From Goodreads.com:
High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the
death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those
books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes
refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to
meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled
into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and
monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.
I was hooked on The
Book of Lost Things by page three. There was an awesome paragraph on the lives of stories. I was sold. Wow. Add to it the Crooked Man. He is one creeeepy fellow. Even his name elicits a dread in my soul. I knew in my heart not to believe in him but at times he didn't seem quite so bad. He is very convincing. And David's courage... I loved many things about this book.
I got this book thinking it was going to be a fun young adult read. I was wrong. John Connolly took a few of your childhood fairy tales and twisted them around into something much darker. I've heard that all fairy tales stem from dark roots and I feel like The Book of Lost Things kind of took me back there. This is definitely not young adult. I think that a teen could easily read and love this book, but it is adult fiction.
If you like Gregory Maguire I'd give this book a chance. It has a much different feel to it, but I think it's similar enough for you to enjoy. If you're a teen who loved The Lunar Chronicles, this might be a good read for you, assuming you liked it for more than the multiple love stories. I recommend this book to fans of fairy tales everywhere!
