From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Brian Selznick,

Jeff Woodman (Narrator)

Start date: December 29, 2020

Finish date: December 31, 2020

Discussion: 2020 Read Harder Challenge

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2020 Read Harder Challenge

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* 2020 Read Harder Challenge
By Book Riot · 1 post · 3933 views

last updated Dec 06, 2019 03:56PM

Task #20: Read a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK
By Book Riot · 90 posts · 1679 views

last updated Dec 31, 2020 02:39PM

What Members Thought

May 31, 2009 Kirstin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, graphic-novels

You know how when you’re a kid they tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover? It’s true, but also a total lie. You shouldn’t, but people do it all the time. And I did it with this book. This book may have my favorite cover of all time (ooh! I should have thought of it this morning when that question came up!) and I totally judged the type of book it would be (fantasy) based on what I saw. I even bought it based on that.

But it’s absolutely not. It’s historical fiction. And it’s inno You know how when you’re a kid they tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover? It’s true, but also a total lie. You shouldn’t, but people do it all the time. And I did it with this book. This book may have my favorite cover of all time (ooh! I should have thought of it this morning when that question came up!) and I totally judged the type of book it would be (fantasy) based on what I saw. I even bought it based on that.

But it’s absolutely not. It’s historical fiction. And it’s innovative at that, combining an engrossing fictional main character with a real life Frenchman from early in the 20th century with 284 drawings plus photos to create something that blurs the line between historical fiction, graphic novel, and cinema.

Hugo is twelve and living alone in the walls of Gare Montparnasse, a Parisian train station, after his father is killed in a freak accident and his drunk uncle disappears. Fearing what will become of him should anyone guess his secret, he keeps up his uncle’s job of winding the station’s 27 clocks, hoping to remain under the radar of the Station Inspector.

Yet Hugo has a second, more precious secret. He has the project his father, a clockmaker and tinkerer, had been working on at his death hidden in the station, too, and is desperately trying to finish his father’s work, hoping for a message from beyond the grave.

Yet to do that, Hugo’s forced to steal parts from the local toyshop, where he’s eventually caught by the owner. His father’s notebook is taken and later, the old man claims, burned. But the man’s young charge, his god-daughter Isabelle, says otherwise. To find out the truth — and to finish his father’s work — he must stay close and work to get back the only thing that truly belongs to him. Or does it?

Anyone who loves an afternoon at the movies should read this book. Know that the high page count is related to the massive number of drawings and it’s cinematic approach and that the reading time will fly past. It may take younger readers several days to finish, but more advanced readers can easily finish it in several hours, even with time to savor the work as a whole. ...more

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Feb 20, 2008 Talia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: j-fiction, caldecott-winners

Hugo Cabret, a clever twelve year old boy, fixes and calibrates the clocks in a Parisian train station. With no family around, Hugo clings to the memories of his deceased father and the notebook drawings he left behind of an automaton, a robot Hugo has been desperately trying to rebuild. One day, Hugo’s father’s notebook is taken by a crotchety old shopkeeper, who plays an intricate role in the mystery that ensues, filled with lying, chases, and the magic of the cinema. With pictures done in bla ...more

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Jul 31, 2009 Jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-and-kids

I read this book after hearing a couple of rave reviews but without really having any idea what it was, and as I think that may be the best way to approach it, I'll try not to say too much. Hugo is a young boy living in a train station in 1930s Paris, making sure the clocks in the station all keep the correct time. He's trying to solve a mystery, and he meets a young girl who turns out to have some answers, but neither one trusts the other enough to have an honest conversation. Along the way the ...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Renata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, historical-fiction, graphic-novel, fiction

Oh my goodness!! This book was ASTONISHINGLY good. Very different. Such an innovative combination of history, fiction, art, and prose, while still being a wonderful and suspenseful story. EEEE!

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Feb 28, 2011 Ally rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended-jjp

What a charming book this was! I loved the illustrations/old photos and while usually I bristle at being told what a character looks like (I enjoy dreaming it up in my head) - I felt that the pictures enhanced rather than detracted from the story. I look forward to seeing the movie.

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Mar 26, 2007 Jenny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrensbooks

Part novel, part graphic novel, part film (sort of) -- this
500-odd-page new children's book is really interesting, and has apparently already been grabbed up by Scorcese for the film version... ...more

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Aug 08, 2008 Nick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

A fabulously engaging tale told almost entirely in magnificent black and white drawings that enhance the theme of the early years of the cinema. Great for all ages.

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