Alistair Grim's Odditorium Book Review

My eldest daughter has taken a shine to books that involve plenty of mystery and magic recently, especially the Harry Potter books so when I was asked if she'd like to review Alistair Grim's Odditorium I knew she'd be excited to read it!

Twelve year old Grubb lives a hand to mouth existence in Victorian England, working as a chimney sweep under a cruel master. After an incident at an inn, he hides in a trunk of one of its guests, the enigmatic Alistair Grim, and is whisked away to his Odditorium, a wonderful flying house full of incredible mechanical features powered by an enigmatic substance called aminus.

Now apprenticed to Grim, Grubb begins to settle into his new life and find a new family in the eccentric crew of the Odditorium, when suddenly his new world comes under attack by an evil Prince Nightshade and he is propelled into a perilous quest. As he gets caught up in the struggle, Grubb will learn valuable lessons and discover remarkable secrets about himself and his new host.

Gregory Funaro has created a fantasy book that is fast paced and although there are plenty of twists and turns it isn't confusing or hard to keep up with. I'll let my 9 year old explain a little more :

This book is crazy cool! 

Alistair Grim's Odditorium is excellent for children from 6-12. Alisair Grim's Odditorium is about a boy called Grubb and his life at the Odditorium. 

My favourite character was Gwendolyn the Yellow fairy. She is amazing, however I will add that I like all of the characters, well all apart from the evil characters, they are horrible. 

My favourite part of the book was Prince Nightshade's first attack. It was filled with suspense and made me want to read on. After that, I could have read for hours! 

The bit that made me scared was when the twins became evil. I don't like thinking about what they look like. 

As a final verdict, it was great! I'm looking forward to the sequel!

The story takes you on a truly magical adventure. And as the title suggests it is at times quite odd but that's what keeps you turning the pages. As an adult I can see how it captivates children and will certainly have their imaginations whirling around at a fast rate.

There is a brilliant cast of characters both good and evil and Funaro has managed to put together a fantastic mix of both mysterious, dark moments with humerous and light hearted times. As my daughter suggests, I think the sequel to this book will be very much anticipated by a lot of readers.

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent this book FOC for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.