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    The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I
    Unavailable
    The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I
    Unavailable
    The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I
    Ebook278 pages4 hours

    The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I

    By Marie Rutkoski

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Marie Rutkoski's startling debut novel, the first book in the Kronos Chronicles, about the risks we take to protect those we love, brims with magic, political intrigue, and heroism.

    Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it's never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world's finest astronomical clock. Petra's life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home – blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. But why? Petra doesn't know, but she knows this: she will go to Prague, sneak into Salamander Castle, and steal her father's eyes back. Joining forces with Neel, whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets, Petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem, and that her father's clock has powers capable of destroying their world.

    The Cabinet of Wonders is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateAug 5, 2008
    ISBN9781429930000
    Author

    Marie Rutkoski

    MARIE RUTKOSKI is a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Shakespeare, children's literature and creative writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. Marie can tie a good double figure-eight knot and is very fond of perfume, tea and excellent bread and butter.

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    Reviews for The Cabinet of Wonders

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      This book is the first in a series involving a world of magic and a girl who is on a mission to recover the eyes of her father (which the prince stole), try to stop the clock her father built from becoming a weapon, and get home safely.
    • 4/5
      Ok, now that was fun. Really, really fun.

      Ever since I realized that the author of The Winner’s Curse wrote this trilogy that I’ve been eyeing for weeks, my need to read it increased tenfold. And it didn’t disappoint!

      Cabinet has a little bit of everything – traveling, science, art, magic, political intrigue. Rutkoski has this way of merging all of these together in a fascinatingly rich plot, and centers it really well around a single character --- Petra. Her single-minded need to find her father’s eyes (Also, sidenote: the prince stole her father’s eyes. As in, he had them gouged out. And then he took them.) really anchors all of the different fragments of this world well. And what fragments!! The completion of a clock that could potentially control the weather, the invention of a new primary color, the ability to speak to and liven metal, paint that erases one’s existence, stories of Romany who could talk to elephants and horses and trained ghost fingers…the imagination that takes flight in this novel is really, absolutely breathtaking!

      And, yeah. The prince stole her father’s EYES. Petra in some ways is difficult to jive with, given that she is simply a conduit through which the story moves forward. Her qualities are very typical: brave, slightly rebellious, responsible, smart, with a dash of impatience. There’s nothing about her personality that stands out, that makes her different than dozens of other heroines in dozens of other novels everywhere. But, the secondary characters, like the prince (he took somebody’s eyes, for gods sake!) and John Dee, who introduces a fascinating element of international court intrigue into the mix, and of course Neel, with fascinating fables, make the story nice and lively.

      This is one of those books where it’s the world and the plot that make it a compelling, irresistible read. On to the next one!
    • 4/5
      A YA fantasy in the unusual setting of Prague during what would be, in England, Elizabethan times. The first-time author weaves historical fact, AU history and sheer fantasy together into another inventive and original story – an astronomical clock that can change the weather, a prince who steals the clockmaker's eyes, a metal spider, a Countess whose skin leaks acid, a tribe of stranded Romany, a scheming Dr John Dee. It's let down somewhat by the writing style, which is blunt and choppy, almost as if it had been badly translated from another language, but I doubt this will trouble the book's target audience.
    • 4/5
      Engaging and smart enough, but I find I don't have much to say about it, and I suspect I'll forget it fairly quickly. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters (except maybe the Dye-maker Iris), and the boy who captured lightning in a bottle. I did like the idea of Worry Vials and of a sentient pet tin spider. I did like how magic is incorporated into an historical world. It was just a little too light for me, and I don't care enough to look for sequels.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book for young readers and an amazing debut novel!Just finished reading The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski. Fantastic book. The target audience is 9-12 year olds, but I'm (ahem..) nearly 35, and picked it up because it sounded interesting. I mean, Cabinet of Wonders? Doesn't that sound interesting? Others will probably pick up the book when they see the cover art, which is fantastic and really fits well with the story. Good job there if it gets people to pick up this fantastic debut novel.The book starts with a Mikal Kronos returning home after creating a huge, fantastic clock for the prince of Bohemia. After completion of the clock, the prince had Mikal's eyes removed so that the man would never create something so amazing again. Upon his return home, his daughter, Petra, is so angry that she decides to go to Prague, to the prince's castle, to retrieve the eyes of her father, even though her father has warned her not to get involved.The story follows Petra's adventures in Prague, which I won't give away here. She meets up with a Roma boy called Neel, who, with his family, helps her get a job in the castle. She meets some interesting characters who help her along her way in stealing back her father's eyes.There are a lot of little details in the book that just fill in your image of this fantastic city. Ms. Rutkoski creates a magical Prague, filled with wonders, especially seeing it from the point of view of a 12-year old child. While I say details, I don't mean exposition to the point of boredom. The details come in the form of little things that Petra notices, not in overwrought "add 50 words here" kind of writing. Everything that is mentioned adds to the image created of her Prague.The book has a nice ending. It makes the clock/stolen eyes story complete, but then gives you a few more threads that you know will be pulled in later books. It sets everything up nicely without forcing you to lose that nice complete ending. It did end a bit fast for my taste, and I was hoping for a little more interaction between the prince and Petra. It seemed that the book was leading towards an interesting character in the prince, being so pleasant on the one hand and sinister on the other. I really wanted to find out more of his character and how Petra would feel about him when she interacted with him. In fact there were a few parts in the book that seemed to be on fast forward, but for the target young audience, it will work just fine.The writing is very well done. It pulls you along effortlessly with Petra as she makes her journey to Prague and back. You wouldn't know the author hasn't been published before. There are moments when something happens and you're like, "but that doesn't make sense; what about..." But, in the next few sentences, she addresses the very thing you question. It's like she anticipates the questions that are going to arise in situations she presents and then answers them for you.There are a few situations where I think things came together just too conveniently, which I won't spoil here, and that bothered me as an adult, but I don't think this is anything that 9-12 year olds will notice. I've seen similar styles in other young adult books. I think, if the author had drawn out the elements, it would have made the book less appealing for a young reader and the book would have been quite long, indeed. In a time where young adult books seem to be doorstop big, this one is a nice, swift, roller-coaster read that I think many readers will love to pick up and barrel through with glee.I would definitely recommend purchasing this book, whether you are a young adult or an adult. I almost hate to say this, in case it turns off young male readers, but the book will really appeal to young female readers. It's not often you get to read a young adult book from the point of view of a young girl where it's not all about romance and appearance and popularity. This is a story of a girl who takes life by the horns and does what she needs to do to take care of her family, sometimes oblivious to the danger to herself or the consequences of her actions (in the true manner of children everywhere).This is Book 1 of the Kronos Chronicles, and I'm not sure how many there will be, but I'm looking forward to the next one. Call me a kid at heart. :)
    • 4/5
      Intriguing, likeable characters in a fascinating world that blends medieval eastern Europe with unique magical abilities. Petra, a spunky girl with emerging magical powers that relate to working with metals and minerals, and her mechanical spider, Astrophil, head to Prague to attempt to recover her father's eyes which have been stolen by the prince. She would also like to be able to prevent the clock that her father had made the prince from being able to control the weather. Along the way she meets Neel, a gypsy boy, who becomes an important part of her plans. This was a fun story with many unique elements and plot twists. I enjoyed it tremendously and look forward to sequels.
    • 5/5
      This book appeared in my hands at a perfect time, having rested quietly on a shelf in my study awaiting the moment. Our "real" world has developed serious problems with proper decision making of monumental proportions and is in need of the essential convictions of a 12 year old girl of Petra's description. Much about the book is magical. It's length is a perfect fit. The story moves along with energy and honesty in numerous short chapter segments. Perfect for bedtime. There's an ongoing sense of urgency without making it hard to put down (in order to sleep). History is inserted comfortably and the use of language to "teach" is nicely done throughout. The balance between the mythical, the magical and the possibly real works well. Overall, I was reminded of Frank Baum's "Magical Monarch of Mo" with which it compares easily. While marketed as a book for the younger age group, I vote firmly for its inclusion in all age categories (I am in my 80's.) Kudos to Marie Rutkoski for a grand experience.
    • 4/5
      This wondrous blend of history and imagination introduces us to Petra, a young girl who goes on a quest to recover her father's eyes, which have been stolen by the prince. Action, adventure, subtlety, and a main character you won't be able to forget. Fabulous!
    • 4/5
      Oooh! Steampunk with some humor for tweens, set in Bohemia, with complications, magic, and the usual appurtenances. Petra Kronos and her magical metal spider Astrophil are appalled when her father is returned from the capital minus his eyes-- the prince's 'thanks' for creating the most beautiful, magical clock ever. Eventually, Petra sets out to do something about it. (Compare to the tween fantasy The Blue Shoe: A Tale of Thievery, Villainy, Sorcery, and Shoes by Roderick Townley for a completely different treatment of some similar plot elements, and a male protagonist.) Well written, with sympathetic characters, a magical-steampunk storyline that is internally consistent, and a minimal and light touch on pubescent 'learning experiences'. The author's love for Bohemia shines through-- fans of Eva Ibbotson's Star of Kazan will find a similar worldsetting touch here. In a lot of ways, this is a classic hero's journey (with family rescue) fairy tale, with classic Eastern European elements. But who can resist Astrophil, or fail to like plucky (i.e., brave but not thinking things through, followed by dogged persistence) Petra? It remains to be seen whether sequels will be as good.
    • 3/5
      When Petra's father comes home with his silver eyes gone, she is stunned and furious. Her father's eyes that had made such wondrous things, eyes that could see more than any other person could - to see how things fit together and be taken apart. And she decides to go take them back from the king's Cabinet of Wonders.

      This is a children's book reminiscent of a steam punk fairy tale. There are crafted spiders that speak and click metal legs. But there is the adventure and the quest and the magic and the girl who dares to save her father.

      It is a good book, but I am a little too old to enjoy this anymore, I think. When children go running off on quests without thinking things through, I am always just shaking my head and thinking of how things would go (even if there are such things as women who can secrete poison from their skin and create new primary colors).

      Things fell in place a little neatly for me to enjoy this book as well. It was sweat and tears and cunning that led to the climax, but luck and fortune and the right characters at the right place that just happened to want to help Petra.

      I suppose the later books might explain a couple of things, and this book really does have a good premise, but I am not enthralled or drawn into this book enough to want to read the sequel. Good, but not great.

      Three stars. Would recommend to a younger demographic that likes fantasy and magic.
    • 3/5
      Mikal Kronos has a way with metal. When he creates a beautiful, potentially dangerous, clock for the prince, the prince repays him by stealing his eyes. Daughter Petra is appropriately horrified and promptly sets out for the castle in Prague to retrieve them. I loved the rich setting and all the magical details, but something about this story didn't click with me. Maybe it's because I knew it was the first in a series. Still, there are great characters here and lots to explore in this new magical world based on Renaissance Czechoslovakia.
    • 4/5
      It took a little while to get into this book then I couldn't it it down. I can finally recommend this book from more than the interesting cover.
    • 5/5
      I started this books as a read aloud to my students (5th grade teacher). I immediately was intrigued. The mix of historical fiction and the elements of magic and paranormal was fabulously interwoven together. I found myself buying the book and finishing it before I finished reading it to my kids. I cannot wait to read the next one. All the characters were relatable and over all the book was well-written.
    • 4/5
      Children's fiction; adventure/fantasy set in 15th century Czechoslovakia. A father agrees to give up his eyes so that his daughter may attend the exclusive Royal academy for magic; the daughter risks her life to bring the (preserved and enchanted) eyes back so that her father may continue the work that he loves. A clever, suspenseful tale that I would recommend to almost any child--"do you like Harry Potter? Inkspell? The Lightning Thief? the Sisters Grimm? You'll love this one, too!" Note: although the author has named her series the Kronos Chronicles, she refers to the family's surname rather than to the king of the Titans in Greek mythology, so this is actually not another Lightning Thief readalike, though its fans will certainly still appreciate.