Fantasy – Fiction Book Review: The Cabinet of Earths

The Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbet

Maya and her family have moved to Paris for a year, because of her father’s job. Maya and her younger brother James are soon introduced to a variety of unusual characters. But most peculiar of all is the old house with a salamander on the door that seems to move. Maya discovers that she has relatives in town with many secrets. And one is the Keeper of the Cabinet of Earths, but the cabinet seems to want Maya for its new Keeper.

I really wanted to enjoy this one. But the Cabinet itself and the plot line were hard to grasp and not explained well enough. The saving grace for me was the characters. Maya and her cousin who is almost invisible, her friend Valko, and the mysterious rich elite who don’t seem to age – these engaging characters kept me involved in the story. This bizarre tale of magic and immortality may appeal to its target audience of middle grade readers, but it the strange plot fell short for me.