The Invention of Hugo Cabret

February 19, 2018

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a historical fiction book written by Brian Selznick.

This book is about a orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy train station in Paris. Hugo’s job is to take care of the stations clocks, but to him, it is more important to to fix a broken automaton and protect a notebook left to him by his father. In order to continue to fix and to replace broken parts of the automaton, Hugo had to steal small mechanical toys that were found at a toy stand operated by Georges Méliès. Throughout his story he discovers mysterious things, and later meets a girl named Isabelle who around her neck wears something that caught Hugo’s attention. My favorite part of the book is Hugo’s dedication to fix the automaton that his dad was never able to finish. He kept it safe, slowly gathered parts to put it back in place and did what was possible to make it work.

The main character is smart. I know this because at a young age Hugo knew how to repair clocks and oil them, he was good with mechanical things. But most importantly he knew how to fix a broken automaton that was pretty much destroyed after being part of a fire. With the death of his father he learned how to live on his own, he was smart with what he did and who he spoke to you. He knew how to use his hands in many ways young kids don’t know.

This is a good book, I liked it a lot! Although it was long to read and took quite a while i was all worth it. What I enjoyed the most about the book were the illustrations, they gave me a visual all that happened throughout the story. This is one of those books that are so good you don’t want to stop reading. If you like mystery books this is a good one for you and if you aren’t it’s still a great  book that might get you into the genre of historical fiction. To discover Hugo’s secrets read the book and see where his journey takes you.