Return to Auggie Hobble

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 10, 2016

Review

Part run-of-the-mill MG novel, part X-files, part Goosebumps, the book throws a little of everything into the pot. Auggie's family runs a broken-down theme park dedicated to fairy tales, Fairy Tale Place. Among normal things like failing his Creative Arts class, having a crush on a girl who doesn't know he exists, and evading the school bullies, Auggie has some very abnormal things happen, werewolves, dead best friend, UFOs. Lane's illustrations are worth the price of the book as he envisions the different projects Auggie could do to get out of the Creative Arts hot water, showing that Auggie is more indecisive than un-creative, and as he introduces the reader to the quirky, sometimes nefarious characters in and around Fairy Land Place. Funny, dark, and peppered with action, this book is an ambitious first effort by Lane. Readers who stick with the book until the end (and those who can't take abrupt shifts in plot may not), will be rewarded with an entertaining romp through an adolescent boy's head and heart.

Overall Book Score: good