Puppets come to life and kidnapping were not appealing to me and I did not get into the book quick enough to hold my attention. ( )

I'd recommend this book to kids looking for something challenging, spooky, and full of mystery and magic. The length (400 pages) and font size (too small) were, at first, daunting and put me off starting the book, but by the end of the first chapter I was hooked.

Splendors and Glooms begins with a witch, a rich girl, and puppets. It's set in the Victorian era, when London was a dirty, frightening place, especially for an orphan. Our heroes, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall, are two orphans with the same guardian--the freaky, villainous Gaspare Grisini, a master puppeteer with magical abilities. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are basically Grisini's slaves, dragging his puppet cart around London and helping him perform shows to earn a meager living.

Our rich girl, Clara Wintermute, happens upon one of Grisini's puppet shows, and thus launches the action of the book. Grisini, Lizzie Rose, and Parsefall, are invited to visit Clara's home on her birthday to put on a show and the results are disastrous.

Author Laura Amy Schlitz did so many excellent things with this book. First, she made her villains human, but none the less frightening for their humanity. She made her heroes likable and distinct. The readers can see into the heads of Lizzie Rose, Parsefall, and Clara, and so we understand that Lizzie Rose is always striving to be good (I particularly loved it when Lizzie Rose consciously chose to make decisions as if she were the youngest sister in a fairy tale--always the most noble one). We understand that Parsefall is dirty, sneaky, and often frightened, but in possession of a strong conscience when it comes to Lizzie Rose. And we see that Clara, though pampered, has suffered almost as much Parsefall.

This book makes no mistakes, except that its dark, intimidating appearance may scare away potential readers. Some have said that it's overlong, but I enjoyed every word. For the dedicated reader, this will be a treasure. ( )

Newbery Honor Book ( )

Fun, if a little overly long, melodrama. Surprisingly dark for a kid book. ( )

I loved this book! I was already a little spooked by puppets and magicians, and now this book has cemented those feelings forever! It's a great spooky read in a dramatic setting, full of villains and orphans and secrets. I couldn't put it down. If you like scary stories that are thrilling, but also fairytale-ish enough to keep it from being TOO scary, this is perfect. ( )