Maya is a displaced youngster, arriving in Paris with her family and being thrust into a group of strangers who speak in a language she doesn't understand when her family moves to France for her father's new job. French relatives being to appear in her life, including Louise, a nondescript cousin who will tutor her in French. Then she meets a handsome uncle who lives in a mysterious house with a salamander door handle that turns its head to look at her each time she sees it. Something strange is going on and it seems that this mysterious uncle and another older uncle who has a cabinet filled with bottles of earth have secrets that she needs to discern because the Cabinet of Earths is calling to her to become its Keeper and she is being drawn into its power. Soon she understands that, if she becomes the Keeper of the Cabinet of Earths, she will have the power of immortality in her hands, a power that will guarantee that she can return health to her mother. It is difficult to avoid the whisper of temptation when it means that she can do something positive for someone so important to her. Fortunately, she is not alone. She has made friends with Valko, a boy from her school, and she also has her brother James, her cousin Louise, and others who come into her life to warn her and to give her support to make the right choices. The book is not an action-filled fantasy adventure; it is a novel of turmoil in which a young girl must figure out her place in a family with a history of magic and betrayal. I loved the first chapter of this book where the grandma basically offs herself right in front of her grandson. That's my kind of book.But then the story got really slow and it was difficult for it to keep my interest. I never really grasped the true concept of the actual Cabinet, and didn't LOVE the characters the way I wanted to. The sentence structure was odd at times, and I felt as though the book may have been translated to English from some other language. (French, I assumed, since the story is so heavily French.)Great concept, but not the greatest execution.
What do You think about A Szalamandrás Ház Titka (2012)?
Thought the plot was fairly listless throughout. If the book gets a YA into reading, that's good.
—aalissy
I'm so frustrated that she hasn't already published more books. This is an amazing book!
—suziworker
Quite good. Bonus points for Paris, and for not being a first in the series.
—aminak82c
Very confusing, though in the parts I could understand it was good.
—vivianrizzuto
It was interesting the first time.
—brokenlights13
