Welcome in Fall with a Good Book -- Horten's Incredible Illusions by Lissa Evans (Review)

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Publisher: Sterling Children's Books
Published: September 2012
Age range: from 8 to 12
352 pages
ISBN: 1-4027-9870-9
ISBN13: 9781402798702
$14.95 US
$17.95 Canadian
Hardcover with Jacket

Synopsis:

This magical follow-up to "Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms" continues Stuart's amazing adventures--with more enchantment, more surprises, and more thrills. When we last left 10-year-old Stuart, he had just recovered his great-uncle Tony's long-lost magic workshop. Now all the priceless tricks are on display in the Beeton Museum--and Stuart is junior curator of the exhibit! But another mystery awaits Stuart: Where did the great magician hide his will? Only by entering the magic world of the workshop can he find the answer. But as the mechanisms whisk him off on increasingly incredible adventures, the puzzles become harder and harder to solve…and the stakes higher. With even more page-turning action, this second book in the exciting middle-grade series does a magic trick of its own: it's even better than the first!

 

My Thoughts:

Even though my daughters are too young to read this book, I found myself enjoying it as I read and reviewed it.  I love being able to pick up a juvenile title here and there and see what our young minds are enjoying when they read.  Having not read the first book in this series, I had no idea what I was in store for.  With only 352 pages (a lot you would think for young children), this book was a real page turner.  I found myself not being able to put it down.  In under 2 hours I had read it from cover to cover.  

 

If your children love mystey books, then they will like this new book from Lissa Evans.  Each of the characters add a unique flare to the story.  I especially love the names of April's sisters -- May and June. :-)  And, Horten's dad is a hoot, as he loves to through around Latin words, which will make children scratch this heads and agree that parents are crazy and out to embaress them. :-)

 

Overall, this second book in Lissa Evans' series is worth picking up and sharing with your young reader.  I even think it would make for a great book to read out loud together at night time.  And, for those children who don't like to read, this mystery book will have them turning the pages like I was, and not wanting to put it down.

 

No spoilers here.  You will have to read the book yourself to find out where great magician hide his will. :-)

About the Author:

Lissa Evans's route to children's fiction author is perhaps as roundabout as Stuart's adventures in Beeton. After a brief career as a doctor of medicine and then in stand-up comedy, Lissa became a comedy producer, first in radio and then in television, before turning to writing. Her first middle grade novel featuring young Stuart, Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms, was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, the Costa Book Awards, and UK Literacy Association's Children's Book Award. It was also long-listed for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Branford Boase Award. Lissa lives with her family in North London. 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.