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The Secret of Zoom
Christina lives in an old stone mansion on the edge of a forest surrounded by barbed wire and signs that read TRESPASSERSWILL BE BOILED. Deep within the forest is the laboratory where her father works—and where her mother was blown to bits years ago. Christina is not supposed to talk to the orphans down the road. But when an orphan boy named Taft tells her of a secret tunnel, she finds it and helps him escape. Soon she and Taft discover there is far more to the orphanage and the mystery of her mother’s supposed death than they ever suspected.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
38 people are currently reading
929 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Jonell
20 books90 followersLynne Jonell is an author (and occasional illustrator) of sixteen books for children, from picture books to novels for ages 8-12, all with an element of fantasy: magical hamsters, talking cats, tiny planes with a secret fuel, rodents with special powers, and more. Her novel Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat won the Minnesota Book Award; her latest book, The Sign of the Cat, is a swashbuckling sea adventure. Coming in 2018 is Far Sight, Deep Time, a time-travel novel set at her ancestral castle in Scotland.
Her books have received starred reviews in Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Sesame Street Parents, and have been published in nine languages. She teaches writing at the Loft Literary Center, is married and has two sons, and lives in Plymouth, Minnesota.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/lynnej...
Her books have received starred reviews in Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Sesame Street Parents, and have been published in nine languages. She teaches writing at the Loft Literary Center, is married and has two sons, and lives in Plymouth, Minnesota.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/lynnej...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
August 6, 2019
Solidly OK middle grade chapter book. 10-year-old sheltered female protagonist goes on an adventure of discovery and mild to moderate peril against the wishes of her scientist father. Set in a vaguely familiar though unspecified country, mustache-twirling villain, brutalized orphans, and a spate of inventions that feel more magical than scientific. Character and location names seem to have been filled in using a Mad Libs book (Taft, Dorf, Loompski, Adnoid, etc.). For a story where so much depends upon perfect pitch, the song lyrics that are part of the tale largely fall flat.
March 30, 2013
Fast paced story filled with action and adventure. Christina seeks out adventure, longing to move beyond her over protected environment. Music is a key element to the story, which added a fun aspect. There were some science fiction elements, but I would classify this more as an adventure read.
One thing to pick at, though. Christina is amazing, inventive, and smart. Yet she spends the entire book whining about how much she doesn't like math and considers it "too hard". While I get that not every girl character in every book has to ADORE math, I found this got very annoying. It seems like a huge part of her problem with math is the way it was taught to her (using a lousy computer program). Yet that point is never really addressed. To the very end, she considers math "too hard". Otherwise, this would have been a 4 star book for me.
I support independent book stores. If this book sounds appealing to you, use the link below to find an independent bookstore near you or to order it online from one!
http://www.indiebound.org/book/978031...
One thing to pick at, though. Christina is amazing, inventive, and smart. Yet she spends the entire book whining about how much she doesn't like math and considers it "too hard". While I get that not every girl character in every book has to ADORE math, I found this got very annoying. It seems like a huge part of her problem with math is the way it was taught to her (using a lousy computer program). Yet that point is never really addressed. To the very end, she considers math "too hard". Otherwise, this would have been a 4 star book for me.
I support independent book stores. If this book sounds appealing to you, use the link below to find an independent bookstore near you or to order it online from one!
http://www.indiebound.org/book/978031...
February 6, 2010
I was ready to really like this book, having enjoyed the quirkiness of Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat and its sequel, Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls, not to mention their pro-rat stance, a rare quality indeed. But although Zoom was fast-paced, with plenty of adventure and danger, it left me rather cold.
The problem for me was that while there were plenty of standard characters (sheltered yet plucky heroine, dead mom, distant dad, prickly yet vulnerable boy, orphans in danger, truly awful villains), none of them felt real. There wasn't much of a heart to the story, making it hard to see the characters - even Christina - as real people one should care about. And maybe it shouldn't matter, as this is a light fantasy, but that makes it all the more jarring that some orphans actually die pretty terrible deaths, skimmed over as they are. The villains are one-dimensional and uninteresting, as are Christina's parents. Luckily she and Taft manage to carry the story quite capably through to the end, but they weren't enough for me.
Actually, one character did appeal to me - old Mrs. Lisowsky of the fuzzy red hair, who is the only one in the book who manages to be both sly and unpredictable. Her part in the story is tiny but key, and she steals the show.
As for the plot - well, it is both complicated and far-fetched, but it does speed the reader along. The idea of this strange substance Zoom as both a fuel and an explosive device that is triggered by sound waves and controlled by thoughts just didn't work for me - but man, do I crave a thought-controlled little airplane.
Although I would recommend the Emmy books to kids first, this will be fine for kids who love books about vulnerable kids triumphing over evil, powerful grown-ups. Best for kids in grades 3 to 5.
The problem for me was that while there were plenty of standard characters (sheltered yet plucky heroine, dead mom, distant dad, prickly yet vulnerable boy, orphans in danger, truly awful villains), none of them felt real. There wasn't much of a heart to the story, making it hard to see the characters - even Christina - as real people one should care about. And maybe it shouldn't matter, as this is a light fantasy, but that makes it all the more jarring that some orphans actually die pretty terrible deaths, skimmed over as they are. The villains are one-dimensional and uninteresting, as are Christina's parents. Luckily she and Taft manage to carry the story quite capably through to the end, but they weren't enough for me.
Actually, one character did appeal to me - old Mrs. Lisowsky of the fuzzy red hair, who is the only one in the book who manages to be both sly and unpredictable. Her part in the story is tiny but key, and she steals the show.
As for the plot - well, it is both complicated and far-fetched, but it does speed the reader along. The idea of this strange substance Zoom as both a fuel and an explosive device that is triggered by sound waves and controlled by thoughts just didn't work for me - but man, do I crave a thought-controlled little airplane.
Although I would recommend the Emmy books to kids first, this will be fine for kids who love books about vulnerable kids triumphing over evil, powerful grown-ups. Best for kids in grades 3 to 5.
September 19, 2013
This was another fun YA book from our library. I really loved the main character, Christina. She is smart, clever, brave - a great heroine. The story has an interesting science-y theme and both her parents are scientists - also good for encouraging girls to get into maths and science.
I found the story pretty entertaining. Sometimes there was a lot of detail and so I skimmed a bit (bah, detail :) but it moved pretty quickly. I would probably rate it a 3.5. I don't know if it would be a book I would re-read if I were a young girl but I would definitely enjoy it.
I found the story pretty entertaining. Sometimes there was a lot of detail and so I skimmed a bit (bah, detail :) but it moved pretty quickly. I would probably rate it a 3.5. I don't know if it would be a book I would re-read if I were a young girl but I would definitely enjoy it.
June 15, 2018
The only thing I have against this book, is Lenny Loompski. I know he's the main antagonist and supposed to e evil, but throwing orphan kids in the back of a garbage truck and mashing them up?!? That's more cruelty than I ever thought existed.
March 12, 2020
Cristina, no singing allowed. Cristina, you can't get out of this house. Cristina, you need to get higher grades. Cristina, no friends. Cristina, do not talk to strangers. Cristina, improve in this, improve in that. Imagine being a little 10-year-old girl and having all these rules.
Cristina lives in this mansion with her dad, a scientist, no mom, and lots of responsibilities. Her dad is overprotective, Cristina feels trapped, she is not happy with her life, she wants to be a normal kid. She has lots of responsibilities but even with life this occupied, she is bored.
One day, after a long day of math, she went outside for a break, and through the fences of the garden, she could see kids from the orphanage so happy working and playing. She wants to be like that.
One orphan, Taft, a boy that was working nearby, started talking to Cristina and they became friends. She helped him escape from the orphanage and moved him into her attic, but their work was not done. They needed to save all the orphans from their lunatic boss, Lenny Loompski, and make them free.
In this orphanage, the kids must work, and there are different types of works. One worked included singing, there are some days where the orphans are forced to sing, and the best ones are sent away to work in the mountain, but the problem with that job is that the kids never come back, they disappear.
Taft and Cristina need to ideal a plan for them to save the orphans, including Taft BFF's, Danny. He was also sent to the mountain to work with his singing. During the planning of these adventures, Cristina and Taft discovered many tunnels and caves from great scientists hidden in her mansion. Also, they found out about a type of rock, zoom, a magic rock that became liquid when you sang in a perfect pitch. Things started to get sketchy…
This book was published in 2009 and there is not a series for this book, but I highly recommend reading the collection of Lynne Jonell Emmy and the Rat. These books are filled with excitement and joy.
This book made me disconnect with the real world and feel what poor Cristina felt. I could fly in my imagination with all the descriptions I had and I learned a lesson. I learned to be grateful for what we have and realize that not all the kids are as fortunate as I am. It was a really good book.
I recommend this book to all the kids because it gives a powerful message of gratefulness and I think that everybody should be grateful for what they have. It makes you aware that you are privileged and really lucky to have what you have and that not every kid has the same opportunities. Finally, I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
Cristina lives in this mansion with her dad, a scientist, no mom, and lots of responsibilities. Her dad is overprotective, Cristina feels trapped, she is not happy with her life, she wants to be a normal kid. She has lots of responsibilities but even with life this occupied, she is bored.
One day, after a long day of math, she went outside for a break, and through the fences of the garden, she could see kids from the orphanage so happy working and playing. She wants to be like that.
One orphan, Taft, a boy that was working nearby, started talking to Cristina and they became friends. She helped him escape from the orphanage and moved him into her attic, but their work was not done. They needed to save all the orphans from their lunatic boss, Lenny Loompski, and make them free.
In this orphanage, the kids must work, and there are different types of works. One worked included singing, there are some days where the orphans are forced to sing, and the best ones are sent away to work in the mountain, but the problem with that job is that the kids never come back, they disappear.
Taft and Cristina need to ideal a plan for them to save the orphans, including Taft BFF's, Danny. He was also sent to the mountain to work with his singing. During the planning of these adventures, Cristina and Taft discovered many tunnels and caves from great scientists hidden in her mansion. Also, they found out about a type of rock, zoom, a magic rock that became liquid when you sang in a perfect pitch. Things started to get sketchy…
This book was published in 2009 and there is not a series for this book, but I highly recommend reading the collection of Lynne Jonell Emmy and the Rat. These books are filled with excitement and joy.
This book made me disconnect with the real world and feel what poor Cristina felt. I could fly in my imagination with all the descriptions I had and I learned a lesson. I learned to be grateful for what we have and realize that not all the kids are as fortunate as I am. It was a really good book.
I recommend this book to all the kids because it gives a powerful message of gratefulness and I think that everybody should be grateful for what they have. It makes you aware that you are privileged and really lucky to have what you have and that not every kid has the same opportunities. Finally, I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
January 12, 2023
3.5 ||
christina is the daughter of two scientists — her father is always working, and her mother died in a lab explosion when she was a baby. she spends her days alone at home, longingly watching the orphans at the orphanage down the street instead of doing the homework computer programs her father assigns her. but one day one of the orphans gets a chance to speak to her, and together they begin to uncover a mystery involving the orphanage and the mysterious loompski labs.
ok i adored the beginning of this book. how could I not! within the first 5 pages, there is an exploded laboratory, mysterious orphans, etc etc ....... all things i like. as a kid i regularly played "escape from the evil orphanage" with my best friend. and it had the writing style i adore that is such a staple of weird middle grade books with orphans. i also really liked the magic? system — the way music affected the zoom. it kind of reminded me of the god-glass in deeplight (my beloved) (which came out...11 ? years after this book...it is so unrelated)
but i do think some parts got a bit too strange (everything with and i had an exceedingly hard time envisioning the way the setting was arranged (i would have loved a map of where the tunnel led). also sometimes the way danny was written felt kinda . hm. and christina's hatred of math was a bit annoying especially because she kind of did enjoy it a little when taft taught her and then she instantly went back to hating it...like it was her main personality trait.
but overall this was fun! if you are a kid you'll enjoy this i think i would have enjoyed it a lot more at like 7 or 8 than i do now (though my 8 year old self may not have been able to get past the fact that the stuff is called zoom)
christina is the daughter of two scientists — her father is always working, and her mother died in a lab explosion when she was a baby. she spends her days alone at home, longingly watching the orphans at the orphanage down the street instead of doing the homework computer programs her father assigns her. but one day one of the orphans gets a chance to speak to her, and together they begin to uncover a mystery involving the orphanage and the mysterious loompski labs.
ok i adored the beginning of this book. how could I not! within the first 5 pages, there is an exploded laboratory, mysterious orphans, etc etc ....... all things i like. as a kid i regularly played "escape from the evil orphanage" with my best friend. and it had the writing style i adore that is such a staple of weird middle grade books with orphans. i also really liked the magic? system — the way music affected the zoom. it kind of reminded me of the god-glass in deeplight (my beloved) (which came out...11 ? years after this book...it is so unrelated)
but i do think some parts got a bit too strange (everything with and i had an exceedingly hard time envisioning the way the setting was arranged (i would have loved a map of where the tunnel led). also sometimes the way danny was written felt kinda . hm. and christina's hatred of math was a bit annoying especially because she kind of did enjoy it a little when taft taught her and then she instantly went back to hating it...like it was her main personality trait.
but overall this was fun! if you are a kid you'll enjoy this i think i would have enjoyed it a lot more at like 7 or 8 than i do now (though my 8 year old self may not have been able to get past the fact that the stuff is called zoom)
February 27, 2022
Well I gave this book a solid 2 stars for the sole fact that it was an easy read-aloud. Aside from this fact, the story was kind of terrible.
It starts out pretty interesting with a strong female lead, a young girl wanting to make friends with the kids at a nearby orphanage. She begins to learn more and more about their lives and realizes they actually need saving. Through her adventures, she finds out her mother has been held hostage for the 10 years and the orphans are practically being starved to death by an evil man who “mashes” them in a garbage truck (literally) when they can no longer serve him by extracting Zoom from the mountain. He refers to himself as “Happy Orphan Daddy” and forces them into mines to recover that mineral that he wants to make a bunch of money off of. The story honestly wouldn’t have been so bad if the orphans weren’t treated so incredibly poorly (crushing them alive in a garbage truck?!) and Lenny Loompski didn’t call himself the “Happy Orphan Daddy”. Wtf.
Although the writing was decent, and like I mentioned, enjoyable to read out loud, the story was kind of bizarre. It almost felt like the author was trying too hard to make things up for the sake of imagination. I did think it was kind of cool how she mixed science and music. These are two topics I feel I don’t really see together often. Basically the orphans have to sing certain notes 🎵 to activate the Zoom in the mines, but they can only activate it with the correct pitch and the sound of fear in their voices. Sigh.
It starts out pretty interesting with a strong female lead, a young girl wanting to make friends with the kids at a nearby orphanage. She begins to learn more and more about their lives and realizes they actually need saving. Through her adventures, she finds out her mother has been held hostage for the 10 years and the orphans are practically being starved to death by an evil man who “mashes” them in a garbage truck (literally) when they can no longer serve him by extracting Zoom from the mountain. He refers to himself as “Happy Orphan Daddy” and forces them into mines to recover that mineral that he wants to make a bunch of money off of. The story honestly wouldn’t have been so bad if the orphans weren’t treated so incredibly poorly (crushing them alive in a garbage truck?!) and Lenny Loompski didn’t call himself the “Happy Orphan Daddy”. Wtf.
Although the writing was decent, and like I mentioned, enjoyable to read out loud, the story was kind of bizarre. It almost felt like the author was trying too hard to make things up for the sake of imagination. I did think it was kind of cool how she mixed science and music. These are two topics I feel I don’t really see together often. Basically the orphans have to sing certain notes 🎵 to activate the Zoom in the mines, but they can only activate it with the correct pitch and the sound of fear in their voices. Sigh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2017
Christina's mother is gone, and her father is very protective. She's not allowed to go to school, to make friends, or even to leave the yard. But during her one hour of sunshine a day, she meets a boy from the nearby orphanage. Taft says there's a secret tunnel, and Christina intends to find it.
Harriers and hidden passages. Plastic toys and perfect pitch. Orphans in peril and scientific accolades. Chickie-chickie go, go and zoom! Christina's math aversion will undoubtedly find many sympathizers with young readers. I appreciated Jonell's gentle push to not be stubborn about trying to understand things that don't come easily ... whether that be multiplication tables or one's heartbroken father.
Taft's stubborn friendship with Danny won a little piece of my heart. And when Christina left the ninety-nine to find the one, I was proud of her for doing the right thing even though it was hard. Quirky and kind. I really liked it!
Harriers and hidden passages. Plastic toys and perfect pitch. Orphans in peril and scientific accolades. Chickie-chickie go, go and zoom! Christina's math aversion will undoubtedly find many sympathizers with young readers. I appreciated Jonell's gentle push to not be stubborn about trying to understand things that don't come easily ... whether that be multiplication tables or one's heartbroken father.
Taft's stubborn friendship with Danny won a little piece of my heart. And when Christina left the ninety-nine to find the one, I was proud of her for doing the right thing even though it was hard. Quirky and kind. I really liked it!
January 28, 2018
Imagine being kept in your house, not going to school, not having friends, because your father loves you and wants to keep you safe. That was Christina's life and she did not understand why. And because she didn't understand why, she looked for the secret tunnel she was told existed.
So goes the plot of this very interesting middle grade story. The cast of characters grows as the story moves on, and it moves quickly. First we find Taft and then Danny, plus about a hundred orphans. Then Christina discovers two missing people she never knew she would find. These plot twists keeps you reading and at the end, looking for more.
So goes the plot of this very interesting middle grade story. The cast of characters grows as the story moves on, and it moves quickly. First we find Taft and then Danny, plus about a hundred orphans. Then Christina discovers two missing people she never knew she would find. These plot twists keeps you reading and at the end, looking for more.
August 19, 2023
A book about the magic of music AND math?!?! What an incredible message! I know I'm a Hermione at heart, but this book made me nostalgic for my favorite teachers XD. These kids kick a mad scientist's butt, save a village's worth of orphans, telepathically fly an airplane, all because of S.T.E.A.M.?!?! (Talk about a steampunk fantasy, har har, mom joke XD). I was so proud that my sons were riveted by this tale, but I was even more tickled that my husband was really into it, as well! This book brought us all together, it was wonderful! Action packed, witty, full of intrigue, and inspiring. Read this book, and then immediately take your family to the nearest children's museum! XD
May 23, 2018
Christina's father keeps his daughter in the confines of the yard of their old stone mansion on the edge of a forest surrounded by barbed wire and warnings that trespassers will be boiled. Why is her father so protective? With some stealth, she meets Taft, an orphan from the orphanage down the road. He encourages Christina to keep searching for a secret tunnel in the mansion. She finds it, rescues Taft, and together they discover the mysteries of the orphanage, the tunnels, and of zoom.
June 5, 2018
I picked this up on a whim at a lending library before a family vacation to read to my 5 year old son. I didn’t expect it to go well but we had a lot of sitting ahead of us and I wanted to challenge him. Surprisingly, he could follow the story and it moved quickly enough to keep him engaged... we ended up reading the whole thing! At his age some of the content was scary or too serious. As the first novel we read together it will always have a warm spot in my heart.
May 5, 2017
Probably because I'm wasn't 10/11 years old when I read this, I didn't really enjoy it. I was prescreening it for a gift to someone to see if it'd be interesting. It wasn't bad, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it more if I was younger.
February 11, 2019
I liked this book a lot! Maybe kind of intense for the 6-year-old who brought it home, and glad I didn’t read it out loud. but I enjoyed reading it myself. Good characters and liked the idea of having to believe you can use the source of energy before you can. And the power of song!!!
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May 1, 2022i have been looking for this book for at least 10 years. my 3rd grade teacher read it to my class 14 years ago and this book made me fall in love with reading. i could never remember the name of it and i finally found it. 8 year old me is screaming right now
June 30, 2023
I had read this out loud to my fourth grader, which they had requested after already hearing it in school. They liked it a lot. I liked it too but I’m not sure why it’s not 5 stars. Maybe the story wasn’t quite gelling for me.
March 22, 2025
reread of an elementary favorite!! loved it again and such an easy read. so much lore and plot going on than i remembered from reading it the first time!! “I think you mean something different from me. When you say love.” LINE 👏ATE 👏UP👏
June 16, 2017
I loved this book so much!
February 15, 2018
I WANT TO RRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 11, 2018
Some mean dialogue and a scenario that may be disturbing for sensitive readers.
December 8, 2018
Imaginative, carries you into another world.
September 25, 2019
3 1/2 stars
October 29, 2019
it was amazing
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November 17, 2020The book was very, very interesting, it made you wonder what was gonna happen next!
October 4, 2021
2.5, but I rounded up.
December 25, 2022
it was good when i was like eight lol but ALAS
February 15, 2023
My favorite childhood book.
March 22, 2023
A fun middle grade book.
March 9, 2024
Just insane just my type
Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews