Dignissimos dolore soluta non maxime.

I have three boys, ages 8, 8, and 9. I received "Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things" as an Advance Review Copy from NetGalley. Though my boys are getting older, and can read very well on their own, I love to read aloud, and they love to listen. It's special time that we sit and talk about the characters in the novels we read. While this is wonderful, it also stretches books out into a much longer experience than you would have reading it to yourself. This can be good for discussion, but so hard to do when you just want to know the answer to the mysteries! ;) Max Starling is the son of two actors/theater owners. Following in his parents' flamboyant footsteps, it is revealed that Max, himself, has great acting chops. The story opens up with Max's parents supposedly being offered temporary positions overseas as acting coaches, but something goes awry, and his parents disappear, with only an oddly-worded note left behind. This seems like it's going to be the great mystery of the novel, but it is sadly pushed out of the picture for most of the story. Max doesn't act like a 12-year-old. This was brushed off, by basically alluding that his parents were irresponsible, and he often had to fend for himself, even prior to them actually disappearing. Max tries to prove that he can be independent, by getting odd jobs to support himself. The only type of work he can find, is in finding things for other people. The majority of the story bounces back and forth between the 'cases' that he takes on, as a 'Solutioneer,' while the whole issue of his parents' disappearance is suspiciously absent. Max's Grammie explains it away, by saying that they might as well continue on with their lives, since the only thing they can do is wait until they hear more by way of newspaper or postcards (due to the fact that they're in the early 20th century). I felt that, while this was relevant, it almost came across like they really just didn't care. There were long stretches where the parents'