The Train of Lost Things

Gr 4–6—With a hat tip to The Polar Express and the Hogwarts train in the "Harry Potter" series, this is the story of Marty and his quest for his lost and beloved jacket—a gift from his dying father. The titular train is a magical place where beloved objects are stored and cared for until they can be reunited with their owners. On the hunt for the special jean jacket given to him by his dad, Marty stumbles upon the train. Each of the lost objects has a story which Marty becomes privy to—each tale reveals itself in a video cloud, almost like a social media post. As it turns out, the train is in trouble. The conductor is missing and the train has started to steal objects instead of just collecting and preserving lost items. Marty and his new friends, Dina and Star, must figure out what's wrong and fix the train. Situated firmly within a magical realistic frame, Paquette's descriptions of the train and its curiosities, otherwise known as "heart's possessions," are the most compelling aspects of the narrative, with the sleekness of the machine itself and the range of lost items swirling in the fantastical fog. Marty's pain is undercut by a self-conscious sarcasm which is, at turns, funny and off-putting. Readers will empathize with him and acknowledge the importance of his journey, but his endless quips can be grating. Marty's inner dialogue will appeal to readers of Gordon Korman, Jeff Kinney, and Dav Pilkey.