Book Review: The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (September 14, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 031237772X
ISBN-13: 978-0312377724



Hilarious and heartbreaking, wild and down-to-earth, this story of dark family secrets starts off with all the conventional quest clichés. Since the three Hardscrabble kids’ mother mysteriously disappeared five years earlier, Dad will not talk about her, and the eldest, Otto, now 13, only communicates through sign language. After the kids get a hint that Mama may still be alive, they take off to find her, first in London and then in a small seaside town, where they search through a castle with dungeons, dragons, and secret passageways and try to save a young sultan held prisoner in a wild forest. Even fantasy fans may tire of the contrivances, but Potter keeps this genre adventure moving briskly, and the very end brings a huge surprise that Dad’s been in on all along. The combination of fantasy and realism makes a compelling story, and young people will relate easily to the characters’ struggles. As the author tells the reader, “All great adventures have moments that are really crap.” Grades 5-8.

My Review

First of all I would have to say that I loved the cover. It's looks creepy and weird. Looking at the cover, made me think of The Series of Unfortunate Events. If you read my review, a few days ago... You know I really liked The Series of Unfortunate Events . I thought that this book was pretty weird, My mom got this from the ALA 10'. She told me to read this book... And I liked it!
With this book, from the very beginning, is very weird. I liked this book because each character has their own personality, and this story is so imaginative. FACT: Ellen Potter did an amazing job on "The Kneebone Boy".   It's a mystery book and even though the children live with their father, the three Hardscrabble children are pretty used to doing things on their own. Since their mother mysteriously disappeared, their father has been very sad.
Both Otto and dad were suspected of killing their mom and burying her in the garden. Otto, Lucia, and Max, of course, go on adventure after adventure to try and figure out what happened to their mom. A lot happens in this book, and it can got really tiring at times. This book is worth reading though. I found it to be pretty good, not this best book I've read, but the adventure parts are worth it. And, Otto is a really cool guy! You wouldn't be able to guess the ending, either!
 My favorite character was Max, because he's funny, he's smart, and he's helpful in hard situations.