Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max, Bk 1) on + 380 more book reviews
I have to start out saying that the packaging for this book (even as an ARC) is adorable! I haven't seen something that made me both excited to open and want to keep wrapped up tight and placed on display. It's very cute!
Summary:
Max has grown up on stage. Along with his acting parents, he has been in theatrical performances for as long as he can remember. When his parents are given the opportunity to travel to India, he is packed up and ready to head out. Unfortunately, the boat doesn't actually exist and Max's parents are gone. Max is alone and needs to fend for himself until he hears some word about his parents. In order to make money, Max decides to do odd jobs for people. He finds things (a dog, library books, etc.). While his grandma is nearby, he tries to show her that he can take care of himself and seems to be doing alright for himself, but what happened to his parents? Will he ever find out?
My thoughts:
I'm a fan of Cynthia Voigt in general. I like her writing style and her general conversational tone. Max is a well developed character, but seems a little old for his age. I would have liked an explanation for why people treated Max like an adult instead of a child. This could have been explained by his experience on the stage, but it is glossed over a little bit. While I have noticed that a lot of young adult books play their characters as older than they really are, I found that a 12 year old being talked to and treated as if he could live alone without any supervision to be a little unnerving. I'm trying to justify that with the possible time period that it is being written in and just state that children were just sent out on their own more often at a younger age than they are currently.
The other thing that I wanted more information on was the mystery of Max's parents disappearance. I would have thought that this would have been more of a major focus within the book. It's not because the issue of independence takes over, but I would like to know more.
Summary:
Max has grown up on stage. Along with his acting parents, he has been in theatrical performances for as long as he can remember. When his parents are given the opportunity to travel to India, he is packed up and ready to head out. Unfortunately, the boat doesn't actually exist and Max's parents are gone. Max is alone and needs to fend for himself until he hears some word about his parents. In order to make money, Max decides to do odd jobs for people. He finds things (a dog, library books, etc.). While his grandma is nearby, he tries to show her that he can take care of himself and seems to be doing alright for himself, but what happened to his parents? Will he ever find out?
My thoughts:
I'm a fan of Cynthia Voigt in general. I like her writing style and her general conversational tone. Max is a well developed character, but seems a little old for his age. I would have liked an explanation for why people treated Max like an adult instead of a child. This could have been explained by his experience on the stage, but it is glossed over a little bit. While I have noticed that a lot of young adult books play their characters as older than they really are, I found that a 12 year old being talked to and treated as if he could live alone without any supervision to be a little unnerving. I'm trying to justify that with the possible time period that it is being written in and just state that children were just sent out on their own more often at a younger age than they are currently.
The other thing that I wanted more information on was the mystery of Max's parents disappearance. I would have thought that this would have been more of a major focus within the book. It's not because the issue of independence takes over, but I would like to know more.
