Curiosity

April 14, 2014
In a brisk historical novel set in the early 19th century, a young hunchback named Rufus lands a job that makes use of his chess abilities after his father is thrown into debtors' prison. Rufus controls an automaton called the Turk, secretly crawling inside a cramped cabinet to play matches against challengers at exhibitions. He is practically a prisoner: Maelzel, who owns the exhibits, initially refuses to pay him, and he only lets Rufus leave the workshop at night, fearing someone will discover the Turk is a trick. References to automatons, phrenology, and an early roller coaster give depth and context to Rufus's story, and appearances by historical figures like P.T. Barnum and Edgar Allan Poe (who the author casts in a nefarious role) add fun. Blackwood (Around the World in 100 Days) cleverly blurs the line between machine and human. Trying to throw a match, Rufus gets a "disturbing feeling... that the Turk has somehow taken over"; later, the boy begins wearing a back brace that makes him "look a bit mechanical." The layered narrative should appeal to history buffs, gadget lovers, and fans of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Ages 9â11.

Starred review from February 15, 2014
Twelve-year-old Rufus Goodspeed is dangerously good at chess. Rufus' "freakish prowess" for the game--and his unusually small size--lands him in a tight spot indeed when he's employed by an ill-tempered showman named Johann Maelzel to be the brains behind "the Turk," a wax-headed mechanical man in Turkish garb advertised as "the Original and Celebrated Automaton Chess Player." Wedged inside a hidden wooden cabinet and breathing acrid candle smoke, Rufus plays chess on stage with unseen opponents via an ingenious mechanical system--all in the hope of earning money for his imprisoned father. The Turk was a real-life 19th-century contraption, and this novel focuses on its history after Maelzel brings it from Europe to Philadelphia in 1835, spurring wild public speculation about its inner workings, the intense scrutiny of then-journalist Edgar Allan Poe and man-vs.-machine debates that continue to this day. The suspenseful narrative unfolds through the first-person voice of the fictional Rufus, a sickly, stooped yet strong-spirited boy who never loses his insatiable curiosity or his passion for chess even through bouts of abuse, near-starvation, deceit and, alas, unrequited love. A thrilling look at the 19th-century age of automata--"a time of curiosity-seekers"--and the riveting story of a likable Philadelphia boy whose life of the mind helps him transcend his extraordinary, oft-cruel circumstances. (afterword) (Historical fiction. 11-14)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-Following his beloved father's incarceration in debtor's prison, 12-year-old Rufus finds himself penniless on the streets of Philadelphia in 1835, with not much more than a preternatural command of chess. Rescued from a refuge house by a mysterious Frenchman, he is thrust into service as the operator of The Turk, an automaton chess player that has dazzled audiences and mystified skeptics for decades. Rufus feels useful for the first time in his life, but it's not long before he worries that he has become a mere pawn in the hand of the Turk's creator, and maybe even the machine itself. Blackwood has succeeded at infusing Curiosity with a truly gothic mood-every scene and page seems a little sooty and overwhelmingly foreboding. While Rufus's narration occasionally turns slightly mawkish, readers will no doubt find him a compelling protagonist and likable hero. Mentions of new technology and cameos from P. T. Barnum and Edgar Allan Poe ground the story in its time period. The Dickensian cast of characters and tightly constructed plot will resonate with fans of Laura Amy Schlitz's Splendors and Glooms (Candlewick, 2012).-Erinn Black Salge, Saint Peter's Prep, Jersey City, NJ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Grades 5-8 Inquisitive, motherless Rufus, a frail and hunchbacked boy in nineteenth-century Philadelphia, has shown a preternatural ability to play chess from a remarkably early age. And when his parson father is sent to debtor's prison, Rufus' chess skills are all he can rely on. In a stroke of luck, he meets the volatile man who owns the Turk, a real-life chess-playing automaton that gained world renown in nineteenth-century Europe and North America. Rufus is hired to operate the machine while crouched inside and keep the Turk's secret under tight lock and key, though soon he is unwittingly caught up in a plot to debunk the clockwork chess master. While the first-person narrative, which is chock-a-block with chess terminology, occasionally becomes annoyingly self-referentiala cast of fictional and historical figures includes grand showman P. T. Barnum; Edgar Allan Poe and his teenage wife, Virginia; and the real-life owner of the Turk, Maelzelthis Dickensian coming-of-age story from the author of Around the World in 100 Days (2010) offers a glimpse into a quaint corner of American history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)