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A review by sparklingreader
The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt
3.0
The story takes place in England at the turn of the century. When Max Starling's theatrical parents receive an invitation to visit India, Max is excited at the thought of an adventure overseas. But when his parents suddenly disappear, leaving behind a mysterious note, he is confused and a little scared. But he then realizes there is an advantage to being left alone - independence - and if he doesn't want to lose it, he'll need to find a job. But Max is only 12 years old. It turns out that Max is good at finding solutions to people's problems and thus he becomes Mister Max, Solutioneer! Using tricks-of-the-trade learned from his parents, Max as Mister Max dons various disguises to interview suspects, follow leads, and sniff out the best solution.
Of course there are bad guys. Heading up the list of baddies are Madame Olenka, her uncle, and her cousin, known collectively as the Long-ears. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much reason for them beyond having villains in the story.
While I enjoyed Mister Max immensely, I wondered why Max didn't use his skills to attempt to discover what happened to his parents. Instead, his grandmother did all of the research there while Max was only concerned with making money to maintain his independence.
Overall, the idea is a good one, but not very well done, especially for a middle-grade book. The vocabulary would upset younger readers and the lack of consistency would turn off older ones. The problems Max solves are easily taken care of, with the exception of where his parents are. Still, it is a cute book. Recommended with caveats.
Of course there are bad guys. Heading up the list of baddies are Madame Olenka, her uncle, and her cousin, known collectively as the Long-ears. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much reason for them beyond having villains in the story.
While I enjoyed Mister Max immensely, I wondered why Max didn't use his skills to attempt to discover what happened to his parents. Instead, his grandmother did all of the research there while Max was only concerned with making money to maintain his independence.
Overall, the idea is a good one, but not very well done, especially for a middle-grade book. The vocabulary would upset younger readers and the lack of consistency would turn off older ones. The problems Max solves are easily taken care of, with the exception of where his parents are. Still, it is a cute book. Recommended with caveats.