The Name of this Book is Secret

I recently read a young adult mystery titled The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch.

My first instinct is to tell you that this was a fabulous book and then suggest that you read it if you enjoy mysteries. It was a highly entertaining book, and I do recommend it. However, I do have to warn you that this book has a rather complicated plot. Let me tell you a bit about it so that you can see what I mean (fyi- the rest of this post may contain spoilers):

Two middle-schoolers, Cass and Max-Ernest, discover a secret code hidden in a box of smells. (The box of smells is literally a box full of liquids that smell like different things.) They discover that an old man had developed a secret code by combining those smells in certain combinations. They follow this code, and a mysterious journal left in the old man's house, and discover that there is apparently a whole group of people in the world who have synesthesia, which means that their senses are mixed up (i.e. they see smells). Apparently, these people have been trying for centuries to discover a formula for immortality, something that will cause them to stay young forever.

The scientists who have been trying to discover this formula are so close. All they need is that box of smells ("The Symphony of Smells"). The only problem is that Cass and Max-Ernest have hidden that box away and they are determined to stop these wicked scientists from having their way.

Thus, Cass and Max-Ernest launch a big investigation into these ancient scientists and end up in more danger than they could imagine.

The whole story is told by a third-person narrator who frequently steps out of his role as storyteller. The narrator, in fact, spends the first few pages of the book warning people away from it. This book is too dangerous, he says. Once you know the secrets it contains, the "bad guys" might come after you as well... which, of course, only made me want to read it more. There are several more interruptions in the story line in which the narrator gives similar warnings, which I think is a good way to keep the reader interested, in this instance.

Anyway, I have now droned on about this book for a while. I repeat that this is an excellent mystery for young readers, but be forewarned about it's complicated plot.

The Best?

I hadn't planned to post anything this week, but after reading this book, I just thought I had to make a comment. And, as you know, I usually only comment on the good books that I read, but I am making an exception in this instance

I just finished reading In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. I decided to read this book because it was on a list of the Top 100 Picture Books from School Library Journal. Why it was on this list (#18!!!), I may never know. Because I read it and I just don't agree.

The book, for those of you who don't know, is about this little boy named Mickey, which I guess reminds the author of the word "milk." Mickey is sound asleep in his bed when he hears some loud noises. Somehow he falls out of his bed... falls down, down, down... coming out of his clothes... and falling into the hand of the cooks in the night kitchen. These cooks place the naked child in a cake batter and start mixing him in because they need milk. The still naked child escapes into the bread batter and rises to the Milky Way to get milk for the cake. He gets the milk, everyone celebrates that we will have cake in the morning, and Mickey goes home and back to bed.

Does nobody else find this story more than a little disturbing? First, why did the boy have to lose his clothes in the story? Was that at all necessary to the plot? Second, doesn't anybody else care that the cake these people would be eating had come into contact with naked skin? Maybe my germophobe tendencies are just a little too strong because that grosses me out. And, yes, I know it is just a kids story and it was a dream sequence and I am probably taking this too seriously, but I do believe that this was the most disturbing picture book I have read in a while.

And let me just be clear here: It is not the nakedness that bothers me. Not at all. It is the nakedness next to food that creeps me out. In my mind, these two things should not be mixed... in fact, they should never come into contact with each other, even in theory.

What made people nominate this book for the top 100 picture books? I just don't understand.

The House on the Gulf

Want a good mystery? One that leaves out the sex, drugs, and rock, and roll? Well, look no further! The House on the Gulf (2004) by Margaret Haddix is the book for you!

Britt’s brother, Bran, has scored them the deal of a lifetime. He has arranged for his family to stay at someone’s house over the summer… and get paid for it. It’s called house-sitting. They stay in the house for this family and keep thieves from breaking in while they are gone. Pretty sweet deal, right? Mom is going to get to finish school, they won’t have rent to pay, they will actually be making money. It couldn’t get any better.

Except, of course, that something doesn't seem quite right about the deal. Bran is very secretive about the whole thing and he won’t let either Brit or their mom talk to the owners of the house. Is there something strange about this situation, or is it just Brit’s imagination?