Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans

Horten’s Marvelous Mechanisms

Evans, Lissa.  New York: Scholastic, 2012.  9780545541640

Quantitative Reading Level: Reading Level 6.1, Lexile 810

Qualitative Reading Analysis:

I would rate this as Middle Low on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Literary Text.”  The structure and narrative are straightforward and fairly simple.  Because the book was written and is set in England there are a few words that will be unfamiliar to students and the setting will probably be unfamiliar to students.  The book is clearly a fantasy.  Horten is on a hunt for his missing uncle and there are some aspects of the mystery that take a bit of figuring out which makes the book a bit more challenging.

Summary:

 

Horten’s parents have moved him to a small town in England right in the middle of the summer and he thinks he is in for a really boring time.  What is finds instead is the mystery about his great uncle Tony’s disappearance right after World War II and the search for his uncle’s mysterious workshop.  Tony isn’t the only one looking for this workshop which leads to some sleuthing and even danger.  With the help of the triplets from next door, named April, May, and June, Horten travels through the village finding clues in the quirkiest of places hoping to discover the workshop and maybe his uncle as well.

Website: http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/hortens-miraculous-mechanisms

Personal Thoughts:

This is a book that is on the Maine Student Book Award nominee list for 2013-2014.  I try to read all the books on the list so I can recommend them to students.  This one was fun and quirky and an easier read than some that end up on the list.  

Series: This is the first book in a new series.

Subjects/Themes: Quest for Discovery

High Interest Annotation:  Horten’s boring summer turns into the search for his long lost Great Uncle Tony, a famous magician, and his lost workshop.