The Marvels

wonderful book, great combination of text and drawings

Como la mayoría de los libros de Selznick, una joya.

I discovered this wonderful book by accident. I saw it in a school library and commented that a book that long was unlikely to attract many readers. The librarian simply said, "Open it" I was utterly amazed. It is one of the most beautiful picture stories I have ever come across. Yet the best was yet to come as the written part of the story is completely captivating and emotionally engaging. I shut myself away and did not stop reading until I had finished. The revelation at the back of the book has since led, via a gift from the first friend for whom I bought a copy, to a magical visit to 18 Folgate Street. Read the book to find out all about this. If you are disappointed, give your copy to a school library!

I'll be honest, I bought the book mainly because it is gorgeous and I wanted it on my bookshelf. Even thou I bought the book for such petty reasons, I found the two stories inside really nice. The way both stories are tangled togheter by the author was what I loved the most.

To be honest, this is the first book I've read by Brian Selznick, so I wasn't very familiar with his work and wasn't going into this book with neither high nor low expectations. I just watched a review about it on YouTube and the way the YouTuber expressed his feelings over it really got me curious enough to check it out. The excerpt, which is the Amazon sample, I only glanced at, but the dialogue between Frankie and Joseph was was drew me in even more. When it arrived (a day early, by the way - thank you, Amazon), I tore the box open and, at first, I just started at the cover/dust jacket for a few minutes. It's a lot prettier than it looks on the picture. Then, after I got over that, I began my adventure through the Marvels. I read everything in less than 12 hours (with constant interruptions, and at one point I had to go out shopping) because I just couldn't have it out of my sight for too long. I just had to know what happened and how everything clicked together. I have to say, the ending blew my mind. As I was reading along, I was coming up with theories as to what was going on, and never did the actual twist come to mind. At the end, I was very devastated. I didn't want the adventure to end, but it did. It was a beautiful adventure, though. It's been such a long time since a book has left me feeling all heartbroken but full of joy all at once. This has become a new favorite for sure. Now, I'm aware of some negative comments this book has been receiving and... I've got some things to say about it. 1) The homosexuality is barely even there! It doesn't even focus on it at all. 2) As an aspiring author, I find it very rude for people to point out what they think are "flaws" in the story, especially when it's something like this. This is how life is NOW, you can't shelter your children from the knowledge that gay people exist. Stop spreading homophobia; it's not healthy. 3) AIDS is indeed mentioned, but it's doesn't even go into detail as to how it's contracted. I was talking about the topic with my fiance, and his little brother (he's eleven) was listening. Even he said, "That's stupid that people are complaining about that being in a book. It's just a disease you die from." Kids aren't stupid, and they SHOULD know what's out there. Plus, they go on the internet. You think they haven't read "AIDS" anywhere else? Ridiculous. All in all, most of these negative comments didn't even make sense to me after I read it all.

Ich liebe dieses Grafic Novel von Brian Selznik, der Buchschnitt ist unglaublich schön und die Illustration sind wirklich beeindruckend.