Bulfinch: A Novel

by Hannah Sternberg

When a knight and a monk spring from the pages of Rosie's book, the only people more astonished than the reclusive PhD student are her time-traveling visitors. Cooped up in a house-turned-museum since the long-ago disappearance of her parents, Rosie is now forced out into the world as her guests wreak havoc on her Baltimore neighborhood.

As Rosie tries to figure out how to return the errant duo to their home in history, she begins to uncover why her parents vanished without a trace seven years earlier. But her eccentric Uncle Alvin threatens to stand in her way, before she can discover the truth about Bulfinch and her own childhood.

By turns funny and tender, adventurous and thoughtful, Bulfinch is a whimsical tale about getting lost in a book -- and finding your way out again. Hannah Sternberg is also the author of Queens of All the Earth, which was praised by Kirkus Reviews as "modern and exuberant."

PRAISE FOR BULFINCH

"Told with a playful sense of whimsy, Bulfinch is a time-traveling delight full of humor, conflict, and a poignant introduction to the realities of adulthood." - Karen Lyon, Hill Rag

"I was astonished at the depth of emotion conveyed in the book. I felt the same way after reading Queens of All the Earth. Sternberg has such a talent for examining and sharing these deep, deep emotions in such a way that readers get swept up in them as well. The word that came to mind when I read this book was delicious. I felt like I was devouring it and that it was just delicious." -Allie Duzett, author of The Body Electric

"I'm a sucker for books about knights and monks, and in this delightful tale, a suitably belligerent knight and dreamy monk help a very modern girl solve her very mysterious problems in a very medieval way. Highly recommended." -H.W. Crocker III, author of The Old Limey

"Meticulously researched, through nifty writing and the art of fantasy, Sternberg brings a couple of characters from the Middle Ages to the present and to life. A terrific read." -Gary Alexander, author of the Buster Hightower mystery series

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

Hannah Sternberg is a published novelist; advice columnist; and freelance writer, editor, and videographer. Her work has appeared in many outlets, including Publishers Weekly, Dear Wendy, and Thought Catalog.

Hannah lives and works in Washington, DC. In 2009, she graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a major in Film and Media Studies and a minor in Writing Seminars.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what I was expecting from Bulfinch. A funny story of a couple of out of place people, maybe like Caroline Cooney's "Out of Time" series ? This lost monk actually being Bulfinch of Mythology fame? Whatever it was, Bulfinch surprised me. At times, it was confusing... I wasn't always picking up what the author was putting down, especially with the time travel part in the near beginning and what actually happened to her parents. I wasn't expecting Rosie's isolation and solitude. I wasn't expecting the "fix" of medieval Church Latin to be what bridged the language barrier (it seemed unrealistic for the vocabulary used by both Rosie and Bulfinch, but then I reminded myself that it is fundamentally unrealistic as a time travel story. Can't start picking bones there). The Joe/Vida thing was necessary but not very developed. I did like the surprises that were sprinkled in, the relationship between Rosie and Uncle Alvin, and Max. I liked how you see into Rosie's world and that you don't ever actually hear her name. It seems like she exists outside of time herself. A surprisingly good read.

[Becca Clement · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun story about medieval characters and hiding from your past. I loved the very real description of the knight in shining armor and the whimsical crashing of reality and questionable reality. Also helps that the author is one of the most down to earth people I’ve met:)

[Zachary Roner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

This is not your traditional urban fantasy novel, nor is it your usual novel about coping with loss. Somehow it managed to combine the two into something that is fairly palatable.

Bulfinch starts out discussing the life of a young girl. She had been quite happy, but while her parents were out on a cruise they disappeared and were never found. From that point on Rosie is forced to live with her eccentric and scholarly uncle. She never truly accepts that her parents are gone so she lives her life as if they are one day just going to return. For seven years this goes on. She graduates from high school at an early age and quickly gets her undergrad and is in the beginning stages of her graduate program.

One cherished memory she had from her childhood was the time that a piece of mail was wrongfully sent to their address. They went searching for the proper owner, but they could not find him. Eventually the young Rosie gave in and opened the letter. It contained a page from a book and the story enthralled her. Back in her current day, Rosie was having some struggles and so she pulled out this letter and reread it and imagined it out in her mind. The world went a bit odd for a moment and when she gathered herself she noticed that she was not alone. A knight was standing before her, yelling in some foreign tongue.

This book had a lot of things going for it. It was unique, it had a lot of heart and the prose was just delightful. It was one of those books that is a treat for the mind in the way it is written out. The part that detracted from the book for me was just how awful this woman was to her uncle. She had a lot of anger and hatred for a man who had done nothing to deserve it. It just seemed far too vitriolic for the character. The relationship does get better, but it never gets to the place where it should be.

All in all it was an enjoyable, short read.

Rating: 4 Stars

More reviews can be found at http://wellreadviking.blogspot.com/

[Anna N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5

I won this book through the Goodreads giveaways and received a copy from the author for an honest review. So a big thank you to both! Also I'd like to thank the author for the cute little knight that was sent with the book. For all the fantasy I like to read he's a welcome addition. :)

Bulfinch wasn't quite what I had expected it to be but that certainly isn't a bad thing. It wasn't as humorous or even as engaging as I'd hoped yet it still held a charm all it's own and left me with a good feeling after I read it.
I'm not going to lie, it took me a while to get into this book. It has a fairly slow start and overall the book really has little to no action. Still there eventually came a point where I had trouble putting the book down close to the middle of it, having short chapters helped greatly too.
Probably my only real dislike of the book was Rosie. She just wasn't really likeable and the way she treated her uncle didn't help me to like her any better. A lot of the time I had to remind myself she was suppose to be nineteen because the way she acted made me think she was a younger teenager. She talked smart but her actions spoke louder and they didn't carry over that kind of intelligence.
Other than that as I said there wasn't much action to speak of in the book and it did keep me from getting hooked straight away but I eventually got over the fact and appreciated the book for what it is.
It's not an fast paced action filled book but really just a cute little story that holds its own humor at times, which can be just as good.
My favorite characters were Uncle Alvin and Bulfinch. They had their faults but they were quite charming in their own way.
Admittedly I was surprised there was no romance elements to be found but I'm also glad the author didn't go that route. It really impressed me since I'm so used to seeing such things with all the YA I read.
I was originally only going to give this book a three but the ending made me up it and enjoy the book much more.
It's a short easy to read book that I'd recommend to fans of fantasy.

[Rinske · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Hannah Sternberg delivered something pretty special with Bulfinch. The book has the same captivating, poetic and sometimes almost dream-like style of her debut 'Queens Of All The Earth' - but in Bulfinch that style is paired with a fast-paced story that will make you not want to put it down until you're finished!

At first glance, the plot seems quite bizarre: a knight and a monk are transferred from the Middle Ages to our heroine Rosie's present day attic. This is so well delivered, however, that I was just swept up in the story and didn't question the plot at all. I also really liked the way Rosie was presented as a withdrawn, but at the same time strong and determined character. It was easy for me to identify with her and I was completely drawn into her world. At times, the completely self-evident way in which somewhat otherworldly elements were presented reminded me of Neil Gaiman's 'The ocean at the end of the lake'. I think it takes a special kind of writer to deliver that sort of plot, and I love Sternberg's guts for going there.

The story overall read to me as a very believable, funny, but also moving analogy for growing up and realizing the world is maybe not as black-and-white as you thought as a child. If I had to put one word to this book, I'd call it 'nourishing'. The beautiful language nourished the poetic, literary side of me while the plot amused me and kept me up late for several nights. The only thing I regretted was that the relationship between Rosie and Bulfinch wasn't developed further, because I longed for more scenes of the two of them out into the 'real' world - I think that element of 'medieval monk in the 21st century' could have been developed to more effect than what was achieved in the book. Then again...sequel?:)

I'd recommend this smart, quirky novel to all lovers of well-written and slightly otherworldy books!

[Renee Senters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book as a prize in a goodreads contest.

When I started thinking of how best to write a review for this book, I really found myself at a loss. And, to be honest, I still do. However, probably the best place to start is to say that I thought it was really good. The story was interesting and the characters, while not lovable, were likable. Much to the amusement of my husband, I really struggle with concepts (e.g., paradoxes) surrounding time travel. There is definitely an element of time travel in this book (as a knight and monk come to modern time from the middle ages); however, the time travel itself is not central to the story and, in my opinion, Ms. Sternberg did an excellent job of explaining, but not overcomplicating, that aspect of the story.

I do not care for spoilers so I will not divulge anything, but I will say that I loved the ending...every aspect of it; Alvin, Rosie, Joachim and Bulfinch - beautiful ending.

There is something a little magical about this book (and not just the subject matter) and I would definitely recommend this book to pretty much anyone. In fact, I've already told my husband to start it (about 20 min after I finished it).

Thank you Hannah Sternberg and goodreads! I will be looking up your other book later today!

[rivermuser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really bad at writing reviews of anything but I'll give it my best shot.

I LOVED Bulfinch! A lot of times when I start a new book it takes me a couple chapters or weeks even to really get into it. With the first few pages I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. If I didn't pick it up for a day I felt like I was missing something in my routine.

It's a wonderful story that I'm sure will mean different things to every person who reads it. For me that's the measure of a story, being able to relate different themes to whoever reads it. I'm sure every time I read through it I'll pick up on something different.

I highly recommend this book to everyone I know!!

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot I liked about this book, but it felt like it was in need of a good editor. There were characters that just didn't seem quite right (including the main character, frustratingly), and occasional jumps in the story that left me flipping back a page to see if I had missed something. I loved the story, and for that matter, loved the writing style. It just all needed to be tightened up a little.