I enjoyed reading this but there are so many characters that I feel like I never really got to know them or care about them. The four main characters have hardly any character development. The mystery was good and you are given enough clues to figure it out yourself. ( )

This review also found at The Children's Book and Media Review

Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up in Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders as some of the freaks. Philippa can read people’s minds. Sam is unnaturally strong. Thomas can contort his body in ways that no one else can. Even though the museum isn’t financially successful, they are happy there. One day, another child, Max, joins the group as a knife thrower, and life changes for all of them. The museum’s Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, and people involved with the disappearance keep getting murdered. When their father figure, Mr. Dumfrey, is accused of the murders, Philippa, Sam, Thomas, and Max decide to solve the mystery themselves to save Mr. Dumfrey and the museum. The stakes increase when an attention-hungry reporter keeps writing newspaper articles that are not true and the children are attacked more than once. In the end, they find some answers to their own pasts when they solve the mystery.

One of the interesting parts of the story is that the main characters spend a lot of time fighting, as many children put together in similar situations with very different personalities and interests would, but they come together for the good of the people they care about. There are some parts of the story that deal with difficult topics, like murders, visiting a morgue, and so on, so parents of young readers or sensitive readers might want to find a different book. The book also discusses being different and how that can be difficult, but how differences are what make people strong. In the same sort of spirit of the Series of Unfortunate Events, this new middle grade series by the popular YA author Lauren Oliver will twinge spins and make readers laugh as they help to solve the mystery. ( )

I enjoyed reading this but there are so many characters that I feel like I never really got to know them or care about them. The four main characters have hardly any character development. The mystery was good and you are given enough clues to figure it out yourself. ( )

Let it be known that I can't resist a middle grade book at the best of times, but if it's by Lauren Oliver there's no question it will end up on my reading list! She charmed me with Liesl & Po, made me shiver with The Spindlers, and left no doubt in my mind that I'd pick up any middle grade book she puts forth. There are certain authors who just understand what a book for this age group needs. A pinch of madness, a few drops of magic, some interesting history, and the type of characters who steal your heart before you even know it's gone. This book is all of that, and it's wonderful.

Charming, is probably the best word to describe Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head. Honestly, it's hard not to smile as you read the first few pages. Pippa, Sam, Thomas and Max are quite the cast of characters. Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders is a setting all its own. Add in a smattering of 1930's history, and you have the perfect stage for a wonderful story. I'll warn you now that this story is a bit on the darker side. Think Lemony Snicket. Bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, and sometimes it's a little gruesome. Still, at the end of the day we all know how things wrap up. These are my favorite kinds of stories. The kind that doesn't shy away from the darker parts of life, but embraces them as truth.

Am I rambling? Probably! I don't want to spoil anything, because this book is just so much fun! The mystery is probably the best part of this whole package. As if our plucky and talented young characters weren't amazing enough on their own, this story pits them against one heck of a mystery. When the prized possession of Dumfrey's goes missing, and all the people involved start to die in mysterious ways, what do you do? If you're Pippa, Sam, Thomas and Max you set off on an adventure to figure out what's going on. Possibly putting yourself in mortal danger at the same time.

This is a great story. Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head is completely charming from the writing on the page, to the stunning illustrations, and it will definitely make you want to come back for more. What are you waiting for? Go add this to your reading list. It's definitely worth your time. ( )

This is a middle grade mystery that a has a bite. While not quite as gruesome as her book LIESL AND PO, this packs it’s very own punch in the murder, the shrunken head, and the very house our young heroes live in. This is definitely at an atmospheric read and I think it would be perfect as a rainy day mystery novel!

This is the type of book that makes you love all of the characters- even the bad ones! While the mystery isn’t that hard to figure out if you pay attention, it had a nostalgic Nancy Drew vibe to it (thanks to Pippa) that made knowing the twist ahead of time not so bad. Even if you do figure out who our thief is, the journey through the museum and the character’s that live there are well worth continuing to read. ( )