My Never Ending List

What a fantastic story with wizards, magical birds, queens and swords.  I loved the story within the story and I threw myself inside the museum as Ophelia scrambled through the halls with her superglue and her heart racing, as she wondered just who or what she was going to encounter as she tried to unlock the mystery of The Mysterious Boy.

As the family arrives in the new city, Ophelia and her sister Alice must keep themselves occupied while their father gets the museum ready for the grand opening for an exhibit called the Battle: The Greatest Exhibition of Swords in the History of the World.  Alice has not been the same since their mother passed away and is content to be alone while Ophelia is the explorer. They count the hours and the days since her passing and it is sad but at the same time, you realize just how much they depended upon her.  Alice starts to bond with a member of the museum and this bonding seems innocent since she is missing her mother but as Ophelia discovers there is a twist to this relationship.  Since their father is the curator at the museum, Ophelia has lots of places to explore there and having free reign of the place, she spends her days checking out the exhibits and rooms.  Having guards that knit and take naps, this makes sneaking into places easier for Ophelia.  If it weren’t for her curiosity, Ophelia never would have made her way across the checkered floor to find the golden keyhole. As she peered inside the hole, “She did not expect to be looking straight into a large blue-green eye.”  That moment, that single moment changes Ophelia forever.  Ophelia meets The Marvelous Boy.  As The Marvelous Boy reveals his tale of wizards, magical birds, the Snow Queen, and a host of other magical beings, Ophelia must scurry about the museum locating items to free him and save the world.  It’s a magical tale that will keep your imagination soaring and lead you on an incredible journey. This story would make a perfect read-aloud for elementary age children.  

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.