100 Cupboards

I found this book randomly on a shelf at the library and was immediately intrigued. I think I've mentioned before that I judge books by their covers; I can't help it!

This is the story of a young boy named Henry, who is sent to live with his Uncle, Aunt and cousins in Henry, Kansas when his parents are suddenly kidnapped. Before too long, Henry discovers that beneath the plaster of his bedroom wall there are cupboards - 98 to be exact. Upon further examination, he learns that these are actually portals into other worlds.

I had a lot of unanswered questions throughout the book. I really wanted to hear the back story of these cupboards and the different worlds, but it didn't go into that as much as I would have liked. By the end of the book, Henry has only been into one cupboard; although he did let something out of a cupboard...

Overall, I really liked the story and I'm glad I had the second book so I could start reading right away. I did think the first one was a little slow - but maybe the author left it open so that he could write a prequel to the series. Who knows?

I have to say, these books are listed as being for readers from 9-12 years old, but I disagree. N.D. Wilson's writing style was pretty deep - even for me. And...it might be too scary for that age group. You never know though, my 5 year old loved the first two Harry Potter books and Voldemort didn't even phase him.

Dandelion Fire

The second book in the 100 Cupboards series definitely moved faster than the first and Henry is finally able to travel into some of the cupboards to explore other worlds. In this book, Henry discovers his own special power and a family he never knew he had.

There were times during the book that I struggled to grasp the author's descriptions, and I honestly wondered if my reading level had decreased over the last couple of years. However, that could have been because I still kept trying to read it while my kids were running around the house, and drowning out their noise can be a difficult task. I found that if I read at night, while everyone else was asleep, I was able to fully immerse myself in the story and read much faster.

The Chestnut King

This is the third and final book in the 100 Cupboards - and I really liked it. I think it was the longest out of the three and definitely the creepiest. Well, the whole thing isn't creepy - just parts of it.

Henry fights the evil and undying queen of Endor and she's just weird. The whole time I read this series I couldn't help but wonder if Hollywood would try to make a movie out of it. It seems like every book can be made into a movie these days.