The Skull of Truth

This book is a bit heavier than others in the series but everything is handled well and its a damn good read. made me cry tho.

LFL find. 3.5 stars but just can't justify rounding to 4 as it's a little too facile. But it's also both funny and thought-provoking, and I will look for others in the 'series.' (I'm pretty sure they don't need to be read in any particular order.)

The Skull of Truth is part of the Magic Shop series of books featuring the mysterious magic shop of the mercurial Mr. Elives. As usual, the protagonist, a young man named Charlie, is beset with troubles - mostly involving his efforts to save the local swamp from development, and as a result he has been telling lies about the developer, who is the father of one of his classmates named Mark. In general, Charlie seems to have a hard time telling the truth, and as a result, nobody believes him.

As usual for these books, after a run in with Mark, serving as the antagonist for this installment of the series, and his assorted gang members, Charlie finds himself in an unfamiliar part of his town standing outside Mr. Elives magic shop. Inside he show more meets the testy Mr. Elives and becomes enamored of a skull on display. Without understanding why, Charlie steals the skull, and his adventures begin.

Charlie later gets a message from Mr. Elives (delivered by his two talking rat messengers Jerome and Roxanne) warning him of the powers of the skull. It turns out the skull is the Skull of Truth (and also the skull of Yorick of Hamlet fame), and by asking it a question, Charlie opened up communication with it. The Skull can't tell a lie, nor can the owner. Eventually, anyone near it is compelled to tell the truth. Charlie soon learns the drawbacks of always telling the truth: first offending Gilbert, a friend of his recovering from cancer, and then revealing his affection for Karen, a girl in his class.

However, like most of the magic shop books, Charlie's magical McGuffin is intended to teach him a valuable lesson (even though Mr. Elives apparently didn't know he was going to grab it and run out of the shop, a twist new to the series), and through the rest of the book, he learns the value of being truthful with those around you. He learns how to ask for forgiveness, and his efforts to make up for harming Gilbert end up helping Gilbert more than he could have if he hadn't been truthful to begin with. Charlie also learns that when one tells people how you feel, it usually works out to your benefit in the long run. After a humorous scene in which Charlie's family airs outs all their family secrets (unknowingly under the influence of the Skull), Charlie figures out how to use the power of truth to save his swamp, and eventually reconciles with Mark.

The story has a cameo by Jennifer Murdley from Jennifer Murdley's Toad, although you have to be paying attention to notice it. The story has a few minor twists, and the eventual fate of the Skull and Charlie is somewhat unexpected, but not out of character for the magic shop books. Charlie ends up wiser for his experience, and a young reader will probably end up having thoroughly enjoyed the story.

This review has also been posted on my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

Charlie Eggleston is the biggest liar in town. When he finds himself at Mr. Elives' magic shop, his eyes light upon the skull. He steals it, and it puts him under some sort of spell: Soon he can only tell the truth--but now no one believes him! I really liked this book because I feel like children could relate to it and realize that telling the truth is better even if it hurts feelings.

I liked this book because it had some odd characters. The new librarian and the man who owned the magic shop. I like quirky. The skull was funny too.

A boy who has a problem with lying contacts a skull that no longer allows him to do so. This fantasy story shows the down falls of lying and how truth is always a better option.

This mysterious, yet fascinating book tells the story of a young boy (Charlie) who is well known for not telling the truth. After a run in at a magic shop, he finds himself with a skull. The skull that he steals eventually helps him tell the truth. I think this is a really good book because it teaches a valuable lesson on telling the truth.