*NOT* a children's book!!

Assuredly the person who categorized this book in the Children's section has never read it. I wouldn't let anyone under 14 touch this with a 10 foot pole. While Hunchback is one of my favored books, it is not for the innocent or faint hearted.

Set in Paris, centuries ago, the Hunchback of Notre Dame is a gripping tale focusing on human compassion - or, more accurately, the LACK of human compassion.

Hugo, an apparent fan of unrequited love stories (reference Les Miserables) tells a sorrowful account of Quasimodo, a mutated man who was left by his frightened mother on the steps of Notre Dame as an infant. Taken in by a priest, he spends his days locked up in a bell tower, sheltered from the outside world.

And then one day, that all changes. He is shown in an instant the cruelties of many and the kindness of one. He falls in love with someone who will never love him in return and risks his life time and time again trying to save her.

Never before have I held anything in my hands that did such a wonderful job of capturing every human emotion. Forget everything you've ever heard about the Hunchback: the films, the Disney animated movie and the hear-say. Leave all that behind and journey into the exciting, sad, hopeful and confusing world of Victor Hugo's imagination. You will never forget it.