Unusual as it is complicated, the story surrounding Arthur Penhaligon is truly fascinating. 12 year old Arthur, the youngest in his family and a severe asthmatic has trouble on his very first day of school. Surrounded by many new faces and the pain inside his chest, he must run as fast as possible during P.E. Not wanting to look weak, he takes off at a fast pace and soon feels his chest tightening. Standing alone, Arthur wheezes and almost faints just as a strange man pushing a bathtub containing an even odder man arrives. The man inside the bathtub says something weird to Arthur and shoves a sword-like medal object and red book into Arthur's hands. Thus, making Arthur the heir to the lower house. Arthur now is the keeper of one of the keys for each of the seven days.
Mister Monday is the first book in the The Keys to the Kingdom series. Each book details the activities of part of another realm that is controlled by a person representing each day of the week. Time and space are important and yet appear as nothing in this series. If this write-up seems complicated, so will the book. However, if you are interested in a journey that includes Improbable Stairs, clocks, calendars, mystery, power, and writing called "The Will", then this book is certainly for you.
This book started slowly for me but I am glad I stuck it out. By the middle, the action picked up. I imagine being the first in a series, the book needed to help explain more than the remainders will. Eagerly, I look forward to reading the remaining books in this series.
