The Boy in the Box: Master Melville's Medicine Show [Hardcover]

Cary Fagan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 9, 2012 | Age Range: 9 and up | Series: Master Melville's Medicine Show

“If you always feel fully and completely happy, my friends, then you do not need my drops and I will not sell them to you for any amount of money.” —Master Melville
 
Eleven-year-old juggling enthusiast Sullivan Mintz helps his family run the Stardust Home for Old People. It’s not ideal: his best friend, Manny, is eighty-one years old. But life as usual turns upside down when Master Melville’s Medicine Show comes to town. Sullivan’s excitement at finding performers his own age dissolves into dread when he steps onstage for a magic act only to wake up imprisoned in the traveling show’s caravan. As his fears subside, his questions multiply. Is his family better off without him? Would life as a juggler performing with other kids be worse than living in an old folks’ home? Being kidnapped could be the best thing that ever happened to him . . . or decidedly not.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Sullivan Mintz, 11, fades into the background at school and at home. He has a passion for juggling, but he can't imagine performing before an audience. Things change, though, when an old-fashioned caravan makes its way through Beanfield. Attending the evening medicine show in secret with his little sister, Jinny, Sullivan is mesmerized by Master Melville and the children who perform amazing magical and acrobatic feats, and it seems only natural to show Melville his own juggling skills. Before he quite understands how, Sullivan finds himself abducted by Melville and his wife, joining other kidnapped children. While making a quick escape out of town, the Melvilles leave Sullivan's jacket near a rushing river, leading the boy's parents and the police to believe that he drowned. After the police have closed their file, though, Jinny convinces her parents to let her travel with 81-year-old Manny Morgenstern, who lives at the home they operate, and try to track her brother down. Over several weeks, as the unlikely sleuths get closer to finding him, Sullivan becomes more drawn to the life of a traveling performer, and, as the story ends, he is feeling as if he has found a place where he belongs. Fagan creates wonderfully engaging characters and tackles some tough issues: bullying, abduction, grief at a child's disappearance. However, the abrupt ending is disappointing. As a stand-alone that addressed the mysteries of the Melvilles in a little more depth, this novel could have been something special. As it is, there are too many unanswered questions but not enough of a hook to keep readers in suspense for a sequel.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"Fagan creates wonderfully engaging characters and tackles some tough issues."—School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; 1 edition (October 9, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547752687
• ISBN-13: 978-0547752686
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,705,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the rest of it? August 23, 2012

By J. Wiles Parker VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The writing of Cary Fagan's book The Boy in the Box is pretty much on par with that of most books for the target age group (mid to upper elementary age), and the story is actually entertaining and short enough to breeze through in a sensible amount of time. It is the story of Sullivan, a boy who is average except for the fact that he's actually a talented juggler and comes from a loving family who just happens to run an old folks home. When Sullivan's interest is taken up by a travelling show, he soon finds himself far from home not knowing that everyone who really cares about him misses him. The Melville's run the travelling show and have three other kids in their 'employ' as performers. Can Sullivan find his place and will the people who miss him go looking for him?

The fact this book is the first part of a series really needs to be more prominent on the cover because the action comes to a very abrupt halt. It is so abrupt, in fact, that it feels like much of the book is really a long prologue to the action that is sure to come from future installments. Don't get me wrong. The Boy in the Box is pretty good despite all its shortcomings. There are plenty of surprises and some definite humor present, but some of the issues really should be presented better. The police characters are completely inept and apparently only present to explain what's going on back home (and to be a brief joke) and The Melvilles themselves are caricatures, the misses being simply vile and overbearing when she's present and mister being a bit of the cuckolded husband. I found myself being distressed by the lack of character development with some key players while others are almost overdone. Yet, for some reason, I quite liked the book even if it is a bit unoriginal in some ways (kids running off with circuses or being stolen by gypsies and the whole 'everyone misses whoever's gone when they're presumed dead' type of thing). The plot is just all a bit uneven.

I wouldn't say this is a bad book. It has its moments of lightheartedness. Sullivan and the few friends he does have are written in such a way that you want them to succeed and be able to have normal lives and childhoods. Fagan obviously understands his audience enough to tailor the writing to their tastes and his pacing is quite excellent. The main issue is that the story feels so darn incomplete and the adult characters generally quite inept at times. For once I actually wish a book were longer than it actually is, a rarity these days it seems. Really, I just wish this was a longer standalone volume because I'm not sure it'll hold up to being a series, but we'll see. A good effort, but it could have been executed better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a novel, just a marketing ploy November 7, 2012

By J. Prather TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

There is much to like in Cary Fagan's Boy in The Box. The young characters are all very unique and well formed, the descriptions are beautifully written, and the story begins to deliver on a promise of big adventures to come. The plot itself is very unbelievable, but somehow that manages to add to the book's overall creepy atmosphere. Kids will find themselves easily engaged by Sullivan and his little sister Jinny, even as they wonder just how an old time medicine show can appear and disappear at will in our modern age of cell phones, you tube videos, and ever present police presence. Even in a small rural community, a horse drawn caravan will stick out. I could go on and on about the number of things in this book that just don't make sense.

The adults in this story are all totally inept over the top caricatures with very few redeeming qualities. I got the feeling that the author was going for a Lemony Snicket-ish feel here, but unfortunately he failed miserably. The wit that might have made this silliness work was just not there, and the author failed to tell a complete story. This book is obviously the first in a series, and stops at a seemingly random moment, offering no resolution. At this point, this attempt at an exciting piece of middle grade fiction stopped being a middle grade novel and became nothing more than a poor attempt to hook readers into buying the next book in the series. I don't think the story here is strong enough or compelling enough to ensure that most readers will come back. Not a recommend.

2.0 out of 5 stars You are what you eat... April 25, 2013

By Andrew Ellington VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I'm getting tired of children's books containing plot developments and language and characters that I just don't want my children familiarizing themselves with. I'm sorry, but we don't have to rush to make our kids adults and I see no reason for them to entertain themselves with things that are this edgy. No, I'm no prude (look at the things I choose to read and or watch) but I don't see a need to expose my children to these kinds of things so early on. Granted, my daughter is five and so it is a little different (looks like this book is targeted at pre-teens) but I still don't think I want my pre-teen kids reading something like this.

First off, I was like two chapters in before we meet these dastardly people who slip out minor curse words. Sorry, I don't think my kids need to read that. Next, these people kidnap children. Like, this is what this story is about! Why would you want your children to read a book about kids who are kidnapped and forced to work in a traveling vaudeville type show while his parents grieve over his presumed death. What's worse is that there is no resolution here. The book just ends, because apparently we are supposed to want to follow young Sullivan's travels with this sideshow act. I'm sorry, but this is terrifying, especially for a young child. I can't see how anyone thought this was a good idea.

Yes, we live in a world where a book about teenagers killing eight year olds is deemed appropriate for our teenagers to read, but do we really need to start them this young?

Other than my really apposed stance on the actual content here, the writing is really good. Cary Fagan has a great way of spinning the story, and I'm overall very impressed with the attention to detail. It is perfectly suited to the age being targeted. I just wish that that talent was projected over a better plot. Maybe this is my personal feelings getting in the way of my reviewing, and yet again, isn't that what a review is supposed to be. I'm not judging any parent who deems this appropriate, I just won't be letting my kids read this book, and I certainly won't be checking out any of the other books in the series.