The Marvels

This was a fantastic book and reading experience! This is by far the most beautiful and, at nearly 700 pages, the least portable book I have read this year! The blue and gold cover, gold edged pages, and drawings throughout made for a visually pleasing experience alongside some awesome story telling. This is technically YA, but it definitely hits on some tough topics! The first half is a story entirely in pictures and the second half, a connected story in words, with some pictures thrown in. I highly recommend the physical book over the ebook on this one, or you’ll seriously be missing out on part of the reading experience (and the added bonus of weightlifting).

The drawings were beyond beautiful. I enjoyed the story, but it somehow felt a little incomplete for me.

Some readers will take the story at face value, but be aware that many will want explanations in order to fully grasp certain concepts in this book.

Fantastic read. I love how Brian Selznick interlaces real with fiction to produce a beautifully written and illustrated book. Both my son and I became so invested in the characters and enjoyed learning about the true Folgate Street inhabitants. Bravo Brian Selznick.

Brian Selznick’s two previous works of incredible illustrated historical fiction (The Inventory of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck) revealed his talent for creating this new genre and art form, as indicated by their bestsellerdom and garnered awards. In The Marvels, he does the same thing again, making the reader anxious to get to the end to find what is fact and what is fiction, and what is the whole story behind everything . . . But at the same time they want to savor every page and never want it to end.

The Marvels is a book of two stories. The first is told almost completely in continuous imagery, a flickering movie-like effect of the boy Billy Marvel in 1766 who survives a devastating shipwreck and begins work at a London theatre. Then the reader gets to enjoy the Marvel family through the generations and the many great actors that are spawned until young Leontes Marvel who wants nothing to do with the stage.

In the other story, nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis has run away from school and home and is looking for his uncle in London to stay with for a while and get away from everything. When he finds his uncle, he convinces him to let him stay in the wonderfully unusual house of Albert Nightingale which is kind of a combination of Hearst Castle and Winchester Mystery house, filled with wonders and delights, along with some spooky artifacts that all tell of the great history of the Marvel family.

If The Invention of Hugo Cabret was a tale of history, and Wonderstruck was a tale of love, then The Marvels is a thrilling mystery tale that you won’t be able to put down.

Originally written on January 17, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.

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I enjoyed this book. It was very very intriguing. I liked Hugo Cabre a little bit more but that is just my opinion. It is a pretty long book but has many pictures but all in all has about 300 pages out of the total 660. It was very interesting.

Before I describe the book you should know that a huge part of this story is how you interpret it (since there are no words until 3 quarters of the way through the book it is important to know you may have a different interpenetration. The Marvels starts off with pictures. It starts off on a boat. Some very treacherous things happen and the boat ends up sinking. Two survive on a piece wood wood from the boat. They drift for days and finally reach a boat. They eventually both die. First the older boy and then the younger one.

Fast forwarding in to a town a mural of the older boy is painted up on the ceiling of a auditorium. Then it shows a boy growing up with theater. It shows him in different plays. The little boy starts to wonder why the older boy is on the ceiling. it's there. He draws the older boy and even accidentally drops his drawing on stage during a play. He even misses his cue.

There are so many interesting parts to this story. It is very short and worth it. The author also has written some other very interesting stories. I fully encourage many people to read this book. You won't regret it.

Book #125 Read in 2015
The Marvels by Brian Selznick (YA)

Selznick seamlessly weaves illustrations and prose together in his books, telling the story in two different manners. In this book, Joseph runs away from boarding school to go meet his uncle. The two eventually connect and bond, though that does not happen without its issues. The uncle's house is a place of great history and story and Joseph immediately feels a connection to it. I borrowed this book from the public library.

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A story within a story... you know, like Hamlet... except the play within the play is presented in illustrations before the explanation that it is a fantasy of two of the characters that appear afterwards in the text. On top of this the text story is based loosely on an actual place and actual people as is explained at the end of the book. My point is that this book which may very well be a pleasure for young adults and adults is structured is a way that is unnecessarily convoluted for the middle school readers it is intended for. I would suggest that the pictures should have been inserted in the middle of the text for clarity after some explanation as to context... otherwise the pictures may gain mystery but lose clarity of purpose. The story as presented is really inside out. Also it might have been fun to have known the information about the story's real life basis before reading it. For middle school readers, I preferred Wonderstruck which is truly wonderful and Hugo which was truly inventive.

I'm writing this review because almost everybody who posted a 1-3 star review seems to have given that rating based on the relationships introduced in the 2nd half of the book. If I could give it 2.5 stars, I would - 3 stars is a bit generous. My review is based on the quality of the story and writing, which unfortunately doesn't match the quality of the illustrations. As some have already said, the pacing once you get to the writing is very slow and repetitive, and yet there is not enough character development, especially of the protagonist. I didn't have enough time to really feel connected to him or truly appreciate his situation and emotional state. Secondary characters were one-dimensional and minimally developed, which was unfortunate since some of them could have been really interesting and added to the story. I understand the author was trying to create a sense of mystery and suspense but took a little too long with not enough reveals along the way to keep the reader hooked. The reveal all happened at the end, almost too quickly. With all that being said, the reason I gave it as many stars as I did, is because despite its flaws, the story did move me to tears at certain parts, and any story that can do that deserves at least 2 stars.

Amazing and beautiful.... this went beyond my expectations! My husband and I sat side by side in silence absorbing this story, and i also shared it with our 5 year old grandson, and he was spellbound.

The writing is laborious at best, clunky at times and strained at others. I am not sure what the standards are of those whom think it is so beautifully done; but this is NOT a well written book and I am mystified by those who believe that it is. Perhaps I just expect MUCH more out of something that is so broadly acclaimed & highly promoted. The illustrations are nice, but it doesn't compensate for the laborious text. If this is the new "standard" for "good" children's literature, I am very sorry for the children of today ~ they are being deceived and ultimately "dumbed down". It is really a shame.

I liked the detailed drawings in the beginning and the very end of the book. I think the thing I didn't like was that it got boring at some parts, and the format was weird on my kindle. but other than that, it was a very good book I thought.

I am a fifth grade teacher and have enjoyed Brian Selznick's other two novels. I love the fact that the pictures continue the story instead of illustrating what is written. I enjoyed the first half of this book, which is coincidentally all pictures. The story is exciting and time moves quickly. That half deserves 5 stars. Then, the words started and the book kind of lost me.

The writing seems like it could be trimmed down, especially for a good 30-40 pages. Nothing really happens, and the mystery kind of drags on. It finally gets going near the end, and the reveal is interesting, but the author includes topics that aren't appropriate for elementary students. Yes, this novel is geared toward middle school aged kids as well, but I won't be purchasing this for my classroom. Mr. Selznick approaches these topics in a very appropriate way, and in no way pushes it in your face, but I don't find them ok for the age group I teach. The ending especially seems completely forced by the author to include his personal beliefs about family, but I can't explain myself without giving anything away.

In conclusion, this is the weakest of the three Selznick tomes. The pictures are still fantastic, but the story after the pictures end is definitely a let down. 5 stars for the illustrations and story that goes with them, 2 stars for the story after that.

Maybe the author likes to envision a world in which today's young readers accept without question references to homosexual relationships, and in some communities that may be the case, and that is welcome proof of growing acceptance. However, in other communities introducing this theme quite unexpectedly will be disturbing. Can't kids just read a fantasy book without being confronted with subjects like HIV? I enjoyed the author's previous books and love the cinematic nature of his illustrations and the immediate way it draws the reader into other worlds. Like many other comments, I too found the text part of the book a drag. What kind of redeemed the whole thing was the information at the end about the restored home now operating as a kind of all-encompassing experience, the Dennis Severs House, in London. It sounds like the author's visit to this house was the inspiration for The Marvels.

In some countries, male homosexual relations are still illegal and I am glad that I read this book before shipping it off as a gift (which I can't do now). I agree that the description should be more explicit about the theme so the buyer can be fully informed.

Any one who cares to put Homosexuality in a child's book should at least have the decency to mention that in the book description. Some may have no issue with it and other will.
When a TV show is made with this content - they are very upfront about it and they show you in the previews. That gives you the option to watch or not to watch (and in this case to buy or not to buy). It is unfair to take that option away by not saying anything about it in the book description. I am left feeling deceived and upset I purchased this book. Everyone deserves to know up front what content is in the book!

I have been looking forward to reading Brian Selznick's third book for months, and after being completely enthralled with the illustrations and story line in the first half of the book, I was disturbed to find that there is an openly homosexual relationship in the second half of the book.

As an educator and a parent, I am sorry that I have to screen middle grade novels for homosexual themes. The issue here isn't whether or not one agrees or disagrees with homosexuality as a lifestyle choice.
Rather, adult readers should be asking, is it appropriate to promote either heterosexual or homosexual exploration in a book geared for young readers? I believe the answer is no.

Fourth graders should not have to grapple with the complexities of same sex relationships-or any sexual relationship. Sexual content is for mature audiences.

Unfortunately, this book will not join the other Selznick titles on my classroom shelves. What a disappointment.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Had I known of the homosexual relationships in it, I would never have purchased the book. I don't feel this is a book for children. Well written, but will not be given to the child I bought it for as a gift.

This book was more than a little disappointing. I loved Selznick's other two books, and I was excited to snuggle up with his latest release. Unfortunately, this book has homosexual relationships in it. There's nothing descriptive, but I won't be letting my son read it. I realize this isn't a popular position to take, but I don't care for authors putting these kinds of relationships in literature that's meant for children. It's just not appropriate. I also thought the story really lacked some magic once the narrative began. The art work is fantastic, but the story was boring.

I realize my review will leave me open to criticism from those of you who have a different view on homosexuality, but I am entitled to my opinion on this, and I would appreciate it if you could refrain from leaving me ugly messages about my review. Everyone is entitled to post how they feel about this book.

WOW! AIDS AND HOMOSEXUAL MALE RELATIONS! All in a children's book touted as being about a mysterious house and mysterious man with a mysterious and colorful theatrical family. My entire house was awaiting Selznick's newest novel/art piece. We loved Hugo and Wonder SO much. From 5 to 44! We own several copies - which says a lot - imagine Howl's Moving House built from paperbacks. That's us. Nope. No Kindles. Paper. Well, I am SO glad we did not buy this. I feel that the inside "teaser" is more of a misleader. Regardless of your politics, it matters not. The "surprise" or chain that links the stories (one a bit stronger than the other - but both sadly disappointing and failing to be flushed out in print) is 100% predicatable. AND it has a tinge of being spun purposefully to make a political point. "I knew when you thought my house was beautiful that you would see it." Really? The big reveal could have been two goats in love... I don't care. It was horribly disappointing and not at all shocking. You could see it coming from MARS. Oh - and as a parent - it would be nice to get a bit of heads-up that topics such as AIDS (that was fun to explain to my 8 year old who adores Hugo) and homosexual relationships. That's all I'm asking. Write whatever you will. Free country. I can carry a gun. Just PLEASE give folks buying your book - or passing it to their 10 kids a LITTLE more warning than "a surprise in the house that will tie two families together." Secrets abound.

This book celebrates going against God's law. Parents beware. Homosexuals are portrayed as good and acceptable, all surrounded by this very well crafted story. Other reviewers, please abstain trying to convince me otherwise, you will be wasting your time. I believe what God says above anybody's opinion, perspectives or points of view. Don't take me wrong, I am not being hateful or intolerant. I love the people but not their sin.

01 October: I bought this book as a birthday gift for my grandson. I wish I had read some of the reviews here before doing so. It's about Homos!!! No way can I give him this book now. I guess I'll just give him a Broke Back Mountain DVD. He's always loved playing cowboys.

05 October - I'm simply amazed by the number of pinheads here who do not understand satire.