The Invention of Hugo Cabret ~ Fabiana Lopez

I chose this literature circle as my group. I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't a hard read. I think it took only a few days of reading here and there. I definitely recommend this, not just for adolescents, but for anyone who maybe doesn't really read for fun or hasn't picked up a book in a year. It really draws you in with the short text and the fantastic drawings.
The story moved very smoothly and I felt like it gives the reader that 'transported to another world' sensation that you often get from movies. The book, in itself, is about the magic of cinema and how early cinema was transformed by magicians who injected their dreams into it. Today's magical cinema, a product of stunts, green screen, and CGI is a direct descendant of that.
I think the historical element would make this a great book for a middle school literature class, especially before reading a book about World War II since it's prewar France. I can't see why any parent would protest the reading of the book though Hugo does steal to make a living, but he's an abandoned child so I don't see that as really being upsetting to parents.
I do have some questions concerning the book, like what happened to Hugo's mother? She's never really mentioned. I was really intrigued by the idea of the automatons as something that people actually made so many years ago before the advent of computers, in some cases even before the industrial revolution. It's pretty amazing that they could make these creations that could, in turn, do such intricate work like drawing a picture or writing a poem. It's kind of like early robotics. I feel like kids would definitely find that fascinating and the book does include a note at the end with a link to a video of an 18th century at the Franklin Institute, which you can see on Youtube. This was the inspiration for the automaton in the book. I think that would be a really great intro to the novel, showing that video to the class.
What I really loved was the presence of sort of forbidden knowledge in the story which I think adolescents will relate to. Isabelle and Hugo have to sneak into the movie theater at one point. Hugo finds out Isabelle can pick locks and that's one of my favorite moments in the story:

“She walked to the rear door and took out a bobby pin from her pocket. Hugo watched as she fiddled with the pin inside the lock until it clicked and the door opened. "How did you learn to do that?" asked Hugo. "Books," answered Isabelle.”

So Isabelle gets this knowledge that typically would have been passed from one person to another by reading. She's always reading books in the story. That's one of the things I really like about this novel is that it shows how kids view the world; as this place that's still magical and has all of this potential opening up, there's so many things out there to learn about and it's right at your fingertips. I think anyone who reads it will find it enchanting and be drawn into the story pretty quickly.