Looking For a Good Book

Ophelia is a very smart and scientifically-minded eleven-year-old girl. After the death of her mother, Ophelia and her older sister have come along with their father to a new city (where it never stops snowing). Their father has thrown himself into his work at his new job. He is an expert on swords and is putting together a very large exhibition of swords in an old, dark, gloomy museum.

Ophelia’s sister is preoccupied with fashion and has found a like-minded friend in the museum curator, and her father is busy playing with his swords, leaving nothing for Ophelia to do, so she begins to wander and explore all the nooks and crannies of the museum.

Finding a locked door somewhere deep in the museum, Ophelia looks through the keyhole and sees the blue eyes of a young boy looking back at her. He is the Marvelous Boy and he tells Ophelia that he’s been waiting for her. Although he looks about the same age as Ophelia, he explains that he’s actually 303 years old and that he’s been imprisoned by the Snow Queen who is working her magic to bring about the end of the world.

The Marvelous Boy explains that he, and only he now, can stop the queen and restore peace to the land, but first he has to escape his imprisonment. Perhaps Ophelia will help him.

The  start of this book is really fantastic. The introductions of Ophelia and her family really set a wonderful tone for the book. The museum itself becomes a character and I was a little excited to have Ophelia go and explore.

When she finds the Marvelous Boy I thought we’d hit a jackpot – it was truly magical. And then we went on a whole new adventure.

Instead of following Ophelia and experiencing the museum through her eyes, and finding the Marvelous Boy, we change our focus to the boy and what he needs to do. Ophelia becomes a secondary character. The boy’s plan and his needs are far less interesting than Ophelia exploring. Yes, there are a few fun characters to meet along the way but they pass by fairly quickly.

Looking for a good book? Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy showed so much promise and author Karen Foxlee clearly has talent, but the book loses its sense of magic and adventure through most of the middle.

I received a digital copy of this book many years ago, from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

author: Karen Foxlee

publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

ISBN: 9780385753548

hardcover, 233 pages