Do You like book The Treasure Of Alpheus Winterborn (1997)?
I adore John Bellairs as a rule, and his uncoventional character use has always been a favorite of mine. Throughout his publishing career, his top three childrens series involved Lewis and Rose Rita, Johnny Dixon, and Anthony Monday. Of them all, I'm sad to say I'd probably list the series involving Anthony Monday as my least favorite, with Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass coming in as my favorites, and Lewis and Rose Rita coming in second. While the Anthony Monday stories do involve the Bellairs "formula," (pre-teen hanging out with wacky offbeat adult figure in the 1950's and solving mysteries,) somehow Anthony and Miss Ells just don't do it for me. Miss Ells' consistent ineptitude starts to grate on my nerves, and when you combine that with Anthony's non-original "emo-kid" whining, it tends to get a little dull. Still, a few steps down from the amazing Johnny Dixon stories is still a good place to be, and I recommend ALL of these for Bellairs fans.
—Tara Lynn
This story falls squarely on the "mystery" end of the spectrum of Bellairs' children's books - there's some suspense and tension, but the story is without the supernatural and serious horror elements that play parts in many of his other books. I loved this book as a kid, Anthony Monday was having exactly the sort of adventure I wanted to have. He had the run of a mysterious old library with hidden rooms and stairways to explore, he discovered clues to a treasure, figured out the clues himself, a
—Anna
Not as enjoyable as the second Anthony Monday book, which I read first. I had come across the second book at the library giveaway months ago, read it, enjoyed it, and decided to seek out the rest of the series. I suspect that book 3 will be better than this one, because I simply didn't care for Anthony in this book. He wasn't at all the same kid he was in book 2, and his mother was just awful here. Since he was more enjoyable in book 2, probably those characteristics continued into book 3 and beyond. As for the treasure and the riddles, they just weren't very well developed. The reader can't figure out for themselves what it all means, there aren't enough clues and tidbits to satisfy most people, it's just a matter of waiting for Anthony to figure it out himself. Worth continuing the series, but not the strongest outing by Bellairs.
—Robyn