In Alistair Grim's Odditorium Grubb is a 12-year old boy who works as a chimney sweep, but only receives pitiful amounts of food and beatings from his cruel master. All that changes the day he stows away in a trunk of a wealthy guest at the hotel he is cleaning. He dreams he is flying, and when he wakes up, he finds himself in London in the Odditorium. The Odditorium is full of many magic items-known as odditoria. Grubb becomes Mr. Grim's apprentice. But before long the Odditorium is attacked and they take off flying in order to prevent the magic from falling into evil hands. They must defeat Prince Nightshade, and protect the magic of the world. I liked in this book that there was lots of adventure, and there many different pieces that all fit together at the end-there were partly mysteries. The book wasn't predictable. I didn't like that some issues were not resolved in the book-there was a cliffhanger. This book is part of series, and could not stand by itself. I do know there is a sequel though-I just have to get my hands on it. I recommend this book to adventure lovers and fantasy lovers. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Alistair Grim's Odditorium
By Gregory Funaro
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 4 - 6 | n/a | 5.8 | 73269 |
"Ideal for kids who loved Percy Jackson and Harry Potter." -Booklist
"With a dash of Dickens and more than a bit of Rowling, this first book in a proposed series should have no trouble finding an audience."-VOYA
Grubb, age twelve (or thereabouts), has never known anything beyond his miserable existence as a chimney sweep, paid only in insults and abuse by his cruel master.
All of that changes the day he stows away in the coach belonging to a mysterious guest at the inn that he is tasked with cleaning. Grubb emerges from Alistair Grim's trunk and into the wondrous world of the Odditorium. Fueled by a glowing blue energy that Grubb can only begin to understand, the Odditorium is home to countless enchanted objects and an eccentric crew that embraces Grubb as one of their own.
There's no time for Grubb to settle into his new role as apprentice to the strange, secretive Mr. Grim. When the Odditorium comes under attack, Grubb is whisked off on a perilous adventure. Only he can prevent the Odditorium's magic from falling into evil hands-and his new family from suffering a terrible fate.
Grubb knows he's no hero. He's just a chimney sweep. But armed with only his courage and wits, Grubb will confront the life-or-death battle he alone is destined to fight.
Book Reviews (8)
This is a book about Grubb the son of Alastair Grim. Alastair Grim lives in the Odditorium and collects odditaria. In the book there is a super evil guy named Prince Nightshade. Grubb and his father have to defeat Prince Nightshade and save the day. Even though I thought the story was slow, I liked the illustrations. My favorite character was Gwendelyn. If you like stories about magic, this book is for you.
After he is charged with cleaning Alistair Grim's trunk, chimney sweep Grubb discovers the Odditorium. The Odditorium, with all of it's quirky characters and objects, faces the threat of Prince Nightshade and Grubb must defend it.
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I think the kid is twelve years old, he was a hero.
Alistair Grim's Odditorium is such a great book! The characters are so amazing! This book was fast paced and full of twists and turns! Loved this book!
All magical, and really fun! But one problem, the book seemed a little rushed at the end. It was going well, until all of a sudden the book was going so fast. Overall, I liked it.
This book looks cool
This is an interesting book, but the plot and characters move very slowly until about halfway through the book, at which point they start sprinting. This makes the story hard to follow. Also, I am not really a fan of the weird magic theme.