L.L.Samson's The Enchanted Attic ~ Reviewed

The Enchanted Attic - Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame
L. L. Samson
Paperback: 141 pages
Publisher: ZonderKidz (May 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-72795-8


Description:

A hidden attic. A classic story. A very unexpected twist. Twin twelve-year-old bookworms Ophelia and Linus Easterday discover a hidden attic that once belonged to a mad scientist. While relaxing in the attic and enjoying her latest book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ophelia dozes off, and within moments finds herself facing a fully alive and completely bewildered Quasimodo. Ophelia and Linus team up with a clever neighbor, a hippy priest, and a college custodian, learning Quasimodo's story while searching for some way to get him back home---if he can survive long enough in the modern world.


Review:


Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame is an excellent first book to a new children's series. While older readers (say 13 and up) will find a few of the characters a bit off, younger readers probably won't notice a thing (than again, what do I know about people under 12?) The combination of self sufficient twins, a street smart London transfer student, and an enchanted attic create the perfect environment for a magical summer vacation. As an added bonus, the book mentions classic literature such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Moby Dick.

Scattered throughout the writing one can also find new vocabulary words accompanied by a definition by the local university's janitor (I learned a few new words too). This could make the book a hidden English lesson (or a visible one), but whether used that way or not it should find it's way onto any child’s reading list.

Reviewed by: Jayshua Nelson