The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlpine
Illustrated by Sam Zuppardi
4/5 stars
Viking, 2013
177 pages
MG Mystery
Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
One of my favorite classic authors is Edgar Allan Poe so I always perk up when I see contemporary novels incorporating him in some way. The twist for this book is that identical twins Edgar and Allan Poe are the multiple great-grandnephews of Poe may be one person in two bodies and the scientific implications of this have led to a mad scientist spying on them for years.
I think that premise sounds fairly bonkers and settled back for a zany ride, which is exactly what I got. My favorite part was definitely the peek into the life after death where Edgar Allan Poe watches over his relatives while also toiling under the direction of a very bossy William Shakespeare-so humorous!
The boys are brilliant geniuses and have an excess of time and energy, leading to them getting up to a lot of stuff. Mainly in this book, they travel cross-country to get their cat and end up confronting the scientist. I didn't feel like there was a whole lot to the plot given the book's relative shortness but that may make it all the more appealing to its target audience and perhaps serve as a push to reluctant readers.
This is the first in a series and thus it concludes with a very open ending that leaves room for many more adventures in the offing for Edgar and Allan.
Overall: I would say that this reminded me a lot of Lemony Snicket and I think his fans will enjoy this book as well.
Cover: Very spot-on although the eyes of the boys aren't as identical as I would have expected. Love seeing the cat, Roderick Usher :)
I always love MG covers! They are so detailed :) This sounds like fun, although I have to be honest: I'm not very familiar with Poe's work. I will take a look at it and see if I can read some work on the internet.
ReplyDeleteI love cartoon covers and since MG tends to have a lot of them, it works for me. You should definitely check out some of Poe's writing-he's amazing!
DeleteThis sounds like fun and I adore that cover.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really cute, fun, light read that went by really fast-nice to sneak in if you need another book read for the year.
DeleteI think my kids would love this, and my library has it too. Yay! Great review.
ReplyDeleteJenea @ Books Live Forever
Yay for your library having it-hope your kids love it!
DeleteThis sounds really interesting and entertaining :) This is my first time seeing this around and I'm definitely curious! Great review :)
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
Yeah, I don't feel like I've heard much about it but I think it was definitely a fun read and many readers will like it.
DeleteSounds like a fun, cute easy book! Love Lemony Snicket's books! Fantastic review!
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right about what kind of book this is!
DeleteLove EAP and loved Lemony Snicket! Hope I can read this one day.
ReplyDeleteYou can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics
I hope you can fit it in too-it's just so cute and should leave you feeling good.
DeleteHmm. I LOVED Lemony Snicket's series of Unfortunate events, so I think I may give this one a shot. Awesome review, girly! (:
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see how the series grows and if it can reach the same level of complexity as the Series of Unfortunate Events.
DeleteI hadn't heard of this one until you marked it on Goodreads, but you've got me curious now! I'll have to check it out. :)
ReplyDeleteExcited that I brought this to your attention-hope you enjoy it!
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