Book Review

#54 [100 Cupboards] by N. D. Wilson

 

As a reader, I really liked this book, as a parent, I have mixed feelings.  From the parental perspective, why is always necessary for kids to be brave and strong and intelligent without parents?  Look at Disney stories, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty (had to leave her parents), Snow White (where was her father in all that?), The Little Mermaid (okay, there was a dad, but where was Mom?) and look at the popular works of fiction for young adults: The [Harry Potter] series, [The Mysterious Benedict Society] series (Sticky had parents but ran away from them in the first book), [My Side of the Mountain] (his parents exist but he leaves them behind).  And now [100 Cupboards].  I know that parents are supposed to protect kids and keep them from harm, but what about a book where the parents help the kid have an adventure?  It would be nice to have more books like the [Percy Jackson] series where the mother (who granted, isn't in the books that much and father is pretty much absent) helps her son do the things that he must.  It would be nice if the parents weren't welcome mats, but someone the kid could count on to help with trouble, a venerable guide, a font of wisdom, not someone to be defied and proven wrong, but someone that recognized the potential of the kid and helped him achieve.  It would be nice if the kid succeeded with the help of the parents instead of in spite of the parents (or lack thereof).

 

However, as a story I liked it.  Henry moves to live with his aunt and uncle and 3 female cousins in Henry, KS.  It's a good adventure, a little dark in some parts, but otherwise well written and easy to follow.  The development of Henry's character was interesting, seeing how he was over protected by his parents and now experiencing freedom and a chance to be a kid.  In connection with my above rant, I thought the way Henry's parents treated him was interesting.  They didn't treat him like a kid, more like a Ming vase which they tried to protect but didn't relate to.  Which becomes an interesting story arc that I liked.  I'm going to save this book for my son for when he's in about 2nd grade.