A review by darumachan
The World-Famous Nine by Ben Guterson

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I read the audiobook edition, and it was clear that I was missing many of the interactive puzzles and illustrations because I did not have access to the physical book. 

There was a lot to process -- all the characters and the massive lists of items on display and for sale ended up feeling tedious after the first few scenes of the department store. The other downside of the attention to description was that I never felt very invested in the main characters, Zander and Natasa. 

 The plot and setting promised a lot of fun adventure and sleuthing, but the premise remained vague and poorly defined throughout -- ultimately the villains' motivations were not very believable, and the point of finding and retrieving the missing magical object was never made entirely clear.

I love middle-grade novels that have the main characters team up to uncover the mystery through teamwork, but the key to doing that successfully is to let all the characters shine in a logical way that stays true to each character's special skills or experiences. The World-Famous Nine seemed to be doing that well enough through most of the novel, but really failed in the final climactic scene  --

why make Zander, who is afraid of heights, retrieve the plate, and leave Natasa on the sidelines to get captured and threatened, when Natasa's strengths were clearly better suited to to that final challenge? The scene would have been just as thrilling and Zander would have had plenty of ways to shine, but instead, it reads as a clumsy move to force Zander into the spotlight at the detriment to character and plot alike.