Stuart Horten is not pleased about moving to Beeton. It’s the start of summer and he doesn’t know any kids in the new town to play with so when he discovers a note left behind by his great uncle, who happens to have been a magician, he enthusiastically goes in search and solves puzzles for the clues that will lead him to a mysterious workshop. He’s not the only one who wants to discover the secrets, and the nosy triplet sisters next door are always hot on his trail making his adventure more interesting.
This is such a fun read, even for someone of my age. The characters really make this more enjoyable and I want to be invited to Stuart’s house for dinner. The adventure and the puzzles do not weigh the story down but make the visualization of Stuart’s world more vivid. Of course there is a lesson in there, but it doesn’t weight the story down either. Sometimes the lessons can take the fun out of stories of this nature.
I have zero complaints. I recommend this to young readers, but also to adults whose young reader is reading it. Really I recommend it to anyone.