Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye: A Novel

What an incredible, underrated series!! My daughter and I absolutely loved this book (and the rest of the trilogy)! Warren is a kind hearted, lovable boy who you find yourself rooting for throughout the books. The friends he makes along the way are an unusual and unique bunch who have the same heart and intentions as Warren. The mysteries that unravel keep you interested and unable to put the book down. We quickly read each book cover to cover and are now disappointed there are not more stories. Absolutely nothing compares to Warren the 13th, the Warren Hotel, and the tales that unfold.

I love everything about this book: engaging plot, fantastic illustrations, ongoing suspense, and interesting characters! Warren the 13th has everything! I know it’s been compared to the Lemony Snicket series, but I prefer Warren the 13th by a pretty wide margin! This was fun to read, and the illustrations are superb! Books like this are what me fall in love with reading (oh so long ago), and that’s a wonderful thing to be reminded of!

Short and Sweet Review: This is an adorable and creepy book, a combination that surprisingly works really well. It almost reminds of a Tim Burton movie, but more adorable. Warren is the latest in a long line of Warrens who run a hotel. Since his father died, the hotel has fallen into disarray thanks to his lazy uncle and his uncle’s scary wife. Her goal is to find the mysterious All-Seeing Eye that is supposed to be somewhere on the grounds. The story reads quickly, full of fun, hilarious, spooky, and several sweet moments. I love how the illustrations tie in and work so well with the text. The whole design of the book is incredible, and I found myself taking extra time just to look at the illustrations a little longer. Some parts of the story were a little confusing, but for the most part, I really liked this one and definitely want to read the next!

From the illustrations to the engaging and quirky story this has quickly become one of our family’s favs to read together

This is a gorgeously illustrated book, coupled with a very creative story with many twists and surprises. Warren is such a loveable kind character, and I love the fact that he's not classically handsome! We have given out Warren the 13th to many our friends' kids this past Xmas as presents, and their consistent feedback was of joy and delight, with some even finished reading the book in 1 full day! For younger readers, or those with trouble reading, we have also heard the many illustrations in the book really helped them keep pace with the storyline well.

In addition to rendering a well-written, compelling character-driven story by Archie's Manga author of Sabrina's Teenage Witch, and who by the looks of it clearly knows how to write to young adult readers on the level, this book also delights by the artistic illustrations from book cover designer Will Staehle. The result of this two talented artist's collaboration is an entertaining and beautiful book that can be enjoyed by adults as well as their younger intended audience. Highly recommended!

Warren, the 13th, is a twelve-year-old bellhop in a strange hotel that rarely sees any guests. Warren will inherit the hotel, which was started by the first Warren in a successive line of Warrens. Also in the hotel is Warren's Aunt Anaconda who has taken over the management of the hotel, but Warren knows that the real reason she is there is because of the legend that a treasure, known as The All-Seeing Eye, is hidden on the grounds somewhere. Warren knows that the only hope of preserving the family hotel is for him to find the treasure first. This is a middle-grade reader book, filled with luscious illustrations. On the one hand, the story is quite simple. It's young boy vs evil adults with boy's history and future at stake. This is just the right kind of story for this target audience. On the other hand, the books is overly long and drags on. I was bored through most of the story. What is there here to hold the reader's attention? Oh yeah ... there's art. I received an ARC of this book, delivered directly to my Kindle, and only about half of the artwork showed up, but even with that, I could see that the appeal of this book is in the fantastically odd art by Will Staehle. The art is a cross between Charles Addams and the Muppets. It's slightly creepy, slightly off-kilter with a slight bit of whimsy. It is what holds the reader's interest, but it also confuses me some. Nothing that I recall reading lead me to believe that Warren was a little monster, in a long line of monsters. But look at that book cover at the top of this review... that is not the drawing of a little boy, or human child. So is this a world of little monsters, some friendly, some otherwise? That changes the perceptions of the story (otherwise why make them monsters?) and yet ... and yet the story doesn't seem to need them to be monsters, so ... I don't know. It just confused me. Overall, I liked the basic concepts of the book, though it didn't hold my interest all the way through, and I like the art (that I was able to see), but I'm not clear on why the art is featuring characters the way that it is. This book is middle of the road, for me. Looking for a good book? <em>Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye</em> by Tania del Rio, with art by Will Staehle, is a middle-grade book with quirky characters and an off-beat look that will appeal to the imaginative middle-graders, but it may not see a lot of repeat reading. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The quality of the book, both in the actual paper and production materials used and the drawings is superb. Quirk Books has a history of producing high standard books. The story itself was cute, a bit spooky and kept me engaged throughout the entire book. I'm in my 40s and the book appeared to be best suited for 10-15 year olds, but I would recomend it to anyone wanting a fun and light read. I've already pre-ordered the sequel.