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Pizzicato: The Abduction of the Magic Violin
Nonstop fun with a dizzying amount of mystery, Pizzicato: The Abduction of the Magic Violin is a lighthearted whodunit featuring a fair-haired orphan named Darius Dorian, who has a sly wit and a curious way of approaching most any predicament. Darius is none too pleased to be paired with Archibald Archinola, a master violinmaker, for a school project, especially when he thinks about his rival—fellow orphan and constant nemesis Max—being surrounded by Porsches at Auto Frederick for the same assignment. But when Darius discovers an old violin in a glass case and strikes the chords, a cut on his hand magically disappears, and suddenly studying with the violinmaker proves to be anything but dull. As a greedy doctor works to get her hands on the magic fiddle, Darius is forced to pull a few strings to save the magic violin’s power.
134 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 3, 2012
I liked this book.
It was a total whimsical purchase--I bought it for my school library because it was on sale for something like $3 and I had this small amount left to spend in grant money. It sounded good, and I was attracted to the cover. (I admit, it happens.)
This somewhat shorter novel is about a boy, Darius, who is sent to stay for a few weeks with a violin maker to research the trade and write a report. He lives in an orphanage and has a rather unpleasant roommate. Once at the violin maker's he discovers a magical violin that has the power to heal people. When some nefarious neighbors discover the violin's powers, they kidnap Darius and steal the violin. I particularly liked the magical adventure of this story. I found that I was completely able to suspend my disbelief--I could easily visualize the blue glow of the magical violin. I liked the setting and locations of the story, from the orphanage to the violin shop to the "doctor's" office and even the cafe on the street were all interesting to me. I liked the development of the two main characters--Darius and Mr. Archinola, even though I know little of them beyond the events of the book.
My main problem with this book is that it feels more like a story for 2nd or 3rd graders; the magical details are perfect and intriguing enough for younger kids, but not nearly as complex as Harry Potter, the Series of Unfortunate Events, or Fablehaven, books that the 10-year-olds at my school are reading. I'd prefer the recommendation to say for ages 8 and up. However, there are at least two incidents of somewhat random swearing, which keeps me from recommending it to this age group.
Additionally, the writing is not as smooth and elegant as other magical adventures aimed at this age group. That might be due to the fact that it is a book in translation, although Cornelia Funke's books do not suffer from that problem, so I doubt that is the case here either. I truly believe it would be a perfect story for a younger age group, without the swearing.
It was a total whimsical purchase--I bought it for my school library because it was on sale for something like $3 and I had this small amount left to spend in grant money. It sounded good, and I was attracted to the cover. (I admit, it happens.)
This somewhat shorter novel is about a boy, Darius, who is sent to stay for a few weeks with a violin maker to research the trade and write a report. He lives in an orphanage and has a rather unpleasant roommate. Once at the violin maker's he discovers a magical violin that has the power to heal people. When some nefarious neighbors discover the violin's powers, they kidnap Darius and steal the violin. I particularly liked the magical adventure of this story. I found that I was completely able to suspend my disbelief--I could easily visualize the blue glow of the magical violin. I liked the setting and locations of the story, from the orphanage to the violin shop to the "doctor's" office and even the cafe on the street were all interesting to me. I liked the development of the two main characters--Darius and Mr. Archinola, even though I know little of them beyond the events of the book.
My main problem with this book is that it feels more like a story for 2nd or 3rd graders; the magical details are perfect and intriguing enough for younger kids, but not nearly as complex as Harry Potter, the Series of Unfortunate Events, or Fablehaven, books that the 10-year-olds at my school are reading. I'd prefer the recommendation to say for ages 8 and up. However, there are at least two incidents of somewhat random swearing, which keeps me from recommending it to this age group.
Additionally, the writing is not as smooth and elegant as other magical adventures aimed at this age group. That might be due to the fact that it is a book in translation, although Cornelia Funke's books do not suffer from that problem, so I doubt that is the case here either. I truly believe it would be a perfect story for a younger age group, without the swearing.
December 23, 2010
A Simple and Predictable Story
Rusalka Reh’s upcoming new children’s novel Pizzicato, supposedly is written for ages 9-12. At least that is what it states on the back cover of the Advanced Reading Copy paperback I read. I felt that for low the amount of pages, the simplistic plot and low depth of character development, added with a very predictable path to the end, that maybe this should have been geared for younger kids 8-10.
It’s a some-what delightful short story laced with a tiny bit of magic, but I didn’t get wowed by it and felt it didn’t really spark the imagination too much. I think a little bit more substance added to the story could have given it more sparkle.
The story is about a young orphan named Darius Dorian who is given an unusual school project. He is to shadow-job a professional for three weeks and is assigned to learn from Mr. Archinola who is a master violin maker. A few days after he is installed in the shop he notices a violin hanging on the wall that seems to have a mystical blue glow. Stealing this instrument to check out the mystery, Darius finds the violin to have magical healing powers.
Mey-Mey is a 12 year old girl who for some time has been visiting Mr. Archinola in secret to play the violin she loves, yet her parents forbid her to play. Mey-Mey has a deformed finger that prevents her from becoming a proficient musician in the eyes of professionals but continues to practice under the inspiring Mr. Archinola.
When Darien meets Mey-Mey the two become fast friends and Darien schemes to use the magic violin to heal Mey-Mey’s finger, which will then offer her a promising career. But all doesn’t go as planned and the story unravels a dastardly plot of kidnapping, fraud, romance and adventure.
With the plot rather low on complexity, I hesitate to say more or this will become a spoiler review. At times the story is sweet and endearing, but again, throughout the read, I was wishing for more. There just needed to be a bit more meat to it, and a not-so inevitable track from start to finish. On the whole, I can’t say I enjoyed it much and don’t think I could recommend it to others as being a must read. Sorry folks, my feeling is that it was a bit boring and lacked luster.
Rusalka Reh’s upcoming new children’s novel Pizzicato, supposedly is written for ages 9-12. At least that is what it states on the back cover of the Advanced Reading Copy paperback I read. I felt that for low the amount of pages, the simplistic plot and low depth of character development, added with a very predictable path to the end, that maybe this should have been geared for younger kids 8-10.
It’s a some-what delightful short story laced with a tiny bit of magic, but I didn’t get wowed by it and felt it didn’t really spark the imagination too much. I think a little bit more substance added to the story could have given it more sparkle.
The story is about a young orphan named Darius Dorian who is given an unusual school project. He is to shadow-job a professional for three weeks and is assigned to learn from Mr. Archinola who is a master violin maker. A few days after he is installed in the shop he notices a violin hanging on the wall that seems to have a mystical blue glow. Stealing this instrument to check out the mystery, Darius finds the violin to have magical healing powers.
Mey-Mey is a 12 year old girl who for some time has been visiting Mr. Archinola in secret to play the violin she loves, yet her parents forbid her to play. Mey-Mey has a deformed finger that prevents her from becoming a proficient musician in the eyes of professionals but continues to practice under the inspiring Mr. Archinola.
When Darien meets Mey-Mey the two become fast friends and Darien schemes to use the magic violin to heal Mey-Mey’s finger, which will then offer her a promising career. But all doesn’t go as planned and the story unravels a dastardly plot of kidnapping, fraud, romance and adventure.
With the plot rather low on complexity, I hesitate to say more or this will become a spoiler review. At times the story is sweet and endearing, but again, throughout the read, I was wishing for more. There just needed to be a bit more meat to it, and a not-so inevitable track from start to finish. On the whole, I can’t say I enjoyed it much and don’t think I could recommend it to others as being a must read. Sorry folks, my feeling is that it was a bit boring and lacked luster.
February 16, 2013
3.5 stars. A well-written, fun read.
May 22, 2013
Started out promising, but ultimately underwhelming.
August 16, 2014
Cute...a mindless, quick read for my lunch breaks at work. Only complaint is no real character development, but it is a kid book so I can't really complain.
December 28, 2013
I was hoping for more at the end, but it was a great read!
August 12, 2019
Darius is to do his school project by following a violin maker and shadowing him before writing an essay on what a violin maker does. While there he discovers a violin that glows blue in the cabinet of the violin maker. He is drawn to it and takes it from the cabinet where he discovers the violin has magical powers.
I enjoyed this book. I liked Darius, a quiet sensitive boy, who has a way with the violin. He knows nothing of the history of the violin but has figured out what the violin can do if used correctly. He also learns what happens when it is used wrong. I enjoyed learning the thoughts of the violin maker, Archibald. I loved Queenie who lived in the orphanage with Darius. She was funny.
This was a quiet find of mine. I'm glad I found it amongst my many books.
I enjoyed this book. I liked Darius, a quiet sensitive boy, who has a way with the violin. He knows nothing of the history of the violin but has figured out what the violin can do if used correctly. He also learns what happens when it is used wrong. I enjoyed learning the thoughts of the violin maker, Archibald. I loved Queenie who lived in the orphanage with Darius. She was funny.
This was a quiet find of mine. I'm glad I found it amongst my many books.
October 17, 2017
THe novel starts out very confusing, jumping from person to person.
However once the reader figure out characters, the story is fun. The plot line with a magical violin is hard to believe. But the ending is beautiful.
However once the reader figure out characters, the story is fun. The plot line with a magical violin is hard to believe. But the ending is beautiful.
February 17, 2017
A fun quick read
I truly enjoyed this book. It is fast-paced, sweet, and magical, and left me smiling. Makes a great read aloud
I truly enjoyed this book. It is fast-paced, sweet, and magical, and left me smiling. Makes a great read aloud
August 27, 2015
For a translated work, I was really impressed. The story was well told in a classic style: orphaned, outcast boy discovers hidden talents and a touch of magic. In the end, he finds a home both within himself and in society. I loved all the musical terminology and found myself considering the book for a book unit. I could easily incorporate cross-curricular material throughout. So, why only three stars? Sadly, a few h-bombs and d-bombs are thrown in. That's not going to fly.
February 12, 2016
As this was a translation I am not sure if the Mature Language was in the original. That is my only complaint. I felt for the age group this type of book targets the swearing was a but much. However, the story was cut and quick. I am a violist and I loved how the author described the music and how it can transport you. Music is Magic! and the Viola in particular but again I am biased towards that.
The characters were cute if not overly developed but I liked them.
The characters were cute if not overly developed but I liked them.
March 27, 2019
Like other reviewers mentioned, it was a very predictable Disney type of story. I read it purely because of the violin. First 2/3 was very well written and the ending gives me the feeling of being rushed.
I still appreciate the description of the love to violins and music though.
I still appreciate the description of the love to violins and music though.
November 13, 2016
This was really good! And cute
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews