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Summary
Summary
Open this book -- if you dare!Uncle Marco's frequent, mysterious trips have fascinated Annie for years -- he never tells anyone, even his beloved niece, where he is going or when he'll be back. But this time is special: He leaves Annie in charge of two sealed boxes, with strict instructions not to open either one while he's away. As time passes, curiosity gnaws at her until she can think of virtually nothing else, even though problems dog her at both home and school. She worries especially about the evil Crutchley Development, a company that's trying to buy her family's house out from under them! Would it hurt to just peek inside one of the tempting, exotic boxes?But as soon as Annie does just that, an incredibly grotesque, crablike creature scuttles out and disappears into the basement shadows. Annie is filled with an overpowering sense of dread. And when the creature almost immediately begins to multiply, she verges on panic and wonders whether opening the other box will help or hurt. There's just one difference between Annie and Pandora, though -- for Annie, there's no hope left.This intricately plotted sci-fi thriller takes on the human psyche as well as the very nature of time itself, bringing fans on a suspenseful journey they'll never forget.
Author Notes
William Sleator was born on February 13, 1945 in Harve de Grace, Maryland. In 1967, he received a BA in English from Harvard University. He mainly wrote science fiction novels for young adults. His first novel, Blackbriar, was published in 1972. He wrote more than 30 books including House of Stairs, Interstellar Pig, The Green Futures of Tycho, Strange Attractors, The Spirit House, The Boy Who Couldn't Die, and The Phantom Limb. His picture book, The Angry Moon, won a Caldecott Award in 1971. He died on August 3, 2011 at the age of 66.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8ÄOrphan Anne Levi tolerates her distant Aunt Ruth, with whom she lives, but adores her mysterious Uncle Marco, who flits in and out of their lives at irregular intervals. When he gives Anne two unusual boxes with strict instructions not to open them, curiosity gets the better of her. Opening the first one, she releases an unusual crablike creature that grows and reproduces rapidly; the life form and its offspring construct a fantastic palace in the basement and communicate with Anne telepathically. Dismayed by what she has done, Anne opens the second box, which she had hidden in her closet, revealing a clocklike object that has the ability to slow down time at the basement creatures' request, but only when Anne agrees to carry messages between the creatures and the clock. Unfortunately, the owners of a suspicious development company are intrigued by the time slowdowns and increase their ominous efforts to control Anne, her home, and the strange devices within it. Through her adventures, Anne grows into a self-confident teenager who is able to stand up to her overbearing aunt and trust her own instincts. Reminiscent of the complexity of Sleator's early science fiction, The Boxes introduces intriguing characters and unique situations but it leaves many loose ends and unanswered questions. Readers never find out just who or what Uncle Marco is, where he and Anne go when they enter the palace at the end, or where the boxes came from in the first place. The Boxes may be popular with Sleator's fans, but be prepared for requests for a sequel.ÄSusan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This tale of a girl who, like Pandora, is given not one but two boxes she is forbidden to open, is filled with the author's "signature high-style ick and suspense," said PW. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
When Annie's uncle entrusts her with two boxes, with the admonition not to open them, what do you think happens? Plenty. The contents of the boxes are spooky and wondrous and do strange things to Time. Meanwhile, sinister strangers are trailing Annie and her friend Henry. Sleator's inventiveness is at full power here, but the story is left unresolved. Let's hope there's a sequel--soon--because the book as it stands isn't finished. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Sleator (The Beasties, 1997, etc.) offers a strained mix of aliens and time travel in this tepid work of science fiction. When Annie, 15, is entrusted with two mysterious boxes by her secretive, young-looking Uncle Marco, her reaction is entirely understandable: She opens both. The first crate releases a crab-like creature that asexually reproduces in the basement of her Aunt Ruth's house; the second, in her bedroom, reveals a clock-like device that can slow the flow of time. Of course, the boxes are somehow connectedthe clock, which the crab-creatures refer to as ``Lord,'' enables them to erect a miniature palace within a very short time. Rather than focus on the aliens, the story shifts to the evil Crutchley Development Corporation, which, while buying up local houses to erect a super mall, discovers the secret in Annie's basement, and steals the clock device. With her friend, Henry, Annie escapes the clutches of Crutchley employees and relatives, and returns with the clock, which, Uncle Marco divulges, is the key to his youthful appearance. As the Crutchley team bursts in, the crab creatures create a vortex through which the three humans escape. That lets Sleator off the hook for the moment, without providing any real explanation, and negates all chances for a satisfying ending. Readers will have to wait to see if there's a sequel. (Fiction. 10-12)
Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-7. "And don't try to open them," Annie's mysterious Uncle Marco warns before he departs for destinations unknown. "Them" are the two singularly odd boxes that he has left in Annie's safekeeping, because "you're the only one I can trust." Rest assured, readers can trust Annie, too: to be overcome by curiosity and, like a latter-day Pandora, to open both! In the first, she finds something "small and dark and crablike" that demonstrates the capacity for reproducing itself in astonishing numbers. In the second, she finds something less fecund but certainly more sinister. To add to her dismay, Annie is quickly drawn into an oddly symbiotic relationship with her discoveries. The story gets an A for suspense but disappoints with the comic-book characterization of the various human villains. Unfortunately, too, the story can't quite support the weight of a wonderfully imaginative and thought-provoking central concept that involves the nature of time and--well--religion. The oddly abrupt ending, however, suggests a sequel, which could offer a welcome opportunity for more expansive thematic development. --Michael Cart