1112+Davies+Book+Review

=//The Curse of the Blue Figurine //= //Review by Taylor Davies // //The Curse of the Blue Figurine // by John Bellairs is about a boy who is told a ghost story but is not told the whole truth. When he wants to believe the truth, he goes to the church and seeks a haunting spirit of Father Baart. I really like this book because it kept me reading to find out what was going to happen next.

There is a young boy named Johnny Dixon who loves to read about ancient Egypt and the haunting of spiritual activity. His mom died about a year ago and his father is in the U.S. Air Force. So now his Gramma and Grampa are taking care of him these days. Gramma can’t stand filthiness and his Grampa does not believe in ghosts. They have a neighbor across the street and his name is Professor Childermass who has a very big temper. He used to be great friends with Grampa when they were younger. The Professor later becomes friends with Johnny and is the one who tells Johnny the story about the ghost Father Baart. Father Baart is supposedly a secret murderer and nobody knows what had happened to him after he disappeared.

This story first takes place in the winter in Long Island, NY. It takes place in the town Duston Heights in present time. Duston Heights has a school, a park, and a church. At the church every morning, people and classes come to pray. At the park is a statue of a woman holding 10 Indian heads. I love how the author described the setting when Johnny was listening to the radio: “Outside, it was snowing. Through the bay window you could see the flakes falling. The room was dark except for the faint yellow light that shone from the fan-shaped dial on the front of the big walnut Atwater Kent table-model radio that was next to the easy chair.” At the school of Duston Heights, Nuns are the teachers there and you don’t want to make them mad!

In the beginning of this story, Professor Childermass comes into the Dixons’ house and tells Johnny a horrific ghost story. Johnny believes it is true, but not this entire story is real. The Professor loves to tell stories and make up make-believe stories and yet, half of this story was one. Johnny tends to believe most of the things he is told. Like when he believed that Father Baart is real and so is the curse of the blue figurine. He believes it’s so real; he sets off on an adventure that may cost him his life. When he goes to the church where Father Baart had disappeared, he finds himself in the forbidden basement of the church. Unusually, the door was unlocked. The author described the basement is frightening with grey hairy spiders everywhere and a bookshelf damaged with soggy books and ruined covers. Johnny hears noises that scares him and then tramples upstairs. He tells himself not to go there again. Although he has an urge to, he doesn’t. While Johnny was down there, he grabbed a black book. Inside the book were a scroll and a blue figurine that looks like an Egyptian. He takes it home and buries it in his closet. He doesn’t tell a soul about this except Professor Childermass. He could only tell him because he is the one who had told Johnny the ghost story. The Professor examines the book, scroll, and figurine. He believes that this whole craze is not real and thinks that Johnny is pulling a trick.

Johnny tries to tell him that it’s not a trick, but the Professor doesn’t know what to believe. Johnny is miserable that he can only tell the Professor, who doesn’t believe him. At school there is this bully who pummels Johnny and Johnny is furious about this kid. He even took Johnny’s prayer book that his father gave him before he left. That day when the bully took Johnny’s prayer book, when he got home, Johnny went to his closet and dug the book out and held the blue figurine and wished that the bully would break his neck. The next day at church, Johnny saw the bully with a cast not on his neck, but on his arm. Johnny now knew for sure that this was all real and magical.

Soon Johnny was experiencing bad happenings. He couldn’t sleep and he didn’t eat much. Gramma and Grampa had noticed. So did Professor Childermass. They thought that something might be wrong, but when they asked Johnny what was wrong, he said nothing was wrong. Johnny’s grandparents and the Professor thought he might need a psychiatrist. They told Johnny that the doctor said he needed a check-up at the doctors. They didn’t tell Johnny that they were taking him to a psychiatrist because they knew that Johnny would run away. The psychiatrist thought that Johnny could use a vacation so Professor Childermass took Johnny to the mountains where it could be peaceful and Johnny didn’t have to worry about anything especially the black book and the figurine.

They went sightseeing and mountain climbing and hiking. But at night when they were going to get cozy under the covers of their beds, a shadow was standing at the door and Johnny followed. It was raining outside. The mysterious shadowy figure and Johnny mostly asleep, went through mud and mountains in the startling downpour. The Professor woke up to see that Johnny had been gone. He quickly put on his trousers, shoes, and shirt then carefully shriveled outside into the storm. He followed one set of tracks in the mud, but not two. He tracked them all the way up and about the mountains and hills. The cliffs and steep rocks on the mountains were very slippery. The Professor was trying to identify the shadowy figure, but he couldn’t.

Then the mysterious shadow had noticed the Professor and said “Why have you come here, old fool? This is my triumph! You’ve come to the place where my power is greatest. Soon I will live again, and this detestable creature will die. A fair exchange, they say, is no robbery. What say you? Are you ready for your death too?” This really scared me, but I liked how I could picture the scene and the voices tone and pitch.

The Professor was frightened by this by this and had anger welling up inside him. He was amazed that he had the courage to say this. Father Baart, the shadow, had gotten really angry and had the Professor disintegrated right before Johnny’s eyes. His body turned to dust and his clothes lay there on the cavern floor. It was Johnny’s turn next. After a moment, the Johnny and Father Baart heard the voice of the Professor. “For the love of God, would you stop kicking me?” the Professor lay under Johnny. He was alive! The mountain was soon shaking and boulders and rocks were trembling down the mountain and the Professor and Johnny would soon be crushed. It stopped. Johnny and the Professor were alive and Father Baart was gone! Johnny and the Professor were amazed that he had just disappeared. Now they return to their lives as if nothing had happened. The theme of this book is a boy that is told a story and wants to believe everything is true. I liked this theme because you can do so much with it and your imagination in this theme, you don’t know where to start or end. I also liked this theme because you can build up a terrifying suspense moment or a horrific flash where you don’t want to put the book down.

I really encourage for readers to read this book because when you start reading, you don’t want to put the book down.