100 Cupboards  (100 Cupboards, #1)
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100 Cupboards (The 100 Cupboards #1)

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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69  ·  rating details  ·  2,894 ratings  ·  734 reviews
Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man p...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published December 26th 2007 by Random House Books for Young Readers (first published February 29th 2000)
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 4,886)
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Stacy
Stacy rated it 4 of 5 stars
WOW! Very interesting fantasy tale. I wonder why I hadn't ever heard of it? Henry is a guest in his Aunt and Uncle's home. He finds 99 cupboards covered up with plaster in the attic where he sleeps. Each leads to a different land/time--but too small to get through. Where is the other cupboard, you wonder? Well, I can't tell you that! You'll just have to read it yourself. Quite an interesting story. It reads almost like a Harry Potter. And, if you get your hands on the book, look at the ...more
Elizabeth
Mmm. Delicious. A good fantasy with enough original elements to keep it interesting. "Leepike Ridge" is better, no question, but I dare say this book stands apart from the normal fantasy-laden pack. See for yourself...
Roxanne Hsu Feldman
I was intrigued by the cover right away. And as I read, I kept thinking, wow, for once, the book and the cover are really perfectly matched: in its mysterious, dark, and slightly creepy tone; in its attention to details; in its sense of originality. I appreciate quite a bit of this title. Really enjoyed how Wilson handles the relationships between Henry and Frank and between Henry and Henrietta. I am glad that Frank's and Dotty's seeming (and tremendously convenient) absentmindedness can be ...more
Cindy
Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars
Let me make one thing clear--the only reason I'm deducting the 5th star is because this book does not stand on it's own. It's very clearly the start of a series and I'm greatly annoyed that now I have to wait for the next installment. That being said, the scene with the chainsaw in the carpet is almost worth adding the 5th star back...

This is a creepy little children's fantasy. Give to fans of Charlie Bone, Coraline, Gregor the Overlander, the Narnia books, Chrestomanci, and yes tha...more
Truly
Kover yang menawan serta rekomendasi banyak pihak yang terjamin kredibilitasnya membuat saya tak ragu untuk meminta hadiah buku ini dari Sista Ine sebagai hadiah ulang tahun. Thx Sis..., buku merupakan hadiah yang paling menyenangkan bagaimana pun isinya.

Ide ceritanya cukup lumayanlah, walau tidak bisa dimungkiri mirip dengan beberapa cerita yang menggunakan pintu sebagai portal untuk berada di tempat lain. Atau jika ingin lebih spesifik, mirip pintu ajaib ala Doraemon. Guna memudahk...more
Kristi
Wow! I really loved this book. Deliciously creepy elements blend with terrific characterization, poetic prose and exciting plot. Will update more in a bit!

{Edit}Now to add a bit more. I like how the author has taken classic fantasy tropes, "the lost Special One" "the Hidden World" "the Wise Fool" and blended them in new ways. I particularly like how Henry finds the world away from the smothering overprotective one his parents have created for him just a...more
Douglas Wilson
Nonbiased reviews under such circumstances are hard to come by. Great book.
Erin
Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars
Scrub the bones. Great line, and one of the most memorable. This book felt like what C.S. Lewis would have been if he wasn't British, didn't drink tea and crumpets every day and enjoyed college basketball.
Chris
Once I looked past the unappealing, unengaging title and the at-first-glance bland, nondescript cover, I started reading to discover a surprisingly good story. At first I was impressed with Wilson's nice way with words, well-built characters, and lived-in descriptions of small-town Kansas. The tale gradually revealed itself to be about powerful magic, hidden away but insistent in its implications to those involved. I hope he writes sequels, because he has only begun to scratch the surface of ...more
Jess
Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Wanda
Shelves: juv, fantasy
100 Cupboards is like the Brambly Hedge book The Secret Staircase, only creepier and for older kids. The atmosphere is wonderful - there's a great sense that the author knows about everything behind each cupboard, even if it doesn't come into the story (and it looks like the first in a series, so he'd better) - this creates a sense that the world is a bigger, more wonderful and frightening place than you thought.

All of which fits perfectly into the character development of Henry. ...more
Jennifer Wardrip
Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Twelve-year-old Henry York's world-traveling parents have been kidnapped, so he has moved in with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins at their old farm home in Henry, Kansas. Even though he's stuck in a tiny converted closet up in the attic, Henry almost doesn't mind living with his relatives. In fact, he's kind of excited about it, because for the first time in his life, he can play baseball without a helmet, sit in the back of a truck...more
Beth
Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Michelle Keyes, the 9 - 12 year old crowd
Henry moves in temporarily with his Aunt and Uncle in Henry, Kansas until his kidnapped parents who were bicicling across South America can be found. He becomes acquainted with his three cousins and discovers that while he hopes his parents are comfortable, he'd rather they not be found because he has so much more freedom in Kansas and he's going to have the chance to play baseball.

Things get interesting when he discovers that the plaster on the attic bedroom wall is covering 99 cup...more
Brandy
For a modern children's fantasy, in all its derivative glory, I really enjoyed this. It's not blazing any new ground, and it uses more than a few fantasy cliches (Henry's an orphan! taken in by his aunt and uncle! And his makeshift attic bedroom holds SECRETS! A locked door downstairs! An old man Henry can't remember! Cupboards that go to OTHER WORLDS!) but it still manages to feel fresh and fun. It helps that we're more than halfway through the book before anyone goes through any of the cupb...more
Carissa
Carissa rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: juvenile
pulled in by the cover and the premise. boy discovers 100 cupboards buried behind the plaster in his bedroom wall. each door is different and all but a very few are locked. what are they for? where do they lead? why were they behind plaster? i won't tell you the answers to any of these, but i will say that the book is well-written with very interesting characters. i love the language this author uses. at one point, he describes the color of an old pickup truck as brown, like the bottom o...more
Khadija
Khadija rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: my-books
It's a great book, I couldn't put it down! It's a world of cupboards filled with curious and interesting worlds inside of them. Great book! 2
Mary Lee
Anyone who can base a philosophy of life on tumbleweeds ranks pretty high in my estimation. (I grew up in Eastern CO, which is just as much a place of tumbleweeds as Henry, KS!!)
Amy
This book definitely should be made into a movie. What a pleasurable read. I enjoyed every minute of it and didn't want it to end. The author left it open for a sequel, so I hope he makes one.

A boy finds a wall of cupboards plastered up in his attic bedroom. The all seem to open up to other worlds, but they're too small to crawl through. Eventually, he's able to find a way to go to the other worlds some other way than through his dreams. Quite an adventure unfolds as he learns of his...more
Eva Mitnick
Eva Mitnick rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: fantasy fans
Shelves: children, fantasy
This is a quirky fantasy. In an old farmhouse, a family has discovered a way to travel between multiple worlds/universes via a set of cupboards - but because of the dangers, they have been covered up and forgotten. When young Henry comes to stay, he discovers the cupboards and hesitantly begins to explore. The characters - laconic, eccentric, cranky - are intriguingly different from those in many children's books. Many of the mysteries of these worlds are tantalizingly hinted at but not full...more
AM
AM rated it 3 of 5 stars
I liked this. I want to say that first off least my issues be construed as revulsion. I read this book with the idea of presented it to a children's book club that I run at work. If I were reading for myself I probably would have relaxed into the story more and not be questioning everything. I don't tend to read Juvie Fantasy too deeply when reading for my own personal pleasure, but I need to talk about this among a group.
First the tone seems to shift from the overly descriptive lit...more
SilverRaindrops
"100 Cupboards" tells the story of a young boy, coming to live with his aunt and uncle and three cousins in rural Kansas, who discovers cupboards that lead to different worlds.

The first book of the series concentrates a lot on the boy actually discovering the cupboards, and his transition from his previous sheltered city life to a small backwater where he enjoys much more freedom. It's not slow enough to bore you, but it's not so fast as to give you no chance to meet the c...more
Amanda Cone
I really enjoyed this book and I can't say that for some fantasy books I've read lately. Henry York is a very different child. His parents are so overprotective (Henry remembers being sent to boarding school with a helmet to wear during P.E.) that he doesn't quite miss them when they are kidnapped. When he goes to live with his aunt and uncle, Henry discovers 99 cupboards that have been covered in plaster in his attic bedroom. From the cryptic comments Henry has with his uncle it is apparent...more
Caroline
An ultimately enjoyable fantasy story well suited for the middle school crowd. The actual story left many questions unanswered, and it really only scratched the surface of where I thought it was going to go--with 100 cupboards and so many worlds to enter into I thought for sure we would see strong alternative world building--but that wasn't case. The story seemed like your typical fantasy concept--nothing too surprising or original here-- but Wilson does have a way with language that raises thi...more
Melanie
I have NO idea where Wilson is going to take this story but, I tore through 100 cupboards and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The book follows a young boy named Henry who has gone to live with his aunt and uncle in Henry Kansas. I would say this book is 3/4ths hometown fun, including baseball, tumbleweeds, and old barns and 1/4th fantasy where a wall with multiple cupboards links to separate locations.

The Hometown feel was great. I love the strong family Wilson portrays an...more
April Knapp
Review Originally posted HERE

This review is for the entire trilogy.

I am not sure if I can put into words how much I LOVE this trilogy. And I am forever grateful to my sister for suggesting it to me and then buying me all three books. THIS is what a fantasy story should be. I can't even believe some people on Amazon gave it less than a 4 or 5. They couldn't have been reading the same books! OK-I will give you some concrete reasons now.

The character development is de...more
Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids
A wonderful fantasy story that follows the journey of Henry, who's sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in KS after his parents go missing. While there, Henry discovers 100 cupboards hidden behind the plaster in his attic bedroom. It was not an accident that the thumbing on the other side of the cupboards lead him to find what lurks behind them.

With the help of his cousin Harriet, they set out to find out what the cupboards lead to. Curiosity comes at a coast, and soon Henry is not on...more
Stephanie
Blurb: Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man pacing back and forth! Henry soon understands that these are not just cupboards, but portals to other worlds.

...more
Sara
Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars
After a pretty slow start, this book got weird fast. One minute I'm waiting for some action and answers, the next I'm wondering how I fell into Tim Burton's brain. It got so weird that it was a little hard to understand at times. I'm fairly fantasy versed and even I had trouble interpreting some of the stuff towards the end of the book. Wilson really tried hard to start cramming in characters with speaking styles that were unique to their situation. Unfortunately, this will probably leave m...more
Crystal
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Harpal
Harpal rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: kids-books
Damn, it's not that often that I read a kids book that just blows me away (Alright, maybe it is pretty often, but that's just because I read way too many kids books).
First: This book is amazingly well written. Almost reminds me of Bradbury. Understated, yet poetic. Much more beautiful and sophisticated writing than you usually find in kids books, definitely not the happy simplicity that you're used to (although I definitely think there is something to be said for happy simplicity as well)....more
Shannon
Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars
Shelves: youngadult
While I read and enjoy a lot of juvenile and young adult fiction, this book was a disappointment. My 8 and 10 year old daughters enjoyed it and I've been looking for compelling books to read during my recovery from surgery, so I thought I would give this one a try. Unfortunately, I found it lacking in almost every way.

I found it difficult to follow the plot and the pacing was alternately rushed and too slow. But I think my primary complaint is that the book lacked the requisite de...more
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100 Cupboards: Book 1 Of The 100 Cupboards (Paperback)
100 Cupboards  (Kindle Edition)
100 Cupboards (Audio CD)
100 Cupboards (ebook)
100 Cupboards  (Library Binding)

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“Woman and children behind the lines!' he yelled, and all the girls jumped. Henry froze with his mouth open. 'Bang the drum slowly and ask not for whom the bell's ringing, for the answer's unfriendly!' He threw a fist in the air. 'Two years have my black ships sat before Troy, and today its gate shall open before the strength of my arm.' Dotty was laughing from the kitchen. Frank looked at his nephew. 'Henry, we play baseball tomorrow. Today we sack cities. Dots! Fetch me my tools! Down with the French! Once more into the breach, and fill the wall with our coward dead! Half a league! Half a league! Hey, batter, batter!'
Frank brought his fist down onto the table, spilling Anastasia's milk, and then he struck a pose with both arms above his head and his chin on his chest. The girls cheered and applauded. Aunt Dotty stepped back into the dining room carrying a red metal toolbox.”
8 people liked it
“There is a bus station in Henry, but it isn't on Main Street. It's one block north - the town fathers hadn't wanted all the additional traffic. The station lost one-third of its roof to a tornado fifteen years ago. In the same summer, a bottle rocket brought the gift of fire to its restrooms. The damage has never been repaired, but the town council makes sure that the building is painted fresh every other year, and always the color of a swimming pool. There is never graffiti. Vandals would have to drive more than twenty miles to buy the spray paint.

Every once in a long while, a bus creeps into town and eases to a stop beside the mostly roofed, bright aqua station with the charred bathrooms. Henry is always glad to see a bus. Such treats are rare.”
3 people liked it
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