The Magic of Finkleton

Returned me to the magic of childhood!

This book, though written for children, can encompass all ages in the way of fairy tales of yore. A magical time when things are not what they seem. Well-written to keep anticipation coming, and flows with mystery and curiosity. An old shopkeeper dies and the village farms of Finkleton are instantly inundated with rain. At the same time a home in another village is struck by lightning and burned. What is happening with the weather?

The home that was destroyed happened to belong to the heir to the old shopkeeper's store and property, and therein lies this delicious story. The displaced family of five arrive in Finkleton and very soon the youngest child makes a mysterious discovery. He keeps it secret but before long his sister, who reads everything readable, learns the secret. But when the weather gets out of control, they must let their older brother know what is happening. Should they tell their parents what they have found? Are there more secrets hidden in the old shop? Is Mother Nature really in charge of the weather?

KC Hilton creates an entire world, not on a different planet, not even in an enchanted forest. No, this is a village surrounded by farms, some very famous and lush farms, in fact the most productive farms and best-tasting produce in the world. But even in such a perfect location, danger can rear its ugly head. I was charmed by this magical adventure and I can tell the next will be exciting, too. ( )

When I saw this book's gorgeous cover and read the glowing reviews, I got this book for my kids so we could discover along with the Finkle kids the secrets they stumble upon in Finkleton. After reading the synopsis to my daughter she told me outright that it sounded very predictable. She didn't seem excited as I was to read it along with me. Nonetheless, I snuggled with my kids on the bed and began reading. The first chapter was promising but by the third chapter, my son told me there was too much dialogue and not enough action.

Both my kids were right.

From then on we struggled through it. My son lost total interest and my daughter and I were bored. The story had an interesting premise about a family who inherited their Uncle Harry's shop and moved to Finkleton, where they discover magical hidden secrets in the shop. The setting is England but the time is unclear leaving us to guess that it took place sometime in the 19th century. I liked this because I envisioned a wholesome story with children who wouldn't be distracted by modern technology but rather would cleverly use their wits to solve the mystery of Finkleton. While the story is wholesome, we did not consider the children witty. Except maybe for Robert, the youngest, who figured things out and took an interest in the hourglasses. But we did like how in the end they came to work together for the good of their town.

The problem was that the story was very slow with not much suspense. The excessive dialogue was irritating because it did nothing to move the plot forward. Each chapter could have been easily cut in half. Too much telling and not enough showing. An editor would have caught this and helped to polish the text.

We really wanted to like this book but in the end, my daughter and I didn't care for any of the children (Jack 14, Lizzy 12 and Robert 8) who bickered like preschoolers and cried often. All the children acted younger than their age. My daughter remarked that Lizzy seemed more like a 7 year-old in her behaviour. I could see that she couldn't relate to her. Moreover, character development was lacking as well as the magical wonder we were expecting. Even Mr. Lowsley, the antagonist (if we could call him that) was quite tame.

This book might work for a young audience but savvy middle-graders who are used to action and adventure and meatier plots... well they might just roll their eyeballs and move on. But that's only our family's opinion. Sometimes tame and predictable is good too. ( )

**Originally posted on my site BUNNYCATES.COM **My Thoughts: I was sent a copy of this book from the author. She, like us, is from Kentucky so I couldn’t wait for it to show up! I think I was more excited about it coming then Sis was! Can I just take a moment to comment on the cover art. GORGEOUS! Sis (age 10) and I read this one as a “read together” book. Each night, each of us would read a chapter aloud. I really enjoyed it. It was great mommy/daughter time, and the story was fun and different. From a mom’s perspective, I thought the book was great. I kept thinking The Magic of Finkleton would be an easy way to introduce the topic of a death (which is really a hard topic to introduce to younger ones). In the very beginning Uncle Harry passes away, and the family have to move to take over his store. The story touches on their loss of the Uncle, and throughout the book the continually talk in remembrance of him. I know I am “reading” a lot into it, but I thought that having them talk about Uncle Harry, etc. Shows younger kids, that may well have not had to deal with “death” yet, that it’s ok. People die, that happens. It’s ok to miss them, and ok to go on remembering them. I just thought it was a wonderful piece of the story.The mysteries kept me (the adult) reading and entertained. I couldn’t wait to find out “what” was going on. =D I enjoyed the kids mouthiness, and then how their secrets bind them as they try to solve the mysteries! Sis and I literally laughed out loud at the kids bantering back and forth at each other. “She’s not a LADY”… LOLMy favorite character in this book has to be lil Lizzy and her love for books. She has a smart mouth and a love for words. That child could definitely have been born to this house. LOLIn the end, I say this is a great book. Would be great for kids say 6 (with help reading). I enjoyed this one, and Sis’s review of it will be up later this week if you’d like to see her take on the story.

Their house burning down left few choices for the Finkle family. Taking over their recently deceased Uncle Harry’s general store in Finkleton was their only option. Arriving in the small England village after hearing father’s stories of Uncle Harry and his store, each of the three children were intrigued just enough to be looking forward to exploring everything. After a modicum of unpacking, they all wanted to look at the store and the house, Jack was the oldest and was looking forward to learning more of the workings of the store and finding the office in disarray, organizing was his first priority. The middle child and only girl was an avid reader and since the fire had consumed her store of books, she was only interested in the promised room of books. Once there, she quickly figured out how they were organized and selected her first nights reading material with the promise to return for them all at some point. As the youngest, Richard was trying to find his own place when he found something much more interesting. The lever under the counter seemed to control the rain. Astonished at his find, Richard wanted this to be his secret from everyone, but as the consequences started making themselves clear, her realized he needed hop to make sure Mr. Bad Guy never found out the true secrets of the success of Finkleton.

What an adorable story. Some of the dialogue and wording felt a bit awkward at times, but I was hooked from the start and simply enjoyed it all the way to the end. While it was set approximately 100 or so years ago, this is one of those timeless fantasies. Simply adored all the children even with their sibling rivalry and teasing. This would be a fun book to read with younger kids (5-8) or to let older kids (8 and up) read on their own. It makes for a wonderful story, creative with some great characters, truly a story for all ages. ( )

After their house is mysteriously burnt, the Finkles learn that their Uncle Harry had died the exact same night, and he left all his belongings to them, including his general store. The Finkles pack up what didn’t burn in the fire and move to Finkleton to start a new life. The three children are Jack, Lizzy, and Robert, who are all uniquely different from another. Jack is the oldest and thinks he is the brightest. He enjoys numbers and organizing things. Lizzy is the bookworm of the family, and Robert is the youngest.

The family moves into the apartment above of the general store. Lizzy is sad that all of her books were burnt in the fire, but instantly became happy when her father told her that Uncle Harry had a library in a secret room in the store. Most of the books are non-fiction, and Lizzy wants to read them all. Robert investigates the store and finds a strange room filled with hourglasses that are labeled and has a string attached to each of them, but one of the strings was broken.

The family reopens the store, with a few customers complaining about all the rain because Finkleton use to have the perfect weather for farming. A stranger named Mr. Lowsley shows up several times asking about land he could buy. Robert doesn’t like this man, and believes that he is up to no good.

Then, Robert pulls on a wood lever hidden in the store and the rain suddenly stops. Did Uncle Harry control the weather in Finkleton? Why does Mr. Lowsly want to buy land in Finkleton?

When I received this book in the mail, my first thought was “This is a dazzling cover.” After reading the page and a half prologue, I was hooked into the world of Finkleton. It was a nice change to read an original book that doesn’t involve vampires and werewolves. I got a kick out of the kids bickering back and forth in the beginning of the book and enjoyed it when they started to work together to solve the mystery of Uncle Harry’s store. The Magic of Finkleton is a great read for both children and adults! ( )