What an interesting book! Hugo Cabret is twelve years old and is now an orphan. He lives and hides inside the inner walls of a train station, where his uncle had worked as the clock keeper. Once the uncle disappear, Hugo had no where to go, so he continued to do the clock work and steal to survive.
He has a few run ins with a toy shop owner who catches him stealing which results in an interesting coincidence. With the help of the toy man's goddaughter, Isabelle, Hugo is able to capture his dream.
The book seems an overwhelming 532 pages, but can be read in a couple of hours. The authors moves the storytelling along quickly by incorporating illustrations that sequence us from movement to movement and as scenes change. I loved combing the pictures to narrate the events as if I were the author. Selznick uses his illustrations to zoom in on expressions and build suspense for the reader. Also, he cleverly mixes in true parts of his story, such as Georges Melies being a real filmmaker and A Trip to the Moon was a real movie, with lots of fiction (Hugo and Isabelle are made up). I had fun reading through the credits at the end to see what was real and what was made up.
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