I don't recommend it.

This one gets a solid meh. I'd give it two-and-a-half stars if I could. The style was somewhat clipped; it annoyed me. I think the books would be very profound for a sixth grader, but it held little wonder for me.

Reviewed first at Brunner's Bookshelf

I saw this book on Goodreads and it sounded pretty good. It sat in my to-read list for awhile until I saw it available in audio at my library. I gave it a try and liked it. I didn't know what to think at first because it started off pretty bleak. Our Main character Ludlow Fitch is with his parents and they are selling his teeth. Yes, you read it correctly, Ludlow's Parents took him to a man who is going to rip out his teeth and buy them from his parents. As a parent I couldn't believe anyone would do something like this to their children. Well, Ludlow escapes and runs away only to meet Joe Zabbidou. Zabbidou is a Secret Pawn Broker.

What's a Secret Pawn Broker? Well his shop is pretty well known by everyone in the town and the kids love to visit his shop to see his pet frog so what makes him Secret? Zabbidou buys the secrets of all the towns people to protect till the end of time and allow these people to feel relief from the burdens they carry. I really thought this was an interesting idea. Just like the questions about what is a Secret Pawn Broker, there are plenty of interesting questions that are raised throughout the book. There is some slower sections but I really couldn't stop thinking about what was going to happen in this quite little town.

I really enjoyed this book. It seems like this is part of a series where each book revolves around different characters. I am kind of bummed that there isn't another book following Luldlow and his collection of secrets. Still, reading some of the titles, I am curious to give these other books a read.

I give this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good story. It is an easy read and I'm glad I took a chance and read this.

I listened to the audio book of this story and absolutely loved it. It really held my (and my 12 year old son's) interest. The narrator, James Daniel Wilson is dynamic and great with voices and certainly carried the story along really well.

This is a dark and Victorian-esque story that takes place in a fictional place, though it has a lot of resemblance to London. There is almost a Charles Dickens feel to the story of the mal-treated twelve year old Ludlow who escapes from terrible alcoholic parents who want to pull out his teeth and sell them so they can buy more gin. Ludlow escapes and finds himself in Pagus Parvus and working for a secret pawnbroker named Jeb Zabbidou. Jeb pays people for their secrets and writes them down in the Black Book of Secrets.

Both characters are new to Pagus Parvus and soon learn that the town is full of secrets, most of which revolve around Jeremiah Ratchet, who is the scheming, corrupt overlord of the area.

I was completely taken with the story and the descriptions. I could just picture some of the horrible scenarios described, and I am sure that imaginative kids who like horror stories will love these tales as they appear throughout the book.

Ludlow is a great character and I totally felt for him, being brought up by such terrible parents and having to make decisions he didn't like just to survive. It was interesting to watch his struggles as Jeb puts his faith in him and Ludlow has to decide how to act and who to trust. He also asks the questions that nag at the reader about Jeb, such as who is he, where does his money come from, how can he afford to pay for secrets, what does he get out of the situation?

The whole book is full of darkness, mystery and intrigue, as well as being entertaining and well written. As the story goes on, this tension only builds. The other thing I really liked was that the story and its ultimate conclusion are different from other things I've read and I loved the imagination and originality of the book. I even enjoyed the pacing, with the overall story moving along and being broken up with the interludes of the villagers secrets.

I would highly recommend this book for the middle school crowd, especially if they like a bit of darkness in their books or enjoy books such as Lemony Snicket, and I will certainly be in the lookout for more books from this author. She has written several other books (check her web site by clicking on her name above) which are companion-type books in that they are all stand alone books with some overlapping characters and setting (at least from what I understand).

This book was really really interesting.

Somewhere between Dickensian and Gothic in feel, The Black Book of Secrets is a suspenseful, dark tale that should appeal to fans of Lemony Snicket. Ludlow Fitch's life certainly starts off badly enough - with abusive, alcoholic parents who force him to steal to support them. Ludlow though makes his own luck and gets away. Having learned to read, Ludlow is hired by Joe Zabbidou, the "secret pawnbroker", to write down the secrets that people tell to unburden themselves and make some cash in the process. Ludlow must never reveal these people's secrets; he has a secret of his own, and Joe seems to have some as well...

This is a good book for middle grades.

Secret Pawnbroker; wonderful profession, that. What is spoken flies, what is written never dies. Sociological study. Starts with a street urchin in a Dickensian tale, who flees to the countryside. There he is taken in by the newly arrived secret pawnbroker and watches the village change. Really good tale; and not nearly as scattershot as this review.

I decided to read this book after reading the author's note in "The Eyeball Collector" that recommended that I read this book. As it turns out, it seems that I should've read this book before reading "The Eyeball Collector". Why? Because in "The Eyeball Collector", they mentioned Ludlow Fitch, and not knowing a thing about the guy...I really didn't know why should I care as to what happened to him and what he's doing in the book now. At some point, I accused him of having the sole role of being the flawless and charismatic stranger.

But reading this book now, I'm all acquainted with the guy and I'm all ok with him being in both books. Yeah, we get along better now ^_^.

So this book is about Ludlow Fitch, a boy whose alcoholic parents (gin is alcohol...right?) are trying to sell his teeth (because it's so much better than theirs) to...a dentist? I dunno what the guy's profession is. Anyway, so the dentist dude is going to buy the teeth and sell them to the rich guys...who have bad teeth. Needless to say, it was going to be a fairly painful experience and Ludlow had no interest in having that experience. So he basically ran away from his city and found this mysterious guy who treats him very well. In Ludlow's perspective, he's the ideal dad. And initially, the guy tells him that he has a job and doesn't tell him what it is until a few days pass. He invites a gravedigger, who looks like he's been burdened with a secret, to come to his place. Sitting Ludlow down with a book and quill, he gets the gravedigger to tell his secret and Ludlow writes it down in a book that's filled with a bunch of people's secrets. Oh, and get this. The people who say their secrets get PAID to tell them! Ok, now that's just...odd.

This was an honestly good story that had me flipping pages just like "The Eyeball Collector" did. Don't make my mistake and read that book first, start with this one. XD

A good premise and an exceptionally good story. I can't wait to see if this is being turned into a series.