Kid Konnection: Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms
When ten year old Stuart’s mother is offered a new job, he and his parents move to Beeton – the town where his parents grew up. At first, Stuart thinks his time there will be insufferable – after all there are female triplets his age right next door and they are about as annoying as you can get. Stuart discovers that his family used to own “Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms” - a factory that made locks, safes, and coin-operated machinery. He also discovers a puzzle left behind by his great-uncle Tony (who just happened to be a magician) and he’s determined to solve it. He finds an ally in the most unlikely place he can imagine.
Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans is a delightful middle grade book! It’s full of quirky characters and a fun mystery that’s sure to keep middle grade readers on the edge of their seat. There’s a sequel coming out in the fall but the book doesn’t leave things hanging.
I just loved Stuart and the Kingley triplets. Stuart’s an average kid – he’s the only child of academic parents so he acts older than his age. Stuart’s smart, curious, and just a little bit self-conscious about his height. The triplets are smart and loyal, but they’re so self-assured they can be hard to tolerate. I loved that this book features strong male and female characters and think it will appeal to middle grade readers of both sexes.
The story in Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms is a lot of fun too. It’s part puzzle, part mystery, and part time travel and I found it to be charming. This book is full of dry humor that children and adults can enjoy. I have a feeling middle grade readers will be enjoying Stuart’s adventures for quite a while.
For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.
This one may be on for the read-athon today… its in the maybe I will get to today pile. I think it sounds like a fun one!
This one sounds like just the kind of book that BOTH my kids would love, especially since it also has time travel. I’ve added it to my TBR list!
I’m looking forward to this stage in Little E’s reading development…in a few years. I love that this has both strong male and female characters and will add it to her (our) reading list!
This sounds great – a little like Hugo Cabret too, with the “mechanisms” and the puzzle left behind.
Sounds like a book my granddaughter would like!!
Oh my…this sounds so delightful…thank you for sharing!
This one should appeal even to reluctant readers!
Kathy, this book does sound like a fun one. Terrific review!
Absolutely another one that must be ordered in the fall!!
Haven’t heard of this one before, and it looks super I love middle grade books and quirky characters. Sounds fun!
This might be a good mother-son read.
I can’t wait til Gage gets a little older and we can start sharing some of these great books together. Something I mentioned about a dozen times when we were watching the last Harry Potter this weekend!
I want to find out more about the puzzle and the things that the family made way back when! I also like that the female characters are strong, but loyal. That’s something that makes me really happy in a middle grade book.
Sounds like a fun book..I’ll have to get it and start working baby girl’s library. lol
This sounds like a book I would enjoy (as a kid *and* now!). I’m going to look for it for my younger kids