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Here is a book that combines the gritty realism of life for a pair of poor orphans in grand Dickensian fashion with magic and menace. The era is brought to life with amazing descriptive language. Schlitz does a great job of with the squalor of Lizzie and Parsefal's living conditions and the contrasting splendor of Clara's. She makes us feel Clara's trapped desperation in her gilded cage and her giddy hope that the puppet show will make a difference in her life. Even her secondary characters had
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A witch lays on her deathbed cursed by her own doing, doomed to burn to death for stealing a fire opal years earlier. But off in London she knows there are children who can save her. One of them can take away the curse, and her old pupil, the puppet master, Grisini, must bring them. But the day of her beckoning, Grisini is about to collect a ransom for Clara, a child he has kidnapped, and his apprentice, Parsefall, and ward, Lizzie Rose, become embroiled in a fight to save Clara and free themsel
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This book was spectacular.
Picked this up today on my train ride. From the time I cracked the cover to the time my ride was over I didn't want to stop reading (few times I glanced up in panic, sure I'd missed my stop on the train). Very quick reading despite what is a a dark and peculiar sort of story set in historical England.
The author really can spin a good yarn and had me turning pages until the very end. It really is a well told tale. I do feel like there were more than a few things not completely wrapped up in the s ...more
The author really can spin a good yarn and had me turning pages until the very end. It really is a well told tale. I do feel like there were more than a few things not completely wrapped up in the s ...more
What a sweeping drama. Set in Victorian England two young orphans - Lizzie Rose and Parsefall - are working with a master puppeteer when another child goes missing. Believing they may have inadvertently helped this abduct the girl they plot ways to find the girl. Grisini, the puppet master, suffers a fall down a flight of stairs and disappears. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall celebrate their freedom from the abusive puppet master little do they realize a new threat is looming. Wonderful use of dialect
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Incredibly dense, and terribly slow. Horrifically dark. Tragically dramatic. I cannot think of a student in my school who I would offer this book to. That is a problem. Libraries are strapped for cash; we want to offer books that we know will be read and will fly off the shelves. I am glad I didn't pay for this book. It was a decent read, but not a good purchase.
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This felt very similar to The Night Circus to me. I liked it but didn't love it.
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Good book. Great idea but with a slow start. I wonder if kids will get too lost in the beginning to stick through to the fabulous conclusion?
Excellent narration! A solid magical story.
Jul 09, 2012
Lana Krumwiede
marked it as to-read
Jul 11, 2012
Vicki
marked it as to-read
Jul 15, 2012
Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)
marked it as to-read
Aug 19, 2012
Kristi
marked it as to-read
Sep 27, 2012
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Oct 04, 2012
Claire
added it
Nov 25, 2012
K8
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
creepy-stuff,
speculative-fiction,
middle-grade,
childrens-lit,
death,
read-in-2012,
grotesque
Nov 27, 2012
Erinn
added it
Jan 28, 2013
Beth
marked it as middle-grade-to-read
