linguana's review
4.0
Full review at SFF Book Review.
I'm surprised that with a title like this (and following Cherie Priest's succes with her "Boneshaker") this book doesn't get more attention. It is a wonderfully fun story about the little Missouri town of Arcane where Natalie is trying very hard to learn how to ride the Chesterlane bicycle her father built for her.
When a medicine show arrives in town, she starts noticing strange things - not just about the mysterious, red-haired Dr. Limberleg, but about the inhabitants of her very own home town. Soon she discovers that things are more than they seem and that only she can prevent a terrible, terrible thing from happening.
Kate Milford does a fantastic job of grabbing your interest and holding it until the very end. This book is so full of atmosphere and stories-within-stories, filled with magic and mystery, that I think is perfect for children and young adults. As an adult, I enjoyed myself immensely, despite being able to guess some of the twists and revelations. But with such great pacing and those beautiful illustrations, I believe this is one of the better children's books out there at the moment. Recommended!
7,5/10
I'm surprised that with a title like this (and following Cherie Priest's succes with her "Boneshaker") this book doesn't get more attention. It is a wonderfully fun story about the little Missouri town of Arcane where Natalie is trying very hard to learn how to ride the Chesterlane bicycle her father built for her.
When a medicine show arrives in town, she starts noticing strange things - not just about the mysterious, red-haired Dr. Limberleg, but about the inhabitants of her very own home town. Soon she discovers that things are more than they seem and that only she can prevent a terrible, terrible thing from happening.
Kate Milford does a fantastic job of grabbing your interest and holding it until the very end. This book is so full of atmosphere and stories-within-stories, filled with magic and mystery, that I think is perfect for children and young adults. As an adult, I enjoyed myself immensely, despite being able to guess some of the twists and revelations. But with such great pacing and those beautiful illustrations, I believe this is one of the better children's books out there at the moment. Recommended!
7,5/10
shighley's review against another edition
3.0
This book was on the consideration list for our state award books; while I feel it would appeal to many, I see lots of our students lacking the stamina to get through it. It is very imaginative, but almost too descriptive in places. I can see it appealing to boys as well as girls, even with a female main character. (I think it could have been successful with some editing for length and detail. Did anyone else notice the bike referred to as a 'Chesterfield' on page 362?)
proffy's review against another edition
2.0
When Dr. Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show comes to Arcane, Natalie quickly realizes all is not as it appears. Long fascinated with automata, Natalie still is horrified by Limberleg's perpetual motion automata because she knows perpetual motion is not possible, at least not in the world she knows. But Natalie and the people of Arcane have a lot to learn about the strangeness of reality.
While most seem to have enjoyed this one, I found the pace a bit too slow. The problem may be that I rarely read middle-grade fiction.
While most seem to have enjoyed this one, I found the pace a bit too slow. The problem may be that I rarely read middle-grade fiction.
impreader's review against another edition
4.0
The narrative had a curious--and sort of deceptive--lazy-going arc, like the sun-smoothed dust of a deserted dirt road. Only the slow at first let's the startling and deeper things pop up, after they've grown--and you never even noticed them growing.
It was an excellent story, with overlapping convincingly layered world and characters, and a protagonist with as much understated courage and depth as her story. That makes it all sound unbearably stuffy. But Mitford weaves her horror, her beauties and her mysteries together tightly enough to squeeze the 'stuff' out of anyone.
It was an excellent story, with overlapping convincingly layered world and characters, and a protagonist with as much understated courage and depth as her story. That makes it all sound unbearably stuffy. But Mitford weaves her horror, her beauties and her mysteries together tightly enough to squeeze the 'stuff' out of anyone.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
Strange things can happen at a crossroads. If a town is near that crossroads, well, strange things can happen there too.
Arcane, Missouri is filled with odd stories about the town and the crossroads. Just ask Natalie Minks. She might only be thirteen, but she already knows all about the eerie goings on at the crossroads thanks to her excellent storyteller (and terrible cook) mother.
As much as Natalie loves a good story, she loves machines and gears more. Her father is an expert bicycle mechanic and Natalie is learning too--it's 1913 after all and machines are popping up everywhere.
Even, it turns out, in traveling bands of snake oil salesmen.
Doctor Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show promises entertainment, information, and a cure for any and all ailments. Natalie is enchanted by all of the bicycles and automata the show brings along with its tents and patent medicines. But she can't shake the nagging feeling that something is wrong, horribly wrong, with the medicine show and its four Paragons of Science.
To figure out how wrong the medicine show is Natalie will have to get to the bottom of an age-old bargain, tame the fastest bicycle in the world, cash in a dangerous favor, and ask a lot of costly questions--all before the medicine show can take Arcane for everything it's worth in The Boneshaker (2010) by Kate Milford with illustrations by Andrea Offermann.*
The Boneshaker is Milford's first novel.
The Boneshaker tackles a lot of narrative ground with unexplained visions, mysterious automatons, strange bargains, and a whole town's secrets. The ending of the story leaves a lot up in the air with Natalie's future and even her place in the town. The narrative also takes a lot of time to tie things together and explain details of the lore surrounding Arcane as well as to explain certain things Natalie begins to learn in the story. The premise is interesting and Natalie is a great protagonist but the whole package was not quite as well-realized (or resolved) as it could have been.
That said, Milford writes like a natural storyteller. The opening pages of this story draw readers in with prose that sounds like a traditional folk tale and a setting that immediately evokes the era and feel of a midwestern town at the turn of the last century. Everything about The Boneshaker is charming from Natalie and her cantankerous bicycle to the vivid illustrations by Offermann that bring Natalie's world to life.
This story is well-written and will find many fans in readers of fantasies and historical novels alike.
*The Boneshaker is not to be confused by a similarly titled but completely different book by Cherie Priest called Boneshaker.
Possible Pairings: Plain Kate by Erin Bow, The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi, Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale, Holes by Louis Sachar, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Arcane, Missouri is filled with odd stories about the town and the crossroads. Just ask Natalie Minks. She might only be thirteen, but she already knows all about the eerie goings on at the crossroads thanks to her excellent storyteller (and terrible cook) mother.
As much as Natalie loves a good story, she loves machines and gears more. Her father is an expert bicycle mechanic and Natalie is learning too--it's 1913 after all and machines are popping up everywhere.
Even, it turns out, in traveling bands of snake oil salesmen.
Doctor Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show promises entertainment, information, and a cure for any and all ailments. Natalie is enchanted by all of the bicycles and automata the show brings along with its tents and patent medicines. But she can't shake the nagging feeling that something is wrong, horribly wrong, with the medicine show and its four Paragons of Science.
To figure out how wrong the medicine show is Natalie will have to get to the bottom of an age-old bargain, tame the fastest bicycle in the world, cash in a dangerous favor, and ask a lot of costly questions--all before the medicine show can take Arcane for everything it's worth in The Boneshaker (2010) by Kate Milford with illustrations by Andrea Offermann.*
The Boneshaker is Milford's first novel.
The Boneshaker tackles a lot of narrative ground with unexplained visions, mysterious automatons, strange bargains, and a whole town's secrets. The ending of the story leaves a lot up in the air with Natalie's future and even her place in the town. The narrative also takes a lot of time to tie things together and explain details of the lore surrounding Arcane as well as to explain certain things Natalie begins to learn in the story. The premise is interesting and Natalie is a great protagonist but the whole package was not quite as well-realized (or resolved) as it could have been.
That said, Milford writes like a natural storyteller. The opening pages of this story draw readers in with prose that sounds like a traditional folk tale and a setting that immediately evokes the era and feel of a midwestern town at the turn of the last century. Everything about The Boneshaker is charming from Natalie and her cantankerous bicycle to the vivid illustrations by Offermann that bring Natalie's world to life.
This story is well-written and will find many fans in readers of fantasies and historical novels alike.
*The Boneshaker is not to be confused by a similarly titled but completely different book by Cherie Priest called Boneshaker.
Possible Pairings: Plain Kate by Erin Bow, The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi, Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale, Holes by Louis Sachar, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
cmdatt's review against another edition
5.0
Sorry I didn't post as soon as I finished this, but life got busy. This is an excellent novel with complex characters who are inviting to both youth and adults. The plot is timeless and unique at the same time. I highly recommend to all readers and will definitely share with my students in the fall.
ravenclawkate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
frootjoos's review against another edition
I just can't. There are so many awesome books to read--this is just not my cup of tea.
readerpants's review against another edition
4.0
Good gracious, somebody loves Ray Bradbury! I might go re-read Dandelion Wine or Something Wicked This Way comes right now - they were some of my favorite books when I was young, and I hadn't thought of them for years until I was reading this book.
The Boneshaker was too long, with a slow beginning, but it got very good... despite the fact that this is the kind of book that I'd usually put down (or not pick up in the first place). My skepticism was gone by the time I was halfway through.
The Boneshaker was too long, with a slow beginning, but it got very good... despite the fact that this is the kind of book that I'd usually put down (or not pick up in the first place). My skepticism was gone by the time I was halfway through.