Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things
By Darienne Stewart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Intriguing tale of boy as detective after parents vanish.

A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
A Contrived Tale
Report this review
What's the Story?
Is It Any Good?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
- Families can talk about Max's mix of honesty and deceit. He avoids outright lies yet isn't fully honest. Is the distinction important? Is he justifying immoral behavior, or is he doing the right thing?
Absent parents are a common theme in children's stories. Why do you think this is?
Max dons disguises and adopts the mannerisms of theatrical characters when he's on the job. How does this help him?
Book Details
- Author: Cynthia Voigt
- Illustrator: Iacopo Bruno
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Adventures, Great Boy Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Random House Children's Books
- Publication date: September 10, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 400
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate