The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

I saw the movie Hugo (directed by Martin Scorsese) right before the New Year.  Let me back track, and let you know that usually I am NOT a fan of Oscar movies.  If I'm being honest, I find them to be boring.  However, this year has seemed to bring quite a few more exceptions than normal.  Among those are: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Help, and Hugo.  

I fell in love with Hugo.  I thought it so beautifully done.  The music, the characters, the story.  I found myself crying even at points that wouldn't necessarily make you cry.  I honestly, didn't know the movie was based on a book; but when I found out at the end, I knew I had to read it.

The winner of the Children's Caldecott Award, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is nothing like anything I've ever read.  Normally, when I read I imagine the story that I am reading  unfolding in my head like a movie; but with The Invention of Hugo Cabret I didn't have to imagine.  The entire book was a movie! 
It was absolutely amazing! Everything about it! The characters, the story, the pictures, the sketches (OHHHH, the sketches!!! Absolutely stunning!!).

Before I read this book, I had wanted to buy it, but it had been over $20, and I don't spend that much money on one book usually, but after having read this book I knew why!  This isn't normally something I notice, so it just goes to show how beautifully presented this book is!  It's in this beautiful Hardcover, featuring these thick pages, that contain both the written parts, but also the absolutely stunning drawings that I mentioned before.  Just to give you an example of what I mean, here are a couple I found online:

Beautiful right?? The details!!  Even though the book is over 500 pages, about half of them are pictures and sketches like these.  So book was so simply written, yet so stunningly, it was amazing going through that type of reading experience!

Now to what the story is about:


Taking place in 1931, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is the story of just that, Hugo Cabret.  A 12 year old boy who lives all alone in the Paris train station changing the clocks day by day.  His father died, his guardian/Uncle abandoned him, so aside from changing the clocks, he spends his day fixing something called an Automaton (which translated from German means, Machine)

This is how the Automaton looks in the movie, I didn't want give away too many pictures from the book :)

Before this father died, his father spent after hours of working in the museum fixing it up, but unfortunately after he passed, Hugo tried everything to fix him.  From working on the Automaton, he meets a Toy maker named Papa George, or at least that is what his Goddaughter, Isabelle, calls him.  Meeting these two people changes Hugo's life forever.  With the help of Isabelle, they unfold secrets, that Hugo never found imaginable!

To find out what happens, I recommend reading the book, but if you don't have the time (I understand! :), Life can be SOOOOO stressful!!!), than I definitely recommend watching the movie.  Both are amazing!

One of my favorite parts is the mentioning of The Trip to the Moon, because it mentions the man in the moon.  I swear!!! I have never met anyone else whose seen the man in the moon!! Everyone I know only ever sees the RABBIT in the moon!! I DON'T SEE NO STINKING RABBIT!!!! I see a man!!! A sad man!  Well, anyway (haha), in both Hugo (the movie) and The Invention of Hugo Cabret they mention this movie The Trip to the Moon that has this scene:

The Trip to the Moon

See?? A Man in the Moon!!

Overall Rating:

Anyway, that's all for today! :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I know I did!!! And I'm not even a huge Super Bowl fan LOL, I just found out something pretty awesome today!! I won an ARC copy of Kody Keplinger's A Midsummer's Nightmare!!!!! AWWWWWWWW!!!! I was seriously screaming with excitement when I got the email this morning from Kody!!!! THANK YOU KODY!!!!  I am superrrrr excited to get it!! I will post about as soon as that happens! :)


I hope everyone has a great week, and I will write again latest on Tuesday again, for Music Tuesday #6!!

The Romance Bookie :)