Alistair Grim's Odditorium

Truth be told, Alistair Grim's Odditorium caught me with just its title. Can you blame me? I'm all about quirky tales and, even more than that, unique MG stories. I don't suppose I should have been surprised at how odd this story ended up at times. While the plot isn't overly complex, there are definitely a lot of moving pieces to Grubb's story. Now that I know this is a series, I'm not as worried anymore. Be warned though, you'll likely be left with burning questions at the end.

Let's talk about our main character, Grubb. I sure do love a plucky, young character, and Grubb fits that description to the letter. I caught myself comparing him to other young orphan lads, which I'm sure you can guess at but I won't mention precisely, and therefore I had a soft spot in my heart for him. I never get tired of rags to riches stories. Of courageous characters who end up in mischief through no fault of their own. Grubb was my kind of protagonist.

Unfortunately, I can't say I was given as much time to love the other characters in this story. My biggest gripe about Alistair Grim's Odditorium was the lack of character development. This book is very heavy on the action, which I'm sure was intentional since it's aimed at MG readers. However for readers like myself, and yes I was like this even when I was the intended audience for this book, the lack of character depth is tragic. I was so intrigued by Alistair Grim and his cast of fellow characters. I would have loved to get lost in their backgrounds. I can only hope that the next book in the series gives me that opportunity.

While the writing is solid, the plot is a little predictable. Odd things do happen. They most definitely do. However I was still quickly able to figure out where things were headed, and guess the ending before I arrived there. It is testament to the overall strength of this book that I read it through to the end though! Despite any qualms I may have had, it still managed to capture me enough that I'm looking forward to more. Do you have a young reader who loves adventure? Perhaps they'll want to give this book a shot.