Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods by Tania del Rio and Will Staehle

I read Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye in September of 2016 and loved it so much that I knew I'd want to continue reading about Warren when a second book came out. And, I didn't forget about Warren. He's a marvelous character - crazy to look at (that strange mouth!) but unusually mature for a young boy. He solves puzzles, unravels mysteries, escapes from tricky situations, and then saves the day.

You can read my review of the first book, here:

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye

In the second installment, Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods, Warren's walking hotel (yes, seriously, it walks) has come close to a place where witches hang out and Warren wants to get away from it as quickly as possible. But, then the hotel has a disastrous accident. It trips and falls over. A sticky drink gets into the control panel, so it can't quickly be righted. And, all the guests abandon the hotel, grumbling. Then things get even worse.

Warren goes off in search of some de-stickifier to repair the control panel that makes the hotel move, and in the process is fooled and trapped by a mimic. Now, the mimic (a creature who, with the help of something he stole, looks exactly like Warren) is on the loose and he's taking over the hotel. There are witches in search of revenge and dangerous creatures called sap-squatches in the Whispering Woods. In order to save the hotel, Warren will have to catch up to it, save a friend, fight off the witches, get rid of the mimic, and figure out what's up with the sap-squatches and the angry trees.

The publicity for the Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye said it's for ages 8-12 and I mentioned thinking it could be read to a younger audience without any problems. I believe that is also true of Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods and I think Warren is a particularly great character, much like Harry Potter. He's a good person, hard-working and thoughtful, quick to make friends but sometimes a little blind to danger. The cast of hotel workers and friends from the first book aid him in various ways (or cause trouble). They're like an oddball family.

Highly recommended - Every bit as fun and creative as the first Warren the 13th book, with lots of plot twists and some surprising new friendships, Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods is a creepy delight. Warren is a wonderful character. There's a lot of magic, good and bad, and Warren's world is enchanting and unique. I thought I saw mention online of a 3rd Warren the 13th book in the works. I hope so. I'd love this series to keep going on for a very long time.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio and Will Staehle

My reading has slowed down significantly, this week, thanks to the insomnia I mentioned earlier in the week, so I was very pleased when I started reading Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye and realized that I'd opened a book that was impossible to put down, even given how difficult it has been to focus.

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye is about a little boy who faces a number of challenges and must solve a mystery to save his family's hotel. Warren is the 13th in a long line of Warrens and the eventual heir to his family's hotel since his father, Warren the 12th, died. However, he won't officially inherit the hotel till he turns 18 and Warren is still young, so it has been run by his uncle Rupert for about 6 years. Rupert is incredibly lazy and he's been letting the hotel deteriorate, unwilling to put out the effort of upkeep. It's gotten so bad that they no longer have guests. In the past 4 months, things have become even worse since Rupert married Annaconda.

Auntie Annaconda is a witch who has heard the story of the All-Seeing Eye. Nobody knows what the All-Seeing Eye is (and most don't believe it even exists) but Annaconda assumes it must be something valuable or powerful and she has been slowly tearing up floors and bedding, ripping into walls, and generally creating havoc in the hotel as she searches for clues. Warren is a hard-working boy; he does his best to maintain the hotel and repair the damage done by Auntie Annaconda. The chef and Warren's elderly teacher are his only friends.

Suddenly, a mysterious guest appears at the hotel and then Annaconda's two sisters show up. That's when things begin to get crazy. Will Warren figure out the mystery of the All-Seeing Eye before Annaconda and her sisters completely destroy the hotel? Who is the strange creature in the boiler room and who can be trusted? And, what is the meaning of the strange poem about the All-Seeing Eye?

Where the author and artist take this story is a total delight. And, you must see inside the book to appreciate it. The illustrations are absolutely marvelous:

Highly recommended - You know those rare books that keep you guessing all the way through? Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye is exactly that: surprising, delightful, upbeat, with a terrific young hero. Good, clean, mysterious fun.

I received a copy of Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye from Quirk Books in return for an unbiased review and I'm all full of gushy love. I cannot imagine a child not enjoying it. It's tense but not so scary as to induce nightmares, creative, and seriously . . . those illustrations. I wish I could hold the book up and show the entire thing to you. It would make a whopping fine gift for a youngster (or, just gift yourself - it's got witches; that seems like a decent excuse to buy a copy for the R.I.P. Challenge, if you're participating). The publicity info says it's for ages 8-12. I think you could safely read it to a younger child, no problem.

More good news: In the back of the book, it says Warren and the staff of the Warren Hotel will be returning. Sign me up! I cannot wait to read more. Last night was the best night's insomnia I've had in a long time.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.