Critique

At first I had no idea what to make of this book. I suppose given the cover art and title, I was expecting a story of daring escapades in which a boy who thought he was supposed to already have died was completely fearless in the face of danger, leading a crew of misfit sailors into certain death scenarios and coming out completely unscathed. It took me a while to adjust to the fact that, in reality, it’s nothing like that at all, but is more of a dark comedy about a clever but unassuming boy who runs from death directly into the arms of various strangers who are not necessarily the best type of people to be surrounded by.

The story generally assumes that most people Pepper encounters are going to try to take advantage of him in some way, or, at the very least, completely misinterpret everything about him. However, if you pull yourself out of the narrative for a moment and recalibrate what you’re expecting, the tale of young Pepper is actually pretty funny, especially all of the little narrator intrusions that Geraldine adds throughout the story. My favorite is a little jab at editors mentioning that no editor can read something without changing it. (Having editor disputes lately, Geraldine?)

Anyway, all of that said, don’t take the book too seriously, and I believe you will really enjoy the read, especially the jabs at Catholicism, and the base nature of people. Otherwise, you’ll likely be frustrated that the book is not something different than it is. I recommend this book to young readers who enjoy a good dark comedy.

Critique

To be honest, I was a little disappointed in this book. Perhaps it’s that my hopes were so high to begin with, but they weren’t quite met. Given the overview, there was certainly a recipe for an excellent tale—steampunk, Victorian England, the hunchback of Notre Dame as the main character, but as a teenager, and having been raised completely differently—but the execution was a little lacking.

Specifically, I felt like the story was rushed, and Slade didn’t take the time to relish in the scenes, the action, the science, etc. Give it a hundred to two hundred more pages, and I think the whole story would really come alive. I would care more about the characters. They would have a bit more time to develop, especially Modo, who could use a lot more writing about his magical power as well as his training. We need more character backstory, more development, and more description about everything involved.

The ending certainly leaves it open for a sequel or a few, and I’m hoping they get better with each installment.

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.