I actually can’t stop raving to whomever will listen to me about Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt‘s Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things. The first book in a new trilogy for middle readers, this book enchanted me from page one – its captivating story, chock full of mysteries large and small; smart, likeable characters; detailed and delicate pencil drawings from Iacopo Bruno; and beautifully rendered historical details – it’s everything I love in a book and more.
12 year old Max Starling’s parents are famous actors and they’ve been invited to India by the Maharajah of Kashmir himself, with two first class steamship tickets enclosed in the gold-embossed invitation delivered to the Starling home one sunny Sunday morning. Max, used to playing a minor role in his eccentric, flamboyant parents’ lives, wonders if he’s invited as well and if his parents are even considering requesting passage for him. On the day of departure, a ticket having been secured for “the child,” Max arrives at the harbor to find his parents missing and no record of a steamer called The Flower of Kashmir in the harbor master’s log. Dumbfounded, Max returns home and ends up at Grammie’s next door, where the two of them wonder if Max was purposefully left behind or if something more sinister is afoot.
After a week spent in bed feeling sorry for himself, Grammie forces Max out into the world to either go back to school or decide how he will make his way until they determine what has happened to Max’s parents. But making one’s way in early 20th century London isn’t as easy as Max might hope. While of employable age, with no work experience (except as a stagehand and occasional bit part player in his parents’ productions) and no references, finding work is proving difficult. And no work means no money for Max, which poses a grave threat to his dreams of independence. Soon, however, and almost without trying, Max stumbles into what proves to be a profession perfectly suited to his temperament, skill-set, and unobtrusive nature: he can discover lost things and engineer solutions to problems people didn’t realize needed fixing “This solutioneering felt like something he had always been meant to do. He was using his best abilities and finding out how good they were.” (296)
I’m not sure if it was intentional on Voigt’s part or not, but one of the most fascinating and likeable character traits in Max, his Grammie, and a few of the other charming characters in Mister Max is their introversion. I know that may sound a little strange, but being an introvert in an extroverted world, whenever I find characters who embrace their traits, using those aptitudes to their advantage, and living joyously in their true nature, well, I just have to smile and tell all my fellow “innies” about it. Voigt captures with such clarity and depth the small and large habits and strengths of an introvert, I found myself wondering if she has ever read the fantastic book, The Introvert Advantage: Making the Most of Your Inner Strengths by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D. that explains and champions the powers of those of us on the “quiet” side of life.
In the end, however, I don’t suppose that matters much. What does matter, though, is that with Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things, Cynthia Voigt has the beginnings of a superb trilogy on her hands and you must get your hands on it as well.
- Posted by Cori