Goblin Secrets (original 2012; edition 2012)

The first in a series, this steampunk novel for kids takes place in one town. Rownie and other abandoned orphans encounter a goblin troupe and a grandmother a-la Baba Yaga.

When I was looking over the hundreds of books on my YA TBR mountain, Goblin Secrets jumped out at me. It is a 2012 National Book Award Winner in the Young People's Literature category. You can read an interview with William Alexander here. Goblin Secrets is his debut novel. Will also has a Minnesota connection since he is an Adjunct Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I was also looking for a Middle Grade book to read next.

Goblin Secrets is an enchanting fantasy is a richly conceived world where magic is possible and acting—especially while wearing masks—is forbidden. Rownie is a young orphan boy aged somewhere between 8 and 10 (he doesn't really know) who lives with Graba who takes in orphaned children to use. She provides shelter and not much else for the orphans. Rownie used to have an older brother named Rowan who was an actor but he has disappeared. Rownie is determined to find him but he is not the only one looking. Graba would like to find him as would a troop of goblin actors.

Rownie goes to the goblins and becomes interested in their lifestyle. He is fascinated by the masks that let them become someone else and by the stories that they tell. Also, the goblins accept him and treat him with much more kindness than he had been shown by Graba. Together with the goblins he continues the search for his missing brother who might be the only one to stop the river from flooding the city of Zombay.

We gradually learn about the city and the world with Rownie. Because he is so young, he doesn't have a full understanding of the problems that the city is facing which means that our understanding grows slowly too. I liked the adventures that Rownie had as he searched for his brother. I liked how he found his own courage and place in the world. I thought the world was fascinating and I am eager to learn more about it.

I think middle grade readers will enjoy the adventure and the mysteries in this book. ( )

This was ... perfectly fine? Fantasy story about a city that outlaws actors but has a loophole for goblin theater troupes, and there's sort of a gearworks thing (steampunk for the middle reader set?) going on, and some intriguing comments about coal, which in the world of this book is apparently manufactured from human hearts. I liked that it took itself fairly earnestly -- there wasn't anything too exaggerated or hyperbolic about it, which was a relief.

It's one of those books that is billed as the first in a series, and I will probably forget about it before the second one ever comes out. If I came across the second one, I wouldn't be opposed to picking it up, exactly, but I might not recognize it, either. ( )

Rownie is one of a flock of orphans under the "care" of Graba, a chicken-legged house-moving witch. His life revolves around running errands for Graba while scrounging enough food to live. When a troupe of goblins come to town, Rownie risks imprisonment by the guard and (worse) the wrath of Graba to see the play. He has soon joined leagues with the goblins in hopes of discovering more about the disappearance of his brother Rowan. Graba is very pissed off. This was a really cute book with a mixture of fairy tale, steam-punk, and Oliver Twist. But the execution wasn't as great as I'd hoped. I took a long time getting into the book...I felt like I should be enjoying it, but just couldn't concentrate. After I got used to the world, language, and characters, though, I enjoyed it a lot more. In the end, it was a good book, but it had potential to deliver more. ( )

Couldn't get into it. ( )