Lindsey's Library » children http://www.lindseyslibrary.com Lindsey's Library is here to delight young adult literature readers of all ages as well as act as a tool for parents that is easy to navigate with reviews that are quick and easy to read but contain all of the relevant information for prospective readers. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:37:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Invention of Hugo Cabaret http://www.lindseyslibrary.com/2009/03/the-invention-of-hugo-cabaret/ http://www.lindseyslibrary.com/2009/03/the-invention-of-hugo-cabaret/#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:30:12 +0000 lindsey http://www.lindseyslibrary.com/?p=942
Overall Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
The Invention of Hugo Cabaret
Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press, 2007
Historical Fiction
ISBN:0439813786
544 pages
National Book Award Winner

Synopsis

Both of his parents have died, so Hugo Cabaret lives with his uncle inside of the clock room at the train station in London. He’s inherited his father’s ability to tinker with toys and anything that has working gears, parts, and pieces. Before the fire, his father happened upon a mechanical man that was calibrated to draw or write something as part of a magic act. Obsessed with the machine, Hugo steals parts from a local toy manufacturer in the train station in order to complete it and make it work. However, things begin to complicate when his uncle completely disappears and Hugo gets caught stealing. In a matter of only a few days, his mysterious and tenuous world again becomes dangerous, and the most surprising things happen as a result of the mechanical man.

Critique

This was surprisingly well done. I’m not sure what I was initially expecting, but the story far exceeded my expectations. The characters are interesting, and the graphic-novel style way of presenting the story is perfect for how it unfolds and the subject matter being used to move along the plot. Typically, I steer clear of saying things like, “this is the first of its kind” because that gets thrown around a lot as a marketing term. However, this is something of a first, especially as an award winner, and Selznick does a wonderful job of interlacing the pictures with the words in order to tell a complete story. 

Even beyond that though, the story itself is wonderful, despite the method through which it’s told. The characters are all fascinating and mysterious in their own way, and everyone has secrets. Not to mention that each character’s personality and foibles adds to the depth of the narrative. I recommend this to all readers, but it will come alive especially well for readers 8-12.

Rating Rubric

Enjoyable Read: 5 out of 5 stars

Original Fantasy: 5 out of 5 stars

Original Plot: 5 out of 5 stars

Language: 4 out of 5 stars

Asthetics: 4 out of 5 stars

Depth In Characters: 4 out of 5 stars

Depth In Story: 4 out of 5 stars

Social Commentary: 4 out of 5 stars

Layers/Complexity: 4 out of 5 stars

Classroom Text: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

For the Classroom

This novel has a wealth of elements that can be used to make it a good classroom companion. First, there are historical characters and a historical overview of the invention of the moving picture and how it affected France at the time. Second, the inner workings of the science and mechanics for reel-to-reel film, wind up toys, clocks, and other mechanical things are highlighted throughout the text. Lastly, the graphic novel aspect is especially interesting for artists and writers, so it would be a great book to use for a writing or art class as a way to encourage students to think outside of the box by combining or creating new mediums.

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