The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

Reviewed by Lori
Title: The Boundless

Canadian Author:  Kenneth Oppel

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 97004

Description:  Aboard "The Boundless," the greatest train ever built, on its maiden voyage across Canada, teenaged Will enlists the aid of a traveling circus to save the train from villains.

Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It

Why I Read It: Read aloud with my son.  First read aloud that he, as a dyslexic, read to me. 

Notes: William Everett is an artist.  However, his father doesn’t want him to study art – he wants him to work on the railway in a good paying job.  Will has lived both poor and privileged – growing up poor as his father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and as a child of privilege going to private school after his father is promoted within the organization after saving the life of Cornelius Van Horne, the owner of the railway.   Van Horne’s greatest creation is the Boundless, a 13 mile long train that is a rolling community and Will’s father is the man in charge now that Van Horne has passed away. The train houses thousands of people and the train includes cars for the Zirkus Dante and Maren the young escape artist who has intrigued him since there first meeting.  But all is not well aboard the Boundless. The train is also home to some unsavoury characters looking to steal from Van Horne’s funeral car. When William becomes a witness to a murder he joins the circus and travels with Maren and Mr. Dorian from Caboose to engine to warn his father before anyone else can get hurt. This was a good book and my son found it very exciting.  He really liked the inclusion of the mythical creatures – particularly the sasquatch. I particularly liked the idea of traveling along the train with William which is going across the Canadian Landscape. I liked the character of Mr. Dorian as he connects to the character of Dorian Gray. This is something I realized as soon as he was introduced but I did need to explain who he was in the context of his story for my son to realize his importance.  I liked this story for the idea that young people need to decide for themselves what their future will be and that they may even need to stand up to their parents to follow their dreams. In some ways the underlying themes seemed perhaps too old for the targeted audience but as an adventure story was very engaging. A minor draw back for me - in terms of a read aloud - is that I found the chapters very long. Overall, the book was enjoyable and was given two thumbs up from my 11 year old.

Recommended Readers: Great aloud for middle grade classrooms and a novel that should be included in every library.

Themes: Trains, Friendship, Family, Mythical Creatures, Canada, Canadian History and Landscape, Crime and Mystery, Death, Understanding, Orphans, Circus

Cross-Genre Links: 
History: Canada 1867-1914
Social Studies: Trains and Transportation
Canadian Heritage Minute: Nitro
Music: I've been Working on the Railroad
Web Search: Canadian Pacific Railway, The Last Spike, Cornelius Van Horne
Movie: Snowpiercer

Inquiries and Activities:

  • Discuss the various characters in the book.  Who are based on living people, who are based on characters from other books, and who did the author create? 
  • Why do you think the author used these characters? How does using “real” people add to the story. Research some of the Canadian History related to this novel – Driving the last spike, connecting Canada coast to coast, Chinese rail workers.  How does the author draw awareness to these events in the book?
  • Draw a picture or create a diorama of one of your favourite scenes from the novel. Which scene did you choose and why?
  • Recreate the photo of the last spike.
  • Draw a picture like William Everett – look only at what you are drawing not at your paper.  How did it turn out?
  • Why does James Everett want his son to work with him at the railway and not go to school as an artist?
  • What do you want to be?


As a side note... I met Kenneth Oppel at the 2020 OLA conference and had him sign a copy of this book for my son. I am now "The best mom in the world!" Thank you, Mr. Oppel. :)

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