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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

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


Reading Level: 8-12 yr.
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316113662
ISBN-13: 978-0316113663


In enormous lettering the first page warns: "Do not read beyond this page!" The reason? The book contains a secret so nefarious as to be dangerous even to innocent page-turners daring enough to venture forth. The first few chapters present a tricky little exercise in metafiction in which the story about a secret is revealed as being itself too secret to tell, a ploy sure to tickle more puzzlesome readers. But then the intrusive narrator, who is equal parts snarky and delightful, strikes a deal and deigns to tell the story with fake names in Your Hometown, as long as you agree to "forget everything you read as soon as you read it." Then follows a not terribly shocking story wherein two intrepid kids uncover a mysterious society bent on immortality, which gets them in and out of all manner of trouble.
My Review

I liked this book a lot. It was one of the funniest books I have ever read before. It sometimes reminded me of The Series of Unfortunate Events series because it had a creepy kind of humor that was always keeping me laughing. I love the sense of mystery and that the author (whoever he might be) is always  putting in words of his own. And little footnotes at the bottom of the pages where he will kinda clear something up that is top-secret. I had a lot of fun reading this book and I think that anyone who likes simple mystery books or anything funny would like this.

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9 comments:

  1. Deserae McGlothenFebruary 2, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    Oh! I'd love to win! I don't know how old (or young?) you have to be to win this thing, but I love middle grade reads even though I'm one of the big kids. This book has caught my eye several times, but I've never picked it up. So glad you liked it, Drew! That's super encouraging.

    ~Deserae McGlothen
    desimcg@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. AMY Reale ~ ReadingTeen2February 3, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    Yes Deserae ANYONE can win! and it looks like you're in the lead. Haha

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mary EllenFebruary 4, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    Thanks for the giveaway opportunity! I'm older too but would love to win and pass this on to a couple of younger girls that I know would love it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. EscereFebruary 4, 2011 at 9:53 PM

    I do love books... count me in!

    ReplyDelete
  5. JLFebruary 7, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    My 9 year old would love this! Thanks for another great contest!

    ReplyDelete
  6. VidishaFebruary 7, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Count me in

    vidishamun[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tabathia BFebruary 13, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    gfc follower (tabathia) my daughter has been wanting to read this book forever
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tabathia BFebruary 13, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    tweeted
    http://twitter.com/#!/ChelleB36/status/36994378266312704
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Heavenly BodiesFebruary 20, 2011 at 10:23 PM

    I was happy to see a tweet and take another look at this site. I have two boys (14 & 12) who love to read. They are always looking for something new. They read all of The Series of Unfortunate Events and think they would like this book as well.

    Tweeted

    edjumpoff at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete

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