30. Amulet: The Stonekeeper

Amulet: The Stonekeeper
By Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic, 2008

Awards

• YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (2009)
• Rhode Island Children's Book Award (2010)
• Library Journal's Graphic Novels for Reluctant Readers (2010)
• Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award: Junior Division (2011)
• Oregon Library Association Reader's Choice Award: Junior Division (2011)
• #4 on Goodreads "Best Graphic Novels for Children" (2013)

Genre
Adventure, Low Fantasy,  Steampunk

Review
After their father dies in a car crash, Emily, Navin, and their mother move from the city to a family home "in the middle of nowhere" that their mother inherited from her grandfather, Silas Charnon.  After moving in, the family discovered Silas's workshop where he built what he called puzzles, but were really game machines of some kind.  Here Emily finds an amulet that was hidden in his workbench.  During the night, the family hears noises coming from the basement and go to investigate.  Their mother is abducted by some kind of monster and taken through an opening in the wall into a strange land; and the children soon chase after her, trying to save her.  The amulet springs to life and attacks the monster.  The children aren't able to save their mother at that time, but the amulet speaks to them, instructing them to find their great-grandfather's home in this land, called Alledia.  After finding Silas, he tells Emily he intended the amulet to be hers and that she take over his role of controlling the amulet and gaining power to rule in Alledia.  The children then set out with robots made by Silas to find their mother and cure her from the poisonous monster.  The colorful drawings and cute, quirky robot characters are entertaining and make the reader hope for the children to succeed on their mission.

Opinion

A book that engages the readers from the beginning, this is a great book for tweens.  The story makes the reader want to continue the series, because it leaves many questions unanswered at the end of the first book, but they seem answerable in books to come.

Ideas

There is a small steampunk theme in this book with the machinery built by the children's great-grandfather and the robots, but I am unsure if that theme extends through the series.  This may be a good book for a steampunk display or just to engage reluctant readers in an easy to follow adventure.