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The Hunchback Assignments

(2009, Fiction - Science Fiction, Written by Arthur Slade)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 12.

  • Is it any good?

    2.0

  • Common Sense says

    Steampunk horror mystery is too dark for most kids' tastes.

Themes in this book include:   friendship, growing up, revenge

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 12–14

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Not an issue.

  • Role models:

    Modo and the other agents think they are working for the good of London. There are distincly evil characters at work, but the motives of the Permanent Guild are also questionable, especially their employment of children. There are some stereotypical characterizations of evil Germans.
 

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    This is a dark story. The young hero, Modo, is a hunchback who is enlisted to work as a spy for a secret agency. He is not operating out of freewill, and his missions may not be wholly good.

  • Violence:

    Adults and children are kidnapped, drugged, held captive, and have metal bolts implanted in them. Captives are enslaved and/or drugged to follow orders, including murdering their fathers.

  • Sex:

    Not an issue.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    This is historical ficiton -- there are references to laudunum and opium. Some children and adults are enslaved by being forced to drink a tincture.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Hunchback Assignments

Parents need to know that there are some mature elements in this dark story: young men murder their fathers; experiments are performed on children and adults. The poor treatment of children may be historically accurate but disturbing to younger readers today. There is no background information that explains why some of the villains are German, and female villains abound. There is some discomfort reading about children fighting evil adults without the magic powers that Harry Potter has available. This falls into the steampunk genre, which has dark story elements and is often, as here, set in the industrial age. This alternative history will be more appealing to older readers with some idea of the real history of the period and the elements being changed.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the history of freak shows and curiousities. Do they exist today? What about at fairs or carnivals?
  • Why did the superstitions arise about anyone different, for example, someone with physical deformities? Out of fear?
  • Genetic engineering is going on now -- have scientists always hoped to alter humans? For good or evil? Who will police these efforts?
  • Is Dr. Hyde’s name familiar? What story was the original Dr. Hyde from? How was his mission similar?
  • Should children be used to fight adult battles such as this one against the Clockwork Guild?
Tools and tips that can help

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