The Remarkable Inventions of Walter Mortinson

by Quinn Sosna-Spear Narrated by Graham Halstead

Overview

In this sweeping and inventive debut novel that's perfect for fans of Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman, and Tim Burton, a prodigal inventor flees his home to find his destiny. In the humdrum town of Moormouth, Walter Mortinson's unusual inventions cause nothing but trouble. After one of his contraptions throws the town into chaos, Walter's mother demands he cut the nonsense and join the family mortuary business. Far off on Flaster Isle, famed inventor Horace Flasterborn plans to take Walter under his wing, just as he did Walter's genius father decades ago. When a letter arrives by unusual means offering Walter an apprenticeship, it isn't long before Walter decides to flee Moormouth to meet his destiny. Walter runs away in the family hearse along with Cordelia, the moody girl next door with one eye and plenty of secrets. Together they journey through a strange landscape of fish-people, giantess miners, and hypnotized honeybees in an adventure that will not only reveal the truth about Walter's past, but direct his future.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

02/18/2019

Walter Mortinson, 12, decides to run away from Moormouth, his bleak factory town, after an unfortunate funeral incident leads his mortician mother to demand that he destroy his many miraculous inventions. Joined by his onetime friend Cordelia, who has her own reasons for leaving, he steals the family hearse and embarks on a strange and wonderful road trip to find the famed inventor Flasterborn, mentor to his deceased father. The meandering plot relies on some tenuous connections and drops a few too many threads. Oddly, it’s Walter’s mother, not the young protagonists, who emerges as the most interesting character—through the use of multiple timelines and points of view, Sosna-Spear skillfully alters both Walter’s and the reader’s perception of her as the book progresses. Striking scenes feature vivid descriptions of places such as a treetop city, playful and odd devices including a parade that travels in an endless loop, and characters who would be at home in a Roald Dahl novel. Despite the sparkling visuals and humor, loss and death are the real themes, explored effectively in many ways through this uneven yet thoughtful debut. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

School Library Connection *Recommended*

This is a charming tale with a witty tone . . . the perfect read aloud for 4th-6th grade classes.

School Library Connection

"This is a charming tale with a witty tone . . . the perfect read aloud for 4th-6th grade classes."

BCCB

All readers with a heart for adventure will appreciate this quirkily told tale.

Kirkus Reviews

2019-01-15

A pair of preteen misfits escapes their lackluster town in pursuit of adventure in this debut middle-grade novel.

As far as Walter, the widowed mortician's son, is concerned, nothing interesting ever happens in the dreary town of Moormouth. Covered in a smog that makes Moormouth as depressing as Dorothy's Kansas before she escaped to Oz, the inhabitants are as gray and spiritless as the landscape. For Walter, who is a talented inventor, everyone from the schoolteacher who intentionally mis-educates her students to his own mother conspires to thwart his ambition and force him to conform to the sameness all around him. A mysterious invitation from Flasterborn, a magicianlike fabled inventor, changes everything, and before long, Walter is stealing his mother's hearse and, along with Cordelia, his friend and fellow misfit, heading out of town toward his destiny. Sosna-Spear's debut novel contains elements of Oz and Harry Potter with a healthy dollop of Willie Wonka thrown into the mix. The author's love for the material and fondness for her characters are palpable, but occasionally the novel falls into the trap of telling rather than showing. While questions such as how Walter's father died and the depth of his connection to Flasterborn will titillate readers, the principal characters are not grounded enough at the beginning and occasionally feel two-dimensional. Walter has red hair and dark skin; Cordelia is default white and wears an eye patch.

An earnest novel that celebrates courage and individuality. (Adventure. 8-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171230166
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	05/24/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

The Remarkable Inventions of Walter Mortinson
•  •  •

Walter” is no kind of name for a boy. “Wally” perhaps, but it’s well known that Wallys don’t normally become Walters until they sprout their first ear hairs. No, “Walter” is a name for a man—one with a woolly walrus mustache that tickles his buck teeth, stained from cigars, whiskey, spinach, and whatever other hogwash adults waste their time on. “Walter” is the name of a man who harrumphs instead of saying hello, a man who is big, gray, and terribly ordinary. So it’s rather an odd happenstance that our Walter was the exact opposite of all of these things.

Walter Mortinson was undoubtedly a boy. His wiry pipe-cleaner frame was unique to a twelve-year-old, and his wide brown eyes were still too big for his round face, pillowed with baby fat. But Walter, as many boys and girls are, was much cleverer than a man.

His brain wasn’t hardened with age, bloated with useless worries about expenses, timeliness, and the desire to eat leafy green things. No, Walter’s brain was still wonderfully soft and squishable. This was convenient, as it allowed Walter to squeeze the entire universe—all of her stars and possibilities—between his ears. Most Walters cannot manage such feats, but this Walter, Walter Mortinson, could, which is important because he had vast things to think about: Walter was an inventor.

Odd ideas occurred to him. He imagined beasts that didn’t exist and contraptions that could do things that hadn’t yet been done. Why, just a week before, he had wondered if fingernail clippings could be turned into tiny scissors to trim toe hairs, and the answer is yes, with a strong enough magnifying glass and springy enough toe hairs. While many people have such thoughts, Walter had the tenacity and the nimble fingers to bring his ideas to life.

On this morning he was doing just that. He had awoken far earlier than the birds (or the worms, for that matter) and had gotten to work on his newest idea. It had required him to sneak into the neighbor’s yard early that morning and dig something up, but no matter. They hadn’t been using it anyway.

For hours he sat hunched over his prize, its once-white form marred by dirt and soot, his walnut knuckles twisting their way skillfully around it. Walter could see the final product in his mind and had nearly achieved it. It was show-and-tell day. He just had to finish his project; he would stay nose-to-his-desk until then.

And while Walter was correct—he would complete his task—this wouldn’t happen until five minutes after the school bell had rung, which meant Walter would be late. Again.

Walter was always late.

Videos