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My Rating: 2 stars

I may be biased, because I did not finish reading this book, but honestly, this novel was not as great as I thought it was going to be. I had read so many good reviews and heard so many good things about this novel, so I guess I started it with high expectations. It is about a peculiar and unique nine-year-old-boy, named Oskar, who’s father had died in the tragedy in New York City on September 11th, 2001. Later, Oskar finds a key in his father’s closet that was encased in an envelope with the word “Black” on it. Oskar is convinced “Black” is a person, most likely a person’s last name, so he sets out on a journey around New York and contacts everyone with the last name Black to see if they have any clue what the key is for.
At first, I was intrigued by Oskar himself. He is a very smart and quirky nine-year-old boy, and the writing style of this story is very realistic; it seemed as if I was inside a nine-year-old’s head. The thoughts were quick, fast-paced, and out of this world. Oskar is brilliant and thought of a lot of things that really made me think. He is the main reason I kept on wanting to read. I couldn’t wait to see what he thought of or did next. The characters are definitely a strong point in this book, at first. But after a while,( for me, at least) all of the eccentric habits and stories and characters seem to fade away and the story becomes dull and boring. The plot didn’t pull its part. It was extremely drawn out and incredibly pointless. I understand that searching through every person with the last name Black would definitely be a long process, but I don’t think it was suitable for an entire plotline of a novel. I mean, the only reason I would have kept reading would be to find out what the key is for. But I really just can’t keep reading this book. I don’t know why, but it just lost its appeal. I have been carrying it around for weeks, hoping that I will find the motivation to pick it up and read it again, but I just can’t. I have heard that the movie is not like the book at all, so I’m not too sure if I’ll even bother watching it. I will honestly say that I probably will end up finishing it at some point in time, and I will definitely make sure that I write a new review when that time comes.