Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame

Ophelia set down the book. Three days. Three days with Quasimodo, a medieval, Parisian hunchback recluse, right here in Kingscross, right here in this house, right here in the enchanted circle.

Book: Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame (The Enchanted Attic) by Lisa L. Samson, Zondervan Publishers, 2012

 

Genre: Fantasy

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 12-16

Subjects: Discrimination/Bigotry, Empathy

Summary: Ophelia liked reading. I mean she really liked reading! She had no trouble getting engrossed in a good story. But even she never imagined that she’d actually meet a character from the story! Fourteen year old twins, Ophelia and Linus are living with their aunt and uncle when they discover a science lab in the hidden attic. As Ophelia sits there reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame one night, Quasimodo appears! Apparently the scientist who lived in the house before her aunt and uncle bought it had found a way to bring characters from stories into our world. Now the trouble is getting them back. It takes being in a specific place at just the right time and having finished reading the entire book you brought the character out of, to achieve this. That wouldn’t be a problem except that that specific time is three days away – three days in which a lot of rain begins to fall, enough rain to likely cause the flood that generally occurs in the area every hundred years or so. And a severe flood could cause great damage to their plans. That’s not the only problem though. Another character has escaped from the story and if chasing down Quasimodo with ill intent on his mind. It’s up to the twins and their new friend Walter to kept Quasimodo safe for these three days and make sure all details are in place to send him back.

Notes: This is the first in a series about twin teenagers who live in a house with an enchanted attic with the ability to bring characters out of books. The style is a bit similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events. There is a narrator telling the story the whole way. He inserts humorous comments and explanations into the story, not giving the characters too much room to talk for themselves. This book is not blatantly Christian. It makes reference to a verse Ophelia reads in the Bible and compares it to her response to the story she’s reading. It shows the characters living out principles that are certainly Biblical such as loving and caring for the less fortunate. It just doesn’t say that their reasons for doing so have anything to do with a faith in Jesus Christ or a command in the Bible. They are just generally good people and that’s what causes them to act good.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 2/5

Creativity: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Matthew 25:40 – “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Thank you to Zondervan for giving me a free review copy of this book!