The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen- Review

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

Lately I have been on the hunt for unique books.  I love them.  I remember hearing about this book a few years ago and never got around to reading it till now.  It is neat with all the illustrations on in the margins of the pages. Here is the goodreads description of the book:

When twelve-year-old genius cartographer T.S. Spivet receives an unexpected phone call from the Smithsonian announcing he has won the prestigious Baird Award, life as normal-if you consider mapping family dinner table conversation normal-is interrupted and a wild cross-country adventure begins, taking T.S. from his family ranch just north of Divide, Montana, to the museum's hallowed halls. T.S. sets out alone, leaving before dawn with a plan to hop a freight train and hobo east. Once aboard, his adventures step into high gear and he meticulously maps, charts, and illustrates his exploits, documenting mythical wormholes in the Midwest, the urban phenomenon of "rims," and the pleasures of McDonald's, among other things. We come to see the world through T.S.'s eyes and in his thorough investigation of the outside world he also reveals himself. As he travels away from the ranch and his family we learn how the journey also brings him closer to home. A secret family history found within his luggage tells the story of T.S.'s ancestors and their long-ago passage west, offering profound insight into the family he left behind and his role within it. As T.S. reads he discovers the sometimes shadowy boundary between fact and fiction and realizes that, for all his analytical rigor, the world around him is a mystery. All that he has learned is tested when he arrives at the capital to claim his prize and is welcomed into science's inner circle. For all its shine, fame seems more highly valued than ideas in this new world and friends are hard to find. T.S.'s trip begins at the Copper Top Ranch and the last known place he stands is Washington, D.C., but his journey's movement is far harder to track: How do you map the delicate lessons learned about family and self? How do you depict how it feels to first venture out on your own? Is there a definitive way to communicate the ebbs and tides of heartbreak, loss, loneliness, love? These are the questions that strike at the core of this very special debut.  

This book was book was no good. Ugh... I hate to say this.  The book starts out with a lot of promise.  I enjoyed the first half. Then I just felt it was more of a chore to read it. It's a pretty big book. The book is about a 12 year old boy (T.S.)  who maps everything.  I thought that was neat.  Plus we get to see all these maps in the book.  I mean he maps everything!!  The story goes that he was entered and won an award from the Smithsonian.  So he runs away and hops a train to DC to attend the ceremony.

 

So far ... it's a good book.  I am learning about his family... the mystery of what happens to T.S.'s brother.  Then we end up on the train ride to DC.  T.S. ends up sitting in a Winnebago that is being shipped somewhere.  While traveling he begins reading his mom's notebooks.  These notebooks are a side story about his grandmother and how she became a scientist herself.  While interesting I just didn't connect to this story and finally ended up giving up.  I DO NOT LIKE TO DO THIS.  I feel a story is incomplete. I also rarely DNF a book.  I only had about 100 pages to go and just didn't want to put anymore time into the novel.  

The book is just way too wordy.  I loved all the illustrations, but it has already been taking me a long time to finish this book.  When I DNF a book I always wonder... do I just not want to put the time in?  Or am I really just not into the book.  I want to know what happens to the characters but just don't want to fight through the book.  

While looking up this book (I was googling the plot so I could know what happens to the characters) I did discover that there has been a movie made of the book!  Actually... the movie looks really really good. It is only out in Canada and France and came out last year in October.   I can't wait for it to come out here in the US (it is in English).  I really think the film looks magical.  Though they did change T.S. from a cartographer to an inventor.

 

I wish I could've loved this book. It just wasn't for me.  I don't think others should avoid it though, it might just be what you are looking for in a book.  I just thought it was really really long and drawn out. 

The crystal ball says:

Thunder is booming!! Run inside and don't bother reading!