REVIEWED BY JOSEPH, 11, WA
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Scholastic Press, ISBN 9780439813785
Joseph borrowed a copy of this book from his local library.
Hugo is an orphan and his job is to check that all the clocks in the Paris station are the correct time. It was really his uncle’s job — Hugo can’t show his face to anyone official (like the station inspector) because then they’ll realise his uncle is gone and send Hugo to an orphanage. His uncle’s uncashed cheques are no good because Hugo can’t cash them. One day he finds an automaton his father was working on before he died. When his father’s notebook (the only thing Hugo has left to remind him of his father) is taken away, he relies on a girl called Isabel to get it back.
Will the automaton write him a message that will solve his problems?
This book has words and pictures. It’s a combination of graphic novel and a regular novel and it means you are satisfied that you read about 520 pages, when 284 pages were text-free!
It’s definitely worth reading. It has an original idea and the setting is not something I’d come across in everyday life.
I’d recommend this book to readers aged 9 and over, particularly kids who are fascinated by machinery. I give it five stars.
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Joseph is one of our regular book reviewers. His most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of On Track. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
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