Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Tapping elements of Roald Dahl's tales of child empowerment and the orphans-on-the-run pacing of Cornelia Funke's <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Thief Lord, Byng creates a fresh debut novel about a girl with an unusual talent, which makes for a captivating audiobook via Burton's artful reading. The actor conveys a subtle brightness of tone throughout as she portrays Molly, a downtrodden child oft-ridiculed for her "droning" voice, who has lived in a bleak orphanage in England her whole life. When Molly learns that she has a knack for hypnotizing people—and animals, too—she begins a fanciful journey that leads her from her dreary existence to the high life as a pampered Broadway star in New York City. Burton's performance gathers steam right along with Molly's escalating self-confidence and a few adrenaline-pumping plot twists. A denouement of good guys vs. bad guys proves satisfying on all fronts. But listeners should take note: Burton's slow intonation during the various hypnotism passages may well create a trance-like state. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover.Ages 8-12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

Living in a bleak orphanage in England, young Molly discovers she has a talent for hypnotism. Her newfound skill leads to fame and fortune in New York City. Though long, this fantasy novel is entertaining and contains humor, larger-than-life characters, and scenes of suspense.

Kirkus Reviews

<p>A how-to manual rescues Molly Moon from her orphanage and its vile inhabitants in an odd mixture of grotesque silliness and moral inspiration. For ten years, Molly has been the lowest of the low. Wicked Miss Adderstone orders her to scrub all the toilets with her toothbrush as punishment for having a bath with more than ten centimeters of water. Mean Hazel Hackersly and Gordon Boils (who eats snot sandwiches) torture her incessantly. Her only friend, Rocky, moved to America. But a book of hypnotism endows Molly with hope. With her huge eyes and droning voice, Molly soon hypnotizes everyone in town. She sets off after Rocky and hypnotizes her way into stardom and a room at the Waldorf. Alas, Molly acquired the book by tricking a wicked professor who will stop at nothing to get the riches hypnotism promises. Molly's solutions to problems are amusing and all evil is redeemed. The salvation of archetypically evil (and archetypically disgusting) villains is dissatisfying in a tale that seems otherwise to be drawing on Roald Dahl and Lemony Snickett. Clumsy, but amusing. (Fiction. 8-11)</p>

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

An orphan stumbles across a book on hypnotism and sets out to change the course of her life. "Both humor and moral lessons are played at a loud volume, reminding readers in a light-hearted way that instant success can be a burden as well as a blessing," wrote <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW in a starred review. Ages 8-12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Orphan Molly Moon is unloved and unlovely. The other children pick on her, as do the mean-spirited women who run Hardwick House Orphanage. Molly occasionally escapes to the Briersville library to avoid them all. One day she finds a mysterious tome on hypnotism hidden in the stacks and discovers her real talent. With her newfound skill, she is able to change her luck and her life, getting out of the orphanage to win the local talent competition, and ending up in New York City, where she hypnotizes the entire city into making her a child star. However, evil Professor Nockman will stop at nothing to get the book. A flashy, holographic cover will attract readers. Most of the characters within begin as caricatures, either very good or (more often) very, very bad. Their outlandish adventures are reminiscent of those of the Baudelaire siblings in Lemony Snicket's popular "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books (HarperCollins) with some big differences. Molly Moon's story doesn't match their clever and elegant way with words, but it does have something they lack-a satisfying and very moral ending. There is no cliff-hanger here, as Molly atones for the conniving and devious use of her skills, goes back to the orphanage to make amends, and even uses her talents to turn the worst of the bad guys into good guys. Recommend this lengthy novel to fans of Lemony Snicket's books and similar adventures.-Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.