|
The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World | 
 enlarge | Author: E.l. Konigsburg
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $10.00 (59%)
New (6) Used (8) from $6.16
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 124682
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9
ASIN: B0019N1CQS
Publication Date: September 25, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
"ninety percent of who you are is invisible." Amedeo Kaplan seems just like any other new kid who has moved into the town of St. Malo, Florida, a navy town where new faces are the norm. But Amedeo has a secret, a dream: More than anything in the world, he wants to discover something -- a place, a process, even a fossil -- some treasure that no one realizes is there until he finds it. And he would also like to discover a true friend to share these things with. William Wilcox seems like an unlikely candidate for friendship: an aloof boy who is all edges and who owns silence the way other people own words.When Amedeo and William find themselves working together on a house sale for Amedeo's eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Zender, Amedeo has an inkling that both his wishes may come true. For Mrs. Zender's mansion is crammed with memorabilia of her long life, and there is a story to go with every piece. Soon the boys find themselves caught up in one particular story -- a story that links a sketch, a young boy's life, an old man's reminiscence, and a painful secret dating back to the outrages of Nazi Germany. It's a story that will take them to the edge of what they know about heroism and the mystery of the human heart. Two-time Newbery winner E. L. Konigsburg spins a magnificent tale of art,discovery, friendship, history, and truth.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 no better than average January 29, 2008
Long Ago
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Three stars for average.
The story is slow and the characters are inconsistent, but the sections related to lost and stolen art by the Nazis were interesting to read. I enjoyed the fictionalized (of course) stories of the young men in an art shop on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam trying to save the loss of great art the Nazis had condemned as "degenerate art". I can imagine such fictionalized accounts of this type of activity probably aren't too far from truth.
In terms of the characters I didn't like the development of the two young teen boys. At one moment they were talking like one might expect a teen to speak, for example, poor grammar. Then a bit later they were discussing great works of art like they were well educated, sophisticated adults. It just grated on me.
The story really didn't get interesting in terms of the discovery of lost art and solving the mystery of its origin until about the final 1/4 of the book. A lot of what came before that seemed to be fluffy filler.
Finally, though it's billed as a "teen" book I can't imagine many teens would spend their time with this one. It's just my sense that the slow storyline won't hold their attention. This book would be thrown by the wayside in favor of something more stimulating to the senses.
E.L. Konigsburg At Her Best! January 14, 2008
I loved this book. It was great! At the beginning the plot was a little boring, but keep reading, it gets so much more exciting. Amedeo Kaplan has always wanted to find something no one knew was lost, but he doesn't expect to find anything in St. Malo, Florida. He does discover something, just not quite what he expected.
Although this book is not really a mystery, it has the mood and complexity of one. This is one of E.L. Konigsburg's best books, up there with The View from Saturday. If you like reading, get this book. If you don't like reading, read it any way, you'll love it. This book also talked a lot about art and that was great as well.
Interesting. December 20, 2007
T. Carlton (Illinois)
I found this book to be interesting, but at times a little flow challenged.
It is a well disguised WWII book. It became more intriguing about a third of the way into the book when you learn about art during Hitlers time. I think this would be daunting for juvenile readers; it definitely belongs in the teen section. Unfortunately I think in some ways it might be too subtle for teen readers as a whole. It is a good book, and as an adult who loves fiction and art I enjoyed it.
 A new kid who has a secret dream: to discover some hidden treasure to make himself famous December 4, 2007
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
E.L. Konigsburg's THE MYSTERIOUS EDGE OF THE HEROIC WORLD tells of Amedeo Kaplan, a new kid who has a secret dream: to discover some hidden treasure to make himself famous - and make a new friend to share his discoveries with. William is an aloof boy who is a loner and seems an odd friendship choice - but the two find themselves working on an odd mansion project and find themselves becoming involved in a long-kept secret revolving around Nazi Germany.
the mysterious edge of the heroic world October 17, 2007
Gillian (Indiana)
Great book with an interesting story line. A bit of WWII history and a modern day coming of age. A bit deep for a young reader. Better for a teen audience! Not as comic as I expected, but still a nice read!!!
|
|
|
Web Design, Maintenance, and Hosted by K9Sites.com | |