Book Review: The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

The Name of this Book Is Secretand you really shouldn't be reading it. Cass and Max-Ernst become friends when they discover a mysterious box containing a symphony of smells - and a missing magician, presumed dead. Now they are both being drawn into a dangerous secret that attracts villains right and left. Can they find the missing magician and figure out the secret before they are captured?

Things I Liked:
This book is absolute silliness and I loved it. Not only is it full of devious secrets and hilarious footnotes, but also has a touch of something deeper - it isn't all about being silly. I enjoyed the crazy adventures Cass and Max-Ernst experienced throughout, though I definitely think younger kids will enjoy them more. Then again, the author's tongue-in-cheek tone throughout might appeal to older readers as well. Here are just a few of my favorite quotes:

"The writer of a novel is like the dictator of the novel; he makes all his characters do exactly what he wants them to do, and say exactly what he wants them to say. But please don't draw any conclusions about the kind of people who write novels. After all, not all novelists are power-hungry madmen - some are power hungry madwomen." p.126-127 (footnote)

"Cass and Max-Ernest found themselves in a small, vault-like library crammed with books - piles and piles of books - all of them, you could tell at a glance, rare and priceless. Some were gilded and encrusted with jewels...It was like walking into a treasure trove of books, hoarded by pirate librarians." p.270

You know I couldn't resist the pirate librarians. :)

Things I Didn't Like:
The characters are definitely not fully developed, but this is definitely not a character-driven story. The strength of the book lies entirely in its humor and the absolute fun of the plot and writing.

Read-alikes:
Definitely reminiscent of A Series of Unfortunate Eventsby Lemony Snicket
A bit like the Alcatraz books by Brandon Sanderson
The footnotes reminded me of Larklight by Philip Reeve

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
some parts a bit scary

Overall rating: ****

Do you like books that directly address the reader and provide commentary throughout, or does it distract you? (And does anyone know if there is a technical term for when the author talks to the reader?)

If you buy through my Amazon linkage,
I will get a very small percentage