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The Book of Lost Things: Mister Max 1
by Cynthia Voigt
Newbery medalist Cynthia Voigt presents a rollicking mystery in three acts!
Max's parents are missing. They are actors, and thus unpredictable, but sailing away, leaving Max with only a cryptic note, is unusual even for them. Did they intend to leave him behind? Have they been kidnapped?
Until he can figure it out, Max feels it's safer to keep a low profile. Hiding out is no problem for a child of the theater. Max has played many roles, he can be whoever he needs to be to blend in. But finding a job is tricky, no matter what costume he dons.
Ironically, it turns out Max has a talent for finding things. He finds a runaway child, a stray dog, a missing heirloom, a lost love ... So is he a finder? A detective? No, it's more. Max finds a way to solve people's problems - he engineers better outcomes for them. He becomes Mister Max, Solutioneer.
Now if only he could find a solution to his own problems ...
"Voigt's accomplished writing draws readers into every aspect of his world. A double-edged ending solves one big mystery while setting the stage for a new one." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. An endearing, memorable protagonist and a clever plot make this a winner." - Kirkus
"By book's end, however, he has not answered his own questions. ...This will likely leave them strangely contented, knowing that Voigt has so much more to reveal in the sequels to this comedic page-turner." - School Library Journal
"The measured pace of the writing will not appeal to every reader, but the style suits the story's period. Voigt takes her time creating multifaceted characters and laying the groundwork for the next two volumes in the MisterMax trilogy." - Booklist
This information about Mister Max was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Cynthia Voigt won the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor Award for A Solitary Blue, both part of the beloved Tillerman Cycle. She is also the author of many other celebrated books for middle-grade and teen readers, including Izzy, Willy-Nilly and Jackaroo. She was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1995 for her work in literature, and the Katahdin Award in 2004. She lives in Maine.
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