A Cousins’ Book Club Selection
As the school year draws to a close, the kids and I continue to read, making our way through our first-ever Cousins’ Book Club list. 100 Cupboards is the fourth book on our list of ten that we’ve finished—and we all hated it.
We chose this book based on the research I did for an article I wrote, “20 Youth Fantasy Series Worth Checking Out.” While the blurbs made it sound simply wonderful, none of enjoyed reading it, and this review is a little bit about why.
There’s some spoilers included here, and I hope my comments aren’t too scathing, but I’ve got to be honest. This is a book I wish we hadn’t read.
A Slow-paced Book with Imbalanced Plotting
The story follows a 12yo boy named Henry living in Henry, Kansas, with his Aunt and Uncle’s family—whose eldest daughter is also named Henry, or Henrietta rather. Why all the Henrys? Apart from the author’s desire to break a simple rule of writing, I have no idea.
The book started well enough, even if the pacing was slow, but I found the time period difficult to peg. Henry arrives in this small-town by bus and is picked up by a rickety old truck. The farmhouse and even family come across as Depression-era. I actually pictured the girls in little flower dresses an outhouse out back. But just when I felt settled in my mind—BAM! Suddenly we find the uncle selling tumbleweeds online to the Japanese!
Henry now lives with his extended family in Kansas, because his parents have been kidnapped in South America and are waiting to be released. Intriguing, right? Yet there’s virtually no further mention of this non-existent subplot, which is totally off-putting. We’re told later that while Henry hopes his parents are safe, he also hopes that it would take a while for them to be released, because he wants to stay in Kansas all summer to play more baseball. Again: off-putting!
The main plot of the story is incredibly slow-paced. By the title, we all know that the 100 cupboards should be the most important element of the story, but there’s so much emphasis on knife sharpness, wood hardness, and plaster-chiseling that the mystery of the cupboards themselves is just a subplot. The imbalance is palpable, and I can imagine many would-be readers have already given up long before the first cupboard is ever opened.
The Mystery of the Cupboards
This brings us to the mystery itself. While in the end, I can now you give you a rough description of the mysteries involved, I remain thoroughly confused by the details. I get it about Uncle Frank and his arrival in Kansas. I sort of understand Henry’s own backstory. Yet I have no earthly clue about the witch, the various lands we know only by name, or the legal letters Henry receives.
The universe of this book makes no sense to me now that I’ve finished it, and the argument that “You need to read further into the series!” or “You need to read the prequel!” won’t work on me. I’m not satisfied as a reader of Book 1, so why should I waste more time on Book 2? If this first installment didn’t answer basic questions about the plot and universe, then why should I expect satisfaction from any others?
The Feeling of Fantasy
When I was about halfway through the book, I commented in my notes that the story felt a lot like a Brian Selznick novel—magical and weird yet oddly satisfying. Except for the “oddly satisfying” bit, I was correct. Perhaps if I were to read a remake of this book in a Selznick-style graphic novel, I’d understand and appreciate it more. Perhaps not.
While the book was mostly of middle-school-level interest, about 90% through, it suddenly jumped lanes from innocent fantasy to creepy horror—and as a father, that didn’t make too happy. Whether it was the morphing witch who feeds on the blood of humans and almost kills the adults, the baseball-bat shot to the head, or the whole “Stab her in the neck!” thing, I was as dissatisfied by the ending as I was by the beginning and middle. Just a downer of a book.
Conclusion
OK. I got all that off my chest. If you’re a fan of the book, I’m sorry. And if you’re N.D. Wilson, my apologies! But in my defense: if I’m not honest as a reviewer, then there’s no point in reviewing.
100 Cupboards leaves me with the same kind of disappointed, dark feeling as Midnight for Charlie Bone (2002) by Jenny Nimmo. While I loved the full Harry Potter series and A Series of Unfortunate Events, these other series prove that good story ideas are only the tiniest parts of success. Skill in writing, pacing, plotting, character-building and remaining conscientious of your readers—these are all of greater importance.
I hope we have better success with the rest of the books on our Cousin’s Book Club list. Next up: The Swiss Family Robinson.
©2025 E.T.