The Secret series, Book 1 Pseudonymous Bosch Little, Brown Books Fiction, MG Humor/Mystery Themes: Alchemy, Circuses, Cross-Genre, Girl Power ****+
Description
Some secrets are fluffy, frivolous things, like whether the guy on the news uses hair dye. Others are heavy and hurtful, like why your best friend stopped
talking to you in math class. A few, though, are outright dangerous, such as the one this story is about... the one that already may have killed one man, an
old reclusive circus magician. With a secret like that at the heart of the plot, it's no wonder why the author can't even tell you the real names of the boy
and girl in this book, or where they live. But "Cassandra" and "Max-Ernest" don't have that luxury. They have to live through their first encounter with the
magician's notebook, and their first meeting with the sinister man and woman who will do anything to get their hands on the old man's secret.
Just by picking up this book, you may be putting yourself in great danger. But that's not going to stop you from reading, is it? All right, go right ahead -
but don't go crying to the author when things go terribly, horribly wrong...
Review
Some time ago, I read the final book in this series, and found it fun enough that I figured I'd start at the beginning someday. Pseudonymous Bosch follows a
trend epitomized by such middle-grade authors as Lemony Snicket, gleefully ignoring storytelling protocol to talk directly to the reader and intrude upon the
tale. It generally works here, though once in a while Bosch comes across as a bit heavy-handed. (Then again, I'm not the target audience.) Cass, a junior
survivalist convinced all manner of horrible things are about to happen (though nothing so horrible as what really does happen), and Max-Ernest, a
motormouth who aspires to be a comedian despite not understanding jokes, start out as amusing caricatures in a simple-looking story, but as the tale goes on -
despite authorial interruptions - they take on more roundness, and their enemies turn into rather nasty people indeed. Peripheral characters, as one might
expect, are somewhat exaggerated, but do their jobs in the plot well enough. While I personally enjoyed the final book more than this one, and am on the fence
about whether to read on (not quite my thing, but it reads fast, has fun with itself, and delivers a decent ending), The Name of This Book is Secret
was a pleasant little diversion that I don't regret reading - no matter the risk.
The Secret series, Book 6 Pseudonymous Bosch Little, Brown Books Fiction, MG Humor/Mystery/Writing Themes: Cross-Genre ****+
Description
Writing books is hard work, even when a talking rabbit does your typing. After five volumes of his popular Secret series, author Pseudonymous Bosch is tapped out.
So he's going to let you, the reader, take the reins on this one. He'll give you a basic setup and some pointers, plus a few genre options, but this book's going to be all
yours.
Are you ready?
No?
Too bad - the story's already started...
Review
When I downloaded this book on Overdrive, I was unaware that it was technically the last book on Bosch's humorous middle-grade Secret series, which I've seen at
the library but haven't yet read; a few elements here constitute spoilers. However, it works fairly well as a standalone title. Write This Book is a nice twist on writing books, somewhere between an ongoing exercise, a commentary on the process, and a story in its own right, all infused with
a strong sense of humor. For the most part, the balance works; he starts by giving the reader/writer a few characters and a mystery (with notes on how to start a story), then
guides the reader through the process of crafting the plot and finishing, emphasizing that things can (and will) be refined in future rewrites and the important thing is to
keep writing. For genres, he offers a choice between noir mystery, fantasy, and gothic horror, a unique demonstration on how genre may color the story, but it generally does
not dictate it: the same basic idea can work in many settings and genres. Bosch's style lies somewhere between improvisation ("pantsing," or writing by the seat of one's pants)
and organization (outlining), leaning towards the former; he likens it to cooking, where one gathers one's ingredients (ideas and inspirations and references) before one starts
but isn't strictly bound by a recipe. It's a nice method, loose enough to make readers feel excited about exploring a story, and not like they're trudging through yet another
graded assignment - plus it shows that, despite what English teachers like to say, there are many published authors who aren't strict outliners or bound by other "rules"
(three-act structure, snowflake method, etc.)
Bosch and his typist bunny, Quiche, frequently appear in the pages via doodles and cartoons, an ongoing rivalry with an unexpected climax. He offers many procrastination break
ideas that will probably amuse experienced writers at least as much as, if not more than, newcomers. (One of these advises one to reread one's manuscript, decide it's crud and
rip it up, then realize it's not so bad and painstakingly tape it back together, then make sure nobody knows how crazy you are.) The clever voice walks a fine line between
amusing and annoying, mostly staying on the former side.
All in all, despite being unfamiliar with the Secret series, I found this an entertaining read, especially for writers. It earned an extra half-mark for evoking a few
laugh-out-loud moments.
