Secrets of the Book

By: Erin Fry

Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn

You don’t choose the book - the book chooses you. Sixth grader Spencer Lemon is rapidly losing his eyesight. So he has no idea why he was chosen to guard Pandora’s Book. When Ed, the old guy at a nursing home, hands over the book, there’s no time to explain the rules to Spencer. Spencer only knows that the book contains famous dead people - who can be brought back to life. Then Ed disappears, and a strange man shows up on Spencer’s doorstep - and he seems to know a lot about Pandora’s Book. Is he a bad guy? Or can he help Spencer unravel the secrets of the book? There are others interested in Pandora’s Book, others who might use its powers for evil. It’s up to Spencer; his friend Gregor; and Ed’s mysterious granddaughter, Mel, to protect the book - and save the world.

©2014 Erin Fry (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Secrets of the book is AWESOME!

This book was AWESOME!! It is full of adventure and myths. The people in this book are Alcapone, Teddy Roseavelt, Sacertese and more!

The likes and dislikes

The story. It self was a little scarry. If kids are going to read this... I can't amajin what they would say. I think the narator could have Benin a little more expressive but other than that... The book was great!

I enjoyed it

The performance was delightful, the story was good. I am 48 and liked the story and history.

secrets of the book, has inspired me to make reading more fun thanx for a lifetime!

I have bought so much of books, to read more books that inspire me,
( I think someone misplaced those kind of books)!

Secrets of the book

I love it it is so good because it has lots of chapters plus good story parts

Loved the characters

Pandora' book...yes book, not box. Clever idea behind how it works. The narrator was awesome... Really felt like he was the main character telling the story. Great friendship story and also dealing with special needs kids. Would totally recommend to students for adventure and good vs evil.

Great Kids Story, Stellar Narration

The story is fun on it's own but Todd's narration brings it up another notch. Two more narrated kids stories by Todd, The Worst Class Trip Ever and The Worst Night Ever by Dave Barry.

A unique and fun adventure

This book was so much fun! The narrative voice is absolutely engaging, and I loved the added aspects that come from Spencer progressively losing his eyesight and Gregor having ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

Spencer Lemon (pronounced Leh-mohn, like it's French, and NOT the bitter citrus fruit!) knows that he will be blind one day, and there's nothing he can do about it. But instead of being depressed and mad about it, he works to make his life as it is as full as he can. Because his mother is trying to teach Spencer about giving back, he spends an hour every Tuesday and Thursday at a nearby nursing home visiting with Ed. On one visit, as soon as Spencer enters Ed's room, Ed tells him to close the door and the blinds and then proceeds to introduce Spencer to Babe Ruth, Marilyn Monroe, and Albert Einstein.

After showing Spencer Pandora's Book, which has pages full of all sorts of notable figures from history, Ed gives him to book to take home and familiarize himself with. Ed has every intention of showing Spencer how the book works the next time he visits, and tells Spencer to simply look through the book and learn who's inside of it.

It's when Spencer gets home that things begin to go sideways. Now Spencer needs help, Ed is missing, and a strange and creepy man seems to be much too interested in the book.

With the help of his best friend, Gregor, and a new acquaintance, Mel, Spencer sets out to try and find Ed and protect Pandora's Book.

The main characters of this book are really well-developed, and the author, via Spencer, is a born storyteller. Written in first-person perspective, it really was like listening to someone tell me their crazy adventures. This was even more true since I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Todd Haberkorn. The voices he used for the different characters were great, and I truly enjoyed listening to him tell the story. The emphasis and feeling, tension and release that he injected into the narration were perfect, and he is one of the few narrators that I didn't have to speed up to reach a normal speaking speed. If you have a chance to listen to the audiobook, take it. It's absolutely great!

Between the fabulous writing and wonderful narration, this is absolutely a book that I will be listening to multiple times. Not only is it a great story with amazing characters - current and historical - but it also has main characters who have disabilities, and I love seeing that positive representation. I will absolutely be following Fry and reading more of her books going forward.