Claudia is on a field trip to an art museum when she first sees the boy, standing behind The Three Dutch Men in their painting. She thinks nothing of it, assuming that he had always been there. Later, though, she sees him again in a painting at her own house. There is no mistaking that it is the same boy, and this time he speaks. Though he's absolutely terrifying and should be impossible, he is also the only real friend that Claudia has ever had. Eventually, their friendship leads her to another world - the world behind the canvas.
AGE RANGE INTERMEDIATE
THEMES
Witches
Art
Painting
Fantasy
History
Friends
Adventure
OVERALL RATING 7/10
This book is an OK story, and the writing is pretty good, but there were just a few things that really bothered me. The main character didn't have realistic emotions or dialogue, and there was so much unnecessary action in the book that made it very unbelievable. I understand that it is a fantasy book, but even fantasy books need to be believable. Another thing that really irritated me was the use of footnotes. Every few pages, there will be an enormous footnote, often taking up up to half of the page, and really hard to ignore. They really broke the immersion in the story. The idea for the book is actually really interesting, but those issues made it less enjoyable for me to read.
PROS
Really great premise
Includes historical info without being set in the past. This could be handy for kids trying to learn about history who don't like historical fiction.
CONS
Claudia is never scared enough of the things that happen
Way too much action
Unrealistic dialogue
Unbelievable
Annoying footnotes