The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver, H C Chester

The Shrunken Head (Curiosity House, #1)

by Lauren Oliver and H C Chester

The book is about, among other things: the strongest boy in the world, a talking cockatoo, a faulty mind reader, a beautiful bearded lady and a nervous magician, an old museum, and a shrunken head.

Blessed with extraordinary abilities, orphans Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up happily in Dumfrey's Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. Philippa is a powerful mentalist, Sam is the world's strongest boy, and Thomas can squeeze himself into a space no bigger than a bread box. The children live happily with museum owner Mr. Dumfrey, alongside other misfits. But when a fourth child, Max, a knife-thrower, joins the group, it sets off an unforgettable chain of events.

When the museum's Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, the four are determined to get it back. But their search leads them to a series of murders and an explosive secret about their pasts.

Reviewed by limabean74 on

4 of 5 stars

Share

My Review:


I never read a Lauren Oliver book before and I am not sure why. I absolutely loved this story and the cover is fantastic. This book is a lot of fun to read and the 4 main characters in this book make this book a great read. The story is told in 4 different POVs Pippa, Max, Thomas & Sam. The kids live at Dumbfrey's Dime Museum as one of the attraction. Each kid has a special talent  that is unique, most of the oddities at the museum are like side show performers but the kids are different. Pippa was my favorite, she was just so much fun to read about and I just loved her personality. Max was my least favorite, I understood why she was the way she was but it kind of got on my nerves. This book has a lot of secondary characters that just brought the story alive. I really liked it, if you can't tell. :)

The story revolves around a murder mystery, someone is killing people but everyone thinks its a curse from a Shrunken Head that Mr Dumbfrey recently acquired. When things get crazy it's up to the four kids to help solve the mystery and save the museum. The story was great and has some very funny moment. I really enjoyed how the mystery unraveled it kept me guessing the entire time, just when I thought I knew who it was it turned out to be someone else. I am really eager to read the next in this series and can see a lot more will happen to the 4 main characters. I enjoyed the world build and loved the character development. The kids each still have a lot more to there stories and I can't wait to find out more.

I highly recommend this book, Great characters, awesome story and just a fun read. I look forward to reading more books from Lauren Oliver. This is a great book for MG, Teens, YA and Adults...just about anyone that loves to read. :)



Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my review

Hope you have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 September, 2015: Finished reading
  • 15 September, 2015: Reviewed