The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max) - Hardcover

Voigt, Cynthia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307976815 ISBN 13: 9780307976819

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013

Synopsis

Newbery medalist Cynthia Voigt presents a rollicking mystery in three acts!

Max's parents are missing. They are actors, and thus unpredictable, but sailing away, leaving Max with only a cryptic note, is unusual even for them. Did they intend to leave him behind? Have they been kidnapped? 

Until he can figure it out, Max feels it's safer to keep a low profile. Hiding out is no problem for a child of the theater. Max has played many roles, he can be whoever he needs to be to blend in. But finding a job is tricky, no matter what costume he dons.

Ironically, it turns out Max has a talent for finding things. He finds a runaway child, a stray dog, a missing heirloom, a lost love. . . . So is he a finder? A detective? No, it's more. Max finds a way to solve people's problems—he engineers better outcomes for them. He becomes Mister Max, Solutioneer.  

Now if only he could find a solution to his own problems . . .

About this title

Review:

Best Books of the Month: Middle Grade, September 2013: Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things is an imaginative blend of mystery and adventure, the first of a proposed trilogy. We begin with twelve-year-old Maximilian Sterling's very theatrical parents mysteriously disappearing, leaving him in the care of his grandmother. What follows is not what I expected--a wonderful surprise. While waiting for news of his parents, Max stumbles into detective work that he calls the job of "solutioneer," because sometimes there is more to finding a solution than simply retrieving what has been lost. Max’s theatrical upbringing serves him well, with disguises and personas that are often comical and always exactly what is needed to get the job done. If only he could figure out how to solve his own mystery: the whereabouts of his parents. Mister Max is a thoughtful and beautifully written novel that will reassure the most timid of readers that hidden within themselves is a wealth of courage and untapped possibility. --Seira Wilson

About the Author:

CYNTHIA VOIGT is the acclaimed author of many books, including Dicey's Song,winner of the Newbery Medal, and A Solitary Blue, winner of a Newbery Honor, and Homecoming. For the body of her work, Cynthia Voigt was honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Outstanding Literature for Young Adults. She lives with her husband in Maine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0307976815
• ISBN 13: 9780307976819
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400
• Illustrator: Bruno Iacopo