The Book of Lost Things

August 28, 2006
Thriller writer Connolly (Every Dead Thing
) turns from criminal fears to primal fears in this enchanting novel about a 12-year-old English boy, David, who is thrust into a realm where eternal stories and fairy tales assume an often gruesome reality. Books are the magic that speak to David, whose mother has died at the start of WWII after a long debilitating illness. His father remarries, and soon his stepmother is pregnant with yet another interloper who will threaten David's place in his father's life. When a portal to another world opens in time-honored fashion, David enters a land of beasts and monsters where he must undertake a quest if he is to earn his way back out. Connolly echoes many great fairy tales and legends (Little Red Riding Hood, Roland, Hansel and Gretel), but cleverly twists them to his own purposes. Despite horrific elements, this tale is never truly frightening, but is consistently entertaining as David learns lessons of bravery, loyalty and honor that all of us should learn.

January 29, 2007
Crossley provides a smooth, professional reading of this heartfelt story of loss and discovery. Connolly's fairy tale for adults chronicles the adventures of David, a 12-year-old boy growing up in WWII England. Still mourning the loss of his mother to cancer, David is desperately trying to adjust to life with a new stepmother, a new half-brother and a father who, because of the war, is never around. But everything changes when David stumbles through a magical gateway and into a realm of familiar, yet decidedly different, representations of classic fairy tales. Searching for a way home, he is pursued by the Crooked Man, an evil troll who must strip David of his innocence in order to retain his power over the kingdom. David learns lessons of bravery, loyalty, acceptance, sacrifice and, finally, the power of love and family. Crossley's narration is articulate and measured, bringing a respectful dignity to the author's prose. He takes the same care with the book's multitude of characters, whether it is David, the Crooked Man or a hilariously funny band of anti-capitalist dwarfs. A lovely tale, skillfully told. Simultaneous release with the Atria hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 28).