Reviews for Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

Imagine the characteristics of a good thief: He would need to be a child (to fit in small spaces, and pick locks with small fingers); an orphan (so that no one would miss him); and blind (so that his senses of smell and touch far exceed those of anyone else). In Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, the exciting debut novel by Jonathan Auxier, Peter is all of these things, and much more. In fact, he is the greatest thief who has ever lived, and that is what changed his life forever.

Peter begins his thievery under the guidance of the despicable Mr. Seamus. Every night, Peter is sent out into the town to steal from its residents, and to bring everything he has taken to Mr. Seamus. This all changes when Peter decides to steal a beautiful box from the Haberdasher who has just arrived in town. In the box are three sets of fantastic eyes--eyes of gold, onyx and emerald--which transport Peter to a fantastic new world.

Auxier has written a stunning novel, one that transports not just Peter Nimble, but the reader as well, to the Troublesome Lake, where every ocean in the world eventually ends; to the Just Deserts, where troublemakers spend and end their lives with the King's Ravens; to the Vanished Kingdom, where an evil king holds a nation hostage, and a brave Princess Peg waits for their hero to return.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is, at first glance, a fast-paced, exciting adventure story. It is also much more. It is a story of friendship and loyalty between Peter and his companion Sir Tode, a knight who has been hexed into a regrettable cominbation of horse and cat. It is a story of strength, as Princess Peg cares for and leads the children she has rescued from the diabolical king. It is, finally, and most importantly, a story of destiny, as Peter comes to discover that what he is--a poor, dirty orphan--is not who he was meant to be.

READ MORE: In a Q&A author Jonathan Auxier explains why he considers Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes to be "a sort of anthem to delinquency."
 

What begins Dickensian turns Tolkien-esque in this quest replete with magic and mystery.

Peter Nimble is an orphan. Blinded by ravens in infancy and made to steal for the town's beggar-monger (think Fagin), Peter becomes an expert thief and pickpocket. His wretched existence changes when he steals a box containing eggs that are actually three pairs of magical eyes. When Peter drops the first pair into his eye-sockets, he's instantly swept away. Thus begins a perilous adventure wrought from a riddle found in a bottle. After much travail, Peter learns that the mysterious eyes are not always dependable. He seeks and eventually finds a vanished kingdom, where he faces a tyrannical king. The king has brainwashed all the adults and enslaved all of their children, who are controlled by a horde of bloodthirsty apes. The action never flags, even though the suspense does. With one onslaught after another, the violence turns from suggested to overt, with weaponry and bloody battles. Solving the riddle and embracing his destiny are just the beginning of Peter's problems. In the end it's Peter's true talents, not magic, that prove most reliable.

Auxier has a juggler's dexterity with prose that makes this fantastical tale quicken the senses, even if it does bog down from time to time. (Fantasy. 8-12)

What begins Dickensian turns Tolkien-esque in this quest replete with magic and mystery.

Peter Nimble is an orphan. Blinded by ravens in infancy and made to steal for the town's beggar-monger (think Fagin), Peter becomes an expert thief and pickpocket. His wretched existence changes when he steals a box containing eggs that are actually three pairs of magical eyes. When Peter drops the first pair into his eye-sockets, he's instantly swept away. Thus begins a perilous adventure wrought from a riddle found in a bottle. After much travail, Peter learns that the mysterious eyes are not always dependable. He seeks and eventually finds a vanished kingdom, where he faces a tyrannical king. The king has brainwashed all the adults and enslaved all of their children, who are controlled by a horde of bloodthirsty apes. The action never flags, even though the suspense does. With one onslaught after another, the violence turns from suggested to overt, with weaponry and bloody battles. Solving the riddle and embracing his destiny are just the beginning of Peter's problems. In the end it's Peter's true talents, not magic, that prove most reliable.

Auxier has a juggler's dexterity with prose that makes this fantastical tale quicken the senses, even if it does bog down from time to time. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Debut author Auxier spins a lively, magical adventure led by 10-year-old Peter Nimble, a blind orphan and "the greatest thief who ever lived." Peter has always had to fend for himself, and after five grueling years of working for a heartless beggarmonger and perfecting his burgling skills, he uncovers a box filled with three sets of stone eyes: gold, onyx, and emerald. The first set transports him to a hidden island where the psychic Professor Cake awaits. The professor provides Peter with a companion (Sir Tode, a half-cat, half-horse knight) and a mission: to solve a riddle and save the Vanished Kingdom from an evil king. Peter and Sir Tode set sail unarmed, aside from their kind natures, faith that the eyes will guide them, and Peter's skill at picking locks ("He considered every lock to be a personal challenge. By definition, locks are designed to tell you what you can't do"). At times the omniscient narrator can feel overly precious, but the fast-paced, episodic story, accompanied by Auxier's occasional pen-and-ink drawings, is inventive, unpredictable, and--like its hero--nimble. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)

Gr 5-8--Peter Nimble is a 10-year-old orphan, blinded at birth by ravens and trained as a highly skilled thief. Escaping a harsh master, he meets the mysterious Professor Cake, who tells him a prophecy in rhyme about a Vanished Kingdom much in need of rescuing. Peter undertakes the quest, accompanied by Sir Tode, a knight cursed with the body of a horse and cat. Professor Cake gives Peter a box with three sets of magical eyes to use when "the moment is right." Once on the island, Peter and Sir Tode battle a desert of thieves, a palace of monster apes, and a pit of sea serpents to free the city from a tyrannical king. By so doing, they discover their true mettle and decide to call the Vanished Kingdom home. Children who persevere through the complex, bizarre introduction will enjoy this quirky adventure. In the first chapters, it is difficult to see how an island without a surrounding ocean, dehydrated thieves battling talking ravens, and children enslaved by apes fit into one story, but Auxier manages to tie these fantastical elements into a cogent, believable story. Using the lessons he learned as a thief, Peter remains true to his own internal logic throughout his quest. This constancy helps to smooth over places where the pace drags. As Peter and his motley cohorts enter the final epic battle, children who want adventure with a splash of fantasy and mystery will be glad they spent time in Peter's world.--Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT