DAD & SON
The first clue we get is when Stuart see's a gift that his father got from Great Uncle Horton. I thought it was interesting that it all starts with his dad, and then Stuart finds a letter that was meant for his dad. But he feels that it was really meant for him because he was the one who found it.
Arthur doesn't come off as dramtic and narcisstic but instead we see a different side of him. A side that isn't practical like his parents, but actually quite inexplicable.
THE HORRENDOUS TEA PARTY
Because he has no friends, Stuart's parents arrange for him to hang out with his neighbors. Of course, they don't know that he has already had a run in with them, and it didn't exactly go well. But April shines in this moment; she steps up to defend Stuart when her sisters make fun of his parents.
APRIL'S MISTAKE-SPOILERS
When April comes along with Stuart to sneak into where another clue is located, he puts his trust in her. He gives her one of the special coins he has. But because of how dim it is, she doesn't realize when she puts the wrong size in the hole.
She ends up bending it and is furious at herself. She actually starts to cry. I thought how Stuart handled it was kind and mature, especially considering his previous feelings towards April. He admits to himself that he is mad at her, but knows expressing it won't help.
AN UNEXPECTED TRIP-SPOILERS
On the weekend before Great Uncle Horton's house is about to be demolished, Stuart's parents decided they are going on an inpromptu trip. Leaving April to enter a code in a safe before time is up. Suspense is added when Stuart realizes he made an awful mistake.
USE OF HUMOR
There were multiple points in the book where I found myself smiling. I loved the idea that April's sister's think she is the quiet one (when in reality she comes across as invasive and extroverted).
The whole scene near the climax with the bandstand was quite hilarious. The performances by the children sounded outright ridiculous and I couldn't help thinking how much fun Miss Evans had coming up with possible performance ideas.
When Stuart accidentally breaks something at a museum, his father's deadpan response was amusing as well.
TONY & LILY
Lenora serves as an imporant part of the story, as she reveals information about Horton and her sister, Lily. She tells of World War II and the air raids, how Lily and Horton both had hot tempers and about the Well of Wishes.
APRIL'S STUNT-SPOILERS
While Stuart was on his way to the old House, April decided the only way to preserve the safe was to prevent the construction workers from destroying it. She blocked the house and stood up on the roof while her parents pleaded with her to come down. Stuart ends up quite amazed at the bravery of his new friend. It's obvious he didn't expect it.
STUART'S WISH-SPOILERS
When Stuart finds the well of wishes, he daydreams about being taller. He imagines it would fix all of his problems but his dreams are cut short by April's cries.
He ends up having to make a decision whether or not to use the wish for himself or to find out what happened to Lily and Horton.
When April realizes what he is going to do, she is concerned that he won't be able to make it back. I thought it was a sweet scene between them, showing April's growth as a character as well as Stuart, who easily discards his own wish.
THE TRUTH ABOUT JEANNIE-SPOILERS
It turns out that Jeannie isn't just a a master magician, she is also the mayor of the town. I was surprised and I couldn't help but wonder if I missed any hints. It felt out of the blue to me, and I wasn't sure what it added to the story. I suppose it made Jeannie more threatening, to realize that she was powerful and respected by everyone.
CLIMAX
Stuart finds the workshop and then Jeannie shows up. April plays a part in bringing Leonora to the workshop while Leonora plays a part in keeping them from being exposed to Jeannie. Then they find out what happened to Lily and Horton.
MISSING JEANNIE-SPOILERS
After the conclusion of the story, we see an old newspaper speaking of an incredible new magician who appeared in the same time period that Stuart visited. It's obvious that it's Jeannie, who was left behind.
I think it was an implying a sequel. Or else why would we care that Jeannie became famous in the past? Perhaps someday she could travel to the future. Or maybe she already had some influece on the present.
CONCLUSION
This mystery has two likable main characters in Stuart and April. Both characters go through in arc in their relationship with one another as well as their own personalities.
April learns to stand by Stuart at her own cost, at first from her sisters' jokes, but eventually from a construction crew. A pretty big leap. But it's believable because we see that April isn't an ordinary girl and is rather resourceful.
Arthur develops from a boy who just wants to be taller and fit in, to a boy who is willing to make himself look foolish (multiple times) to find out the truth about his Great-Uncle.
The backdrop of characters are amusing from Arthur's parents to June and May. The only character I found slightly cartoonish was Clifford.
Going from clue to clue to a key was never dull and was well paced. And there was plenty of humor in the story.
My only criticism are that I would have liked the climax to be slighlty more interesting, as it felt rushed. Also I would have liked some hints about Jeannie's other job.
I give “Horton's Miraculous Mechanisms” three and half stars.
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