Slacks for Ella Funt

I was really excited to read this when I first read about it—sounded a bit Harry Potter-ish, but with more of a puzzle. It ended up feeling more like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory mixed with The Westing Game—both books that I enjoyed when I was younger, but haven’t really felt much need to reread as an adult. This was the same way—it would be a great kid’s read, but it didn’t have enough development to hold my interest.

Specifically, the characters all seemed flat and one-dimensional. Each kid has a dominant personality characteristic that we learn about when we first meet them, but as the book goes on, we really don’t learn much more about any of them.