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Summary: The Secret of Platform 13
Review: The Secret of Platform 13
By Eva Ibbotson If I asked what a "gump" was, would I get this answer: A mound with a single hidden door and every nine or so years the door opens and leads through a tunnel to a completely different world? I wouldn't think so, not today at least. Today, a gump is a made up word. If one thinks of a gump as what it really is, would it be an illusion? Something in story books? A dream? A childish fantasy? Actually, no. Once, a gump was a well-known word and was never, ever, left out of a dictionary. In The Secret of Platform 13, the gump is passage way to an magical kingdom where creative minds are set free...
Located in one of London's busiest train stations, Platform 13 is no longer in use. Behind the platform, is a gump. Inside the gump is mystical island full of imaginative creatures only found on the island. The queen and king of the island have a slight problem. Their son, the prince, has been kidnapped by a ghastly women named Mrs. Larina Trottle years ago. Mrs. Trottle is more than just a beastly woman. She is an overfed, extremely wealthy, pampered, I-get-what-I-want kind of woman. Not only do the rescuers need to outwit Mrs. Trottle, they must find the prince and persuade him that his pampered, rich life, will soon be better if only he would return home to the island. Now, the gump is open and a hag, an ogre, a fey, and a wizard set out on a dangerous journey to retrieve the kidnapped prince. Mrs. Trottle's son, is known as Raymond Huntington Trottle. Could he be the prince? The islanders think so. Mrs. Trottle returned with Raymond and the kitchen boy after fleeing to Switzerland to keep herself from being caught with a kidnapper. The problem is, for nine years Raymond had been living with Mrs. Trottle. Surely, he would be attached to his mother by now.
Ben, the kitchen boy, understands the magic brought by the rescuers. He is determined to help have Raymond brought back to the island. The rescuers try many things to persuade Raymond to come with them. They talk to him and even try performing a magic show. Raymond is stubborn and not at all impressed. However, when the rescuers tell him he is the prince of a secret island, he changes his mind and decides to go with them. However, Raymond first Raymond tells Mrs. Trottle the entire story. She is convinced that he was drugged into believing he was a prince of some sort, so that he could be kidnapped. Though Mrs. Trottle is not particularly smart, when it comes to her son, she will do anything to keep him safe. She and Raymond flee once again, but this time it is not known where. Will the rescuers find the hideout and bring the prince home before the gump closes?
The Secret of Platform 13 is a truly unique book that will intrigue imaginative readers. The creative story of how a hag, wizard, fey, and ogre attempt to save the young prince of an island is sure to appeal to a person of almost any age. Mystery, fantasy, and adventure are just a few of the enjoyable elements of this story. The witty rescuers are caring characters with enchanting imaginations. They come up with all sorts of ideas to save the prince, many of which are completely unsuccessful. However, many people have heard that first impressions are usually quite reliable. In this case, one never knows.
Fans of Harry Potter may particularly enjoy this book, because there are some intriguing similarities. "Ibbotson's lively fantasy is full of fun...[Readers] will be delighted by the adventure." - School Library Journal A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
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Summary: The best book I've read this year!!!!!!!
Review: This is an enchanting and exciting tale about 4 rescuers that would do anything to save the prince and make the queen happy. There is Odge who really wants a friend, and Gurkie the queens nurse, Hans is harmless and very friendly, and finally there is Cornelius who would probly jump off a bridge to make the queen happy. The four go on a mission that they only have 9 days for. Good Luck team and I hope you read this book.
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Summary: Harry Potter lovers, add this to your wish list!!!
Review: Waiting for the next HP book to come out can be preaty borring so I picked up this book. It now ranks up top with the HP books, and that's the best praise I can give it. If you love fantasy as I do, you will enjoy this book. It encludes a surprising plot, exiting and funny characters,and a mystery you will never forget.If you like books like HP, Artemis Fowl and Tamora Pierce books,you'll love this as I did. I read it in one night I loved it so much! The ending is so supprising it'll keep you guessing til the end!Wow, keep it up Eva!
THIS IS A MUST READ!!!!!!!!
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Summary: A Thrilling book that you must Read
Review: This book, the Secret of Platform 13 is a very thrilling, adventurous, and exciting book. It is about a young kid that got stolen when was very young boy. Then the boy's mom, thed queen sends out a rescue team to rescue the boy..... Read this book and find out if they rescue the right person, if they rescue any body at all.
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Summary: Not Great But Still Pretty Good
Review: I just finished this book tonight. It wasn't wonderful, but it was a fun read. The majority of the plot twists are fairly predictable, but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment of the book. The characters are well-developed and extremely likeable, even the spoiled rotten, Nellie Olson-ish Raymond Trottle! Not that I liked him personally, but can you imagine "Little House On the Prairie" without Harriet and Nellie Olson? Or "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" without Eustace Clarence Scrubb? Where would you turn for laughs? Actually, you could probably turn to the pathetic three nurses who constantly punish themselves for having lost the prince. The three pitiful nurses insist on eating disgusting, rotten meals, sleeping on rocks, living in a cave, and never bathing...all because they lost the Island's prince. It's a guaranteed fit of laughter everytime these three unfortunate women show up in the story--always feeling bad about not feeling bad enough! The plot is pretty basic: an unusual and unlikely team of rescuers are appointed by the king and queen of the Island (this book's Narnia, Middle-Earth, etc.) to enter the gump (instead of a magical "Wardrobe") and retrieve the long lost prince before the end of the 9-day period in which the gump is open every 9 years. The 4-person team consists of an aging wizard whose hearing is quickly fading; an overly sensitive one-eyed ogre; a fey; and a child-hag (who is actually very normal-looking, and, therefore looked down upon by her hag-family). What first caught my attention was the cover, which may remind one of C. S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". If you read it (and if you've taken a recent trip to Narnia), you will be reminded of that wonderful tale and probably many others. "Shrek" comes to mind as well. But I think that that is the mark of greatness when it comes to a good children's fantasy story: an author's creativity and originality mixed in with echoes of previous great stories that have inspired him or her to write this one.
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Summary: Magicly Amazing!!!
Review: In the Sercret of Platform 13, the thrilling adventure in the new world, mixes with a peaceful island. You will never be able to guess what is going to happen next! The characters in this book are magicly charming. You will be reading for hours and hours!! The prince of the island gets taken to the real world, and then gets spoiled by a lady named Mrs. Trottle and makes Raymond as fat as a pumpkin! For nine years the king and queen picked five rescurers to save the prince. The rescuerers only have nine days to save the prince and if not they will have to wait another nine years.Pick up this book at a store or library near you!!
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Summary: The Secret of platform 13
Review: The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson is about a King and Queen whose
baby gets stolen in the world of humans. Since the gump, a little opening in an old cloakroom that leads to another island, only closes and, opens every nine years, the King and Queen planned for nine years who would go and find their Prince. A wizard, flower lady, ogre and a hag went to find the Prince. The hag was the same age as the Prince. When they found him, the Prince was stuck-up and snobby. They tried everything to convince him to come with them. When his mother found out, she thought they were trying to kidnap her son. She brought her son, Raymond, (the supposed Prince) to a guarded hotel. This hotel had a lot of security since a lot of people who were famous business tycoons stayed there. Finally, after one of the workers, Ben from the Prince's old house, almost died at the guarded hotel, the search for the Prince was called off. Evil birds came into the hotel and kidnapped Ben. Meanwhile, Raymond's Mom was very sick in the hospital and near death. The hag wanted Raymond to leave his mother and return with her to meet the King and Queen. Raymond didn't follow the hag, but instead stayed with his sick mother until she died. When the King and Queen finally saw Raymond, they knew right away that he wasn't their kidnapped prince.
As you can see, the conflict in this book is who is the Prince, and how can he get back to the King and Queen? The main characters are Odge the hag, Raymond (thought to be the Prince) and Ben the boy who helped them try to get Raymond to come with them. Things may not be what they appear to be and you have to look beyond the obvious.
I liked this book because of how many twist and turns there were in the plot. Each chapter made you want to read the next chapter. Also there were things in the book that didn't exist (so we think) on earth. This made them interesting to learn about. Some of the magic was in the form of spells and tricks. Like one where the wizard pulled a huge monster (that had not been to the surface for millions and millions of years out of the lake. The author had this way of writing in the book that made you think that you would figure everything out. But, by the end of the chapter, you would be totally clueless once again. If you like a little bit of magic and some cool action scenes, you will love this book. No one would really dislike this book unless you absolutely hated magic! There is a lot of variety in the book. There is drama, comedy and more
drama. It was lots of fun zig zagging through the plot.
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Summary: Good But.........
Review: i thought this was a fantastic book. the only thing i did not like about it was the fact it was so much like the harry potter series. the fact that the gump was in kings cross station and was a sectret was almost the exact same as the hogwarts express. i do not know which was published first but this still was a good book.
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Summary: Recommended for all ages!
Review: "If you went into a school nowadays and said to the children: 'What's a gump?' you would probably get some very silly answers." G'day, mate! That beginning makes you wonder; "What is a gump?" and wants to make you read on. I think it is a very clever way to start a book with a question, because naturally you would want an answer and that can't be helped. The setting is the most fantasized setting I have ever read about. It's like a paradise; where else are there magical kingdoms on an island with mermaids, ogres, witches, wizards, ghosts, and the most magical creatures of all; mist-makers? What is a mist-maker, you ask? Mist-makers are cute little tykes like balls of fluff that look like baby seals with snow-white fur on land. Whenever they hear music, they break into pure relaxation and sigh a beautiful noise, sort of like, "Ahhh. Ahhh, ahhh." This makes a foggy mist and completely hides the island from travelers. I recommend this book for kids of all ages everywhere; from 4 to even 19 or from the US of A to Australia. C ya, mate!
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Summary: The Secret of Platform 13
Review: This is a great book. I guess you could say it's in the style of Harry Potter, but really it's the other way around. This came out a few years before and I loved it. It's not a complicated story, but it's cute and engaging. The characters are great because they're not all perfect and the story line is charming. The writing style is also incredibly engaging. I'd say much better than Harry Potter. Pick up this book and you'll be quite satisfied. :)
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