Review of Lauren Oliver's CURIOSITY HOUSE: THE SHRUNKEN HEAD (by: guest reviewer Kira Lemke)

Hello Mayhemers!

Marissa here. Today, I'm delighted to welcome to the blog a good friend of mine, Kira Lemke, who has read and reviewed Lauren Oliver's forthcoming THE SHRUNKEN HEAD, the first installment in THE CURIOSITY HOUSE series.

First, let me introduce you to Kira. Kira Lemke is a student at Providence Classical Christian School. She has three novels in process on Storybird as KiraNoelle. When she isn't studying or writing, she likes to paint, bake, and keep her younger siblings in line. Some of her favorite things are tardigrades, giant squids, Ancient Egypt, and sensorimotor neural engineering.

Here's what Kira had to say about THE SHRUNKEN HEAD:

"Pippa, Max, Sam, and Thomas are four orphans with remarkable abilities who reside in Dumphrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, oddities, and Wonders, still reeling from the Great Depression and recent lack of public interest in freak shows.

In a last ditch effort to save the museum, Mr. Dumphrey procures the supposed shrunken head of an Amazonian chief. Everything seems to be going splendid- record crowds, women fainting in horror- until the head is stolen. The four children band together in an effort to save the head, the museum, and themselves.

 Mysteries and mysterious abilities are all well and good, but, quite frankly, the superhuman and the unknown populate every other book on the middle grade bookshelf. And for a good reason- unusual abilities add a layer of excitement, of novelty, of escape from normal life, and ambiguity is crucial for plot and suspense- but each new novel needs to find its special niche to set it a cut above the rest. For The Shrunken Head, it’s character.

There is a place, between upper middle grade and young adult, where a child reads both and fits in neither. Standard middle grade plots begin to seem a bit childish, but young adult is still a bit too mature. The key to bridging this gap is not to read exclusively Charles Dickens (and I’m speaking from experience here), but to read books with good characters. Young adult won’t get any less mature, but good characters can add a layer of sophistication to any middle grade novel, a tricky gamut The Shrunken Head runs effortlessly. Pippa, Max, Sam, and Thomas are all clearly children, but each deals with problems common to all age groups. Though the obstacle in question (e.g., reading minds) may never be encountered, the underlying emotion (e.g., fear of failure) is far too familiar. With such masterful writing, The Shrunken Head will appeal to all age groups.

The genius of the children is not limited to relatability. Each child has a distinct voice easily recognizable from the others. Now, yes, in most books, you can tell which character is speaking. Oliver and Chester have turned this into an art form. Max is so Max, and Sam is so Sam, that the otherwise unremarkable fundamental building block of writing becomes one of the book’s crowning jewels.

This book is exactly what middle grade needs. I’d recommend it to anyone."

Kira, thank you so much for joining the Mayhem and sharing your thoughts on THE SHRUNKEN HEAD!

It is now available for pre-order from your favorite book-seller or library and will be on shelves 9/29/2015. Happy reading! :)