#MGReview: The Clockwork Conspiracy by Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Stephanie Shafer

Cover image by Tom Clohosy Cole, published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 01 February 2024, ISBN: 978-1526665386

The Clockwork Conspiracy is one of the most original mysteries that I have had the pleasure of reading, a book which appeared to make time stand still as I raced through the pages.

It begins with Isaac Turner accompanying his father Diggory up to the top of the Elizabeth Tower to reset the Great Clock, commonly known as ‘Big Ben’. Diggory is the Keeper of the Great Clock in the Palace of Westminster, and is clearly passing on his expertise in horology and his talent for mechanics, to his pre-teen son. However, it is apparent that they are not the only individuals inside the clock tower that night and when Diggory disappears, leaving behind the precious gold pocket watch that he has never before been parted from, smashed and showing the wrong time, Isaac is plunged into a race against time to discover his whereabouts.

Isaac is temporarily re-housed with his godfather, Solomon Bassala who happens the be the Speaker of the House of Commons and therefore lives within the Parliamentary estate. Solomon’s daughter Hattie, a brilliantly sparky character, is home from boarding school, has a penchant for disregarding rules and climbing rooftops, and witnessed a white-haired, cloaked figure on the belfry at the the time that Diggory vanished. She proves to be a perfect crime-investigating partner for Issac; fearless, quick-thinking and feisty.

The mystery revolves around the innovative concept that time should be decimalised and made consistent across the globe. The UK government has passed a bill, bringing “New Time” into law and giving the country five years to prepare for this world-changing innovation. However, shady forces are conspiring to speed up the process for their own devious reasons. Do Isaac and Hattie, have time to solve the cryptic clues that Diggory has left behind, find the traitor in the order of timekeepers, and prevent global disaster?

There are so many clever ideas contained within this story, all explained organically within the plot so that readers are provided with a wealth of incidental learning throughout the narrative. The level of precision even extends to the book containing 60 chapters and the chapter heading illustrations tying in so perfectly with the story. In addition to being entertained by a thoroughly exciting mystery, readers will learn about time and horology, and also about the way our government works in the UK. The author’s notes at the end provide some extra factual background to the concepts explored in the story.

Before I conclude this review, I must mention the crisp, black and white drawings by Stephanie Shafer which appear throughout the book. There is also a brilliant cross section illustration of the Elizabeth Tower and a map of the Parliamentary estate at the beginning of the book, these were both drawn by Thy Bui. Finally, the cover art was created by Tom Clohosy Cole.

This book was my own purchase and I encourage all school librarians to add this title to your collections for 9-12 year-olds.

#AudiobookReview: The Accidental Stowaway by Judith Eagle, illustrated by Kim Geyer, read by Colleen Prendergast

Cover image by Kim Geyer, published by Faber & Faber, audiobook 31 May 2023,
ISBN: 978-1038644978

This is the fourth middle grade, historical mystery written by Judith Eagle and once again this immensely talented author has swept me away to a different time and location and brought an immersive adventure to life on the page. As I have come to expect, a partnership of tween characters are central to the action, supported by a fascinating cast of adults, with a criminal plot to unravel and family secrets to uncover.

The year is 1910, the era of luxurious steamships, competing to provide their passengers with the fastest and (for the very rich) the most opulent means of travel across the Atlantic. Patch, who has spent her childhood being passed from the care of one relative to another, gradually working her way down through the social class system, has now run out of family and thus has been relocated to Liverpool where her absent mother’s best friend runs a school for girls. Whilst exploring the new city, she has a chance encounter with Turo, a very junior steward on HMS Glorious. Their early stage of friendship draws her into a misunderstanding in a shop and, running to hide from pursuers, Patch dashes up a ship’s gangplank and takes refuge in a lifeboat. Of course, she realises too late that the ship has left the port of Liverpool and an Atlantic adventure beckons!

Judith Eagle weaves her authorial magic to bring the sharp contrasts between not only first and third class travel, but also the health-destroying working conditions of the stoker men, without whose labour the passengers and owners of the luxury shipping lines could not enjoy the benefits of transatlantic travel. The closed setting of the ship is a perfect environment for a tense mystery adventure to play out, with Patch constantly having to avoid the attentions of both the chief steward on his mission to capture stowaways, and a murderous criminal family. There is a vivid cast of supporting characters, including the almost piratical figure of Babette, the world’s most famous stowaway. Friendships and family bonds are stretched to the limit as the jeopardy builds!

I listened to this story via the Borrowbox app provided by my local public library, which was brilliantly read by Colleen Prendergast. I am aware that the paperback contains lovely black and white chapter headings drawn by Kim Geyer. I cannot recommend The Accidental Stowaway highly enough for readers of 9-12 who enjoy historical, adventure, mystery-solving fiction.

You can read my reviews of other Judith Eagle novels at the links below:

The Secret Starling

The Pear Affair

The Stolen Songbird

#AudiobookReview: The Stolen Songbird by Judith Eagle, illustrated by Kim Geyer, read by Katie Sherrard

Cover image by Kim Geyer, published by Faber & Faber, audiobook released 2 August 2023, ISBN: 978-1038648952

The Stolen Songbird is a beautifully plotted, fast-paced mystery set in London in 1959. As with the previous books I have read by author Judith Eagle (The Secret Starling and The Pear Affair), the setting is almost another character, so vividly is it brought to life. Here the action moves between north and south London, with the post-war ruins and rubble around Waterloo, and the green open space of Hampstead Heath featuring heavily in the plot.

When Caro Monday’s mother Jacinta fails to return from performing at the opera house in Manaus, Brazil and her other mother Ronnie Rudd has to dash to the aid of a sick sister, there is no choice for Caro but to go and stay with Great Aunt Mary (Gam) in Hampstead. Despite being told that Gam loathes animals, Caro cannot bear to be parted from her pet rabbit ‘His Nibs’ and smuggles him with her after promising her best friend Horace that she will return to Waterloo daily to meet up with him. However, life in Hampstead could not be more different from the previously carefree life she has known living in a Waterloo pub with Ronnie and Jacinta! Gam is super-strict, will only allow the children (she has also taken in Albie, the orphan son of her god-daughter) outside for an hour a day under adult supervision and definitely loathes animals. Needless to say, Caro and Gam clash over just about everything, and life in the grand Hampstead home where Caro’s mother grew up is less than harmonious.

Meanwhile, the London papers are full of crime reports about a gang of burglars known as the Snakes, who are targeting the homes of the wealthy to steal artworks and antiques. When Caro finds a small oil painting hidden in the suitcase that she borrowed from her mother’s room to transport her clothes, she is determined to discover how it got there. However, with night-time intruders in the Hampstead house, it seems that others might also be on the trail of the painting. Caro, Horace and Albie team up to lure the Snakes out into the open and prevent an innocent person being framed for an art heist. In the process they uncover family mistakes, secrets and pain. Are some resentments too big to be forgiven, or can broken hearts be reconciled? You will need to read this excellent novel to find out.

I whole-heartedly recommend The Stolen Songbird for readers aged 9-12 who enjoy historical fiction and/or mystery adventures. The child characters are all relatable and their friendship develops in a realistic way during the course of the story. There is an interesting range of adult characters too and I particularly liked the nuance in the character of Gam. His Nibs is likely to appeal to many young readers and he is certainly a catalyst for several plot points. I am thoroughly enjoying working my way through Judith Eagle’s MG mystery adventures through Borrowbox audiobooks from my local public library (this one is read perfectly by Katie Sherrard), I am aware that the paperback novels feature superb illustrated chapter headings drawn by Kim Geyer.

#MGReview: The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Book design by Kate Renner, published by Rock the Boat, 10 October 2025,
ISBN: 978-0861549023

The Bletchley Riddle is an intriguing work of middle grade fiction, with a basis in historical facts and containing some real characters as well as the fictional main protagonists. The two authors, Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin have impressive track records and their attention to historical detail and imaginative flourishes make this book an absolute pleasure to read.

The story is written in the form of dual, alternating, first person narratives, told from the perspective of siblings Lizzie and Jakob Novis. Jakob is the older sibling, a mathematics genius who has been recruited from his studies at Cambridge to join the codebreakers at Bletchley Park at the start of WWII. He is unexpectedly joined in Bletchley by teenage Lizzie when she refuses to sail to the safety of life with their grandmother in Cleveland, because she is determined to solve the puzzle of their mother’s disappearance whilst on a mission to shut down the US embassy in Warsaw. As the novel progresses and secrets and ciphers are exposed, their two quests entwine to produce fascinating revelations. There is never a dull moment in this book; the pacing, plotting and intelligence of the story is fully absorbing. The two main characters and their sometimes fraught sibling relationship is fully believable, the secondary characters are all three-dimensional and greatly add to the narrative. I also loved the inclusion of real historical figures, some of whom will be familiar to readers: Alan Turing, Gordon Welch and Dilly Knox, while some will be unfamiliar. It was marvellous that the Polish codebreakers, who contributed so much to the effort to decode the German ciphers, were included: Marian Rejewski, Henryk Zygalski and Jerzy Różycki.

Another standout feature of this story is the encouragement that readers are given to participate in breaking the ciphers. There are passages where Jakob is explaining the history of ciphers, or the way that code-breakers try to crack the puzzles in front of them, which subtly educate the reader whilst also nudging you to try some deciphering yourself. I have lost touch with the primary school computing curriculum, but I know that this element would have been a useful accompaniment to some year 6 computing units that pupils used to enjoy. The endnotes include historical context as well as some decoding challenges.

I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of spy mystery and historical education in The Bletchley Riddle, I have read a good many spy mysteries in my lifetime and I rate this one very highly. I would highly recommend anyone curating collections for tween and teen readers to add The Bletchley Riddle. I borrowed the copy that I read from my marvellous local public library.

#BlogTour: Maggie Blue and the Lost Child by Anna Goodall

Today I have the pleasure of kicking off the blog tour to mark the publication in paperback of Maggie Blue and the Lost Child. This is an update on a blogpost originally written for the hardback edition.

Cover art by Sandra Dieckmann, published by Guppy Books,
November 2024, ISBN: 978-1916558243

Maggie Blue and the Lost Child is the third and final book in the Maggie Blue trilogy by Anna Goodall, in my opinion this is likely to be a book which will be most meaningful to readers who have previously read the first two novels. It plunges the reader straight back to where the action ceased in Maggie Blue and the White Crow, with a bruised and battered Maggie, stuck in the Dark World, clutching a small baby who is covered with white feathers.

In part one of the book, alternating chapters present Maggie’s experience, alongside the actions of her mother Cynthia, Aunt Esme, best friend Jean, Ulrich the warrior-shifter and Hoagy the heroic one-eyed cat, all of whom have escaped back into the real world. They are now searching for a portal back into the Dark World to rescue Maggie. Part Two describes the quest of Ulrich, Hoagy and Oz (Maggie’s cousin from the Dark World, who can tap into the tree communication network) to track down Maggie. This runs parallel to Maggie’s pre-destined quest to return the Great O, who is now taking the form of a baby, to the sacred pool in the Magic Mountains. To do so, she will need all of her allies to help her outwit the Elders, and their fearsome alliance of warriors, orbs and the merciless black serpents known as the Terrible Ones.

I am not going to describe the plot in detail because it is so delicately constructed that I would not want to ruin anyone’s enjoyment of discovering it for themselves. This is contemporary-fantasy fiction of the highest calibre, written for the top end of middle grade readership (11/12-years-of-age) but providing an astonishing reading experience for YA and adult readers alike.

With exquisite subtlety Anna Goodall explores environmental issues and mental health topics in the guise of fantasy; the book can be enjoyed purely as a beautifully crafted fantasy or a prompt to question the experiences of those who suffer from poor mental health, fears of environmental disaster and what relationships might exist between the two. As with the previous books, there are some lighter moments usually featuring Aunt Esme or Hoagy, although this time I found myself laughing aloud at a thought that springs into Maggie’s mind as she travels through the forest:

It was like a bad family holiday, Maggie thought, Butlins meets the apocalypse…

P126

I love the way that the author is able to dispel the tension with these light-hearted moments, which I think will be welcomed by tween and teen readers (as well as older readers). I highly recommend that secondary school librarians add Maggie Blue and the Lost Child to their collections, where I am sure it will be enjoyed by readers of 13/14+.

I am delighted to have been invited to take part in this blog tour by Liz Scott PR and Guppy Books, and grateful to have been sent a review copy of this book . Do read the reviews which will be posted by other bloggers participating in the tour schedule.

#MGReview: The Pear Affair by Judith Eagle, illustrated by Kim Geyer

Cover image by Kim Geyer, published by Faber & Faber, 3 March 2020, ISBN: 978-0571346851

Prepare to be whisked away to Paris on a fabulous mystery adventure in this gripping, immersive, middle-grade masterpiece!

Penelope Magnificent was named after the designer handbag that her ice-cold, supermarket-mogul, mother appears to love more than her! Nell, as she prefers to be known, has not experienced any love or kindness from Melinda or Gerald Magnificent since her French au pair Perrine (Pear) was dismissed and Nell sent to boarding school several years before the start of the story. Now, thanks to an administrative oversight, Nell’s parents are forced to take her on their business trip to Paris. This is Nell’s chance to search for Pear, who loved her, taught her to speak fluent French and instilled in her a deep love for and knowledge of the French capital.

Right from the start of the story, the contrast between Nell and her appalling parents is apparent. When they check into a luxurious hotel, Melinda and Gerald treat the staff with arrogant disdain, whilst Nell is embarrassed by their behaviour and quickly befriends bell-boy Xavier. Leaving her parents to their business meetings with the equally revolting city mayor, Nell wastes no time in trying to track down Pear’s whereabouts. It is not long before she is scurrying through the city’s subterranean tunnels with new found friends and trying to piece together the links between multiple mysteries: Pear’s disappearance; the ‘Thing’ – a strange micro-organism which is attacking the city’s boulangeries; the Municipal Department’s determination to close down the tunnels; and the rise of Pain-tastique as the city’s premier supplier of baked goods!

This story blends a wonderful selection of ingredients – determined child characters, quirky villains, a brilliantly realised setting and a cracking plot – into a perfect confection. Author Judith Eagle’s love of Paris is very apparent throughout the story, I really felt immersed in the city, exploring its hidden alleys and the treasures that are its independent businesses. I also think there is something special about stories where food is described so beautifully that you can almost smell and taste it, and The Pear Affair left me longing for freshly baked French bread with delicious cheese. I think that young readers will appreciate the delightful chapter heading illustrations by Kim Geyer which help to depict the characters and settings.

I am enjoying my venture into the imagination of Judith Eagle, an author whose books I have somehow managed to miss over the past six years. I borrowed this title from my wonderful public library and I encourage anyone who enjoys middle grade historical fiction (this story is set in 1969) to either borrow a copy from your local library or purchase a copy from your local bookseller. A definite recommendation for school librarians to add to their collections.

Checkout my review of The Secret Starling by Judith Eagle.

#PictureBookReview: Our Love written & illustrated by Fátima Ordinola

Cover image by Fátima Ordinola, published by Post Wave, 30 January 2025,
ISBN: 978-1836270089

Our Love, written and illustrated by Fátima Ordinola is a gorgeous, heart-warming picture book which celebrates the universality of parental love. On the basis of the recent Book Trust/Waterstones Children’s Laureate discussions about reading as the ‘apparatus of happiness’, I think this would be a wonderful book to share with a young child.

Minimal text accompanies soft watercolour images in a warm palette of pinks, purples and blues, giving the impression throughout of being wrapped in a warm hug. The animal and bird parents demonstrate their love for their offspring by feeding, teaching, helping, cuddling and protecting them with kindness and patience. At the end of the story there is a double page gatefold where children can spot all of the animals featured in the narrative. I can honestly see this book becoming a future classic along the lines of Guess How Much I Love You. According to the endnote, the book created when Fátima Ordinola moved from her native Peru to study at Cambridge School of Art. Lines like:

Our love can reach any distance

It travels with me on every journey

for me, encompass the yearning for family alongside the deep connection of family love which we feel when separated from our loved ones.

If you are looking for a book to share with pre-schoolers as Mother’s Day approaches, or indeed at any time of year, I recommend Our Love.

I am grateful to publicist Antonia Wilkinson and independent publisher Post Wave for sending me a review copy of Our Love and an accompanying print. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.

#YAReview: While We’re Young by K.L. Walther

Cover image by Monique Aimee, published by Electric Monkey, 13 March 2025, ISBN: 978-0008688455

Take a break from your normal routine and join Grace Barbour and her friends on a road-trip to experience an extraordinary day out in Philadelphia. While We’re Young is a thoroughly enjoyable, feel-good YA romance which had me hooked from cover to cover. Featuring a cast of 17-year-old high school friends and with the action taking place over a single day, I thought this story played out like a film in my head, and I was not surprised to read in the endnotes that the author had been inspired to write it after rewatching a classic teen movie.

Grace Barbour is adored by everyone, students and staff alike, at the high school where she is student body president, has a flawless attendance record and excels academically. So nobody, with the exception of her prankster sibling James, suspects anything awry when she suddenly falls sick one morning. With graduation fast approaching, followed by the prospect of departure for universities in different parts of the country, Grace is determined to mend broken bonds between her two best friends and has planned an epic day out to achieve her goal. She just needs to persuade Isa Cruz, the high flying over-achiever, to both skip school and help her ‘kidnap’ Everett Alder (Isa’s ex-boyfriend) before they set out on a trip which she hopes will revive happy childhood memories for them all. But what happens when your heart aches for someone who the ‘friend code’ dictates is off-limits, or you have feelings for the sibling of a dear friend? Can the complexities of first loves and emotional traumas be untangled during a skip day? And can three truanting teens at large in the city avoid being discovered?

I had not heard of author K.L.Walther before being sent an ARC of this book, but I believe that her previous YA novels have been hugely popular in the US and I now want to get hold of them. While We’re Young is such a pleasure to read; the characters are engaging, the setting is interesting, the revelations of past experiences are unravelled with great skill and the whole story is wrapped with humour, kindness and contemporary teen references. This is a teen love story that I’m sure will be enjoyed by many readers of 14/15+, it is available for pre-order now and will be published in the UK on 13 March 2025.

Disclaimer: I am grateful to publicist Rory Codd at Electric Monkey for sending me an ARC of While We’re Young ahead of publication. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.

#PictureBookReview: Don’t Worry, Felix by Yohann Devezy & Katharine Alice, illustrated by Zoe Bennett

Cover image by Zoe Bennett, published by New Frontier UK, 10 November 2024, ISBN: 978-1915167750

Don’t Worry, Felix is a beautiful picture book about feeling nervous, written and designed to be relatable to children aged 3-6. It would be an ideal book to share with young children who are feeling apprehensive about starting at nursery, pre-school or primary school and lovely to share in a classroom setting to help youngsters understand how some of their peers might be feeling.

The text, co-written by author Yohann Devezy and occupational therapist Katharine Alice, recounts the story of Felix, who on his first day at a new school is accompanied by a red balloon. It grows so large as he sits in Dad’s car, that it stops him being able to get out when they arrive at school. It grows so large in the classroom that it stops him being able to speak, and it grows so large in the playground that he cannot get off the bench to join in with a game of football. When Felix tells Dad about the big red balloon later that evening, Dad shows him a simple breathing technique to help him ease his thumping heart, twisting stomach and wiggling toes. In a heartwarming conclusion to the story we see Felix teaching the special breathing trick to another child in the playground.

This is such a cleverly written book, using a metaphor with which young children are very familiar to explain that nervous feelings can hold us back from doing things, and teaching a simple breathing technique to help calm those nerves. The accompanying illustrations by Zoe Bennett are wonderfully expressive, capturing Felix’s emotions in muted shades. There is so much detail and warmth in the home and school settings for children to explore, that despite this being a very recent publication produced by Australian creatives, it reminded me of the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes that I shared with my own children. I also loved the diversity of the characters portrayed; this is an inclusive book in which all youngsters will see themselves represented.

I highly recommend this book to parents and carers, nurseries, pre-schools and early years class teachers, I will be adding it to my collection of recommended fiction books about mental wellbeing.

Disclaimer: I am most grateful to Sophia Whitfield at New Frontier Publishing who sent me a copy of Don’t Worry, Felix. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.

#PictureBookReview: Message in the Mooncake: A legend from Ancient China by Sapphire Chow, illustrated by Xiaojie Liu

Cover image by Xiaojie Liu, published by Barefoot Books, October 2024,
ISBN: 979-8888592298

Message in the Mooncake is a retelling of a Chinese folktale about the cleverness and courage of the Chinese people during the Mongol occupation in the 14th century Yuan Dynasty. The author of this beautiful edition, Sapphire Chow (1954-2023) did not have access to books during her own childhood in SE Asia, and developed her own love for children’s literature after moving to Canada and having her own children and grandchildren. Her reimagining of this folktale is brought to life through her immersive words and Xiaojie Lui’s beautiful artwork which incorporates elements of graphic novel style – panels, text bubbles and different fonts – with more traditional art.

Readers really get the sense of life under occupation, with the Chinese characters including the main protagonist Su-Ling, afraid to raise their eyes from the ground when they are going about their daily lives under the watch of the Mongol soldiers. However, rebellion is in their hearts and in the air, wanting only a means of sending messages to ensure that any uprising is co-ordinated. When the idea for hiding messages inside the mooncakes which are exchanged as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts arises, kung-fu-kicking Su-Ling volunteers to deliver the mooncakes to her relatives in the next village. Surely the Mongol soldiers will not suspect a young girl of playing a part in the revolution, or will they?

The story is full of drama and suspense, and I loved the illustrator’s device of placing a shadowy tiger image throughout the story to symbolise the bravery and fighting spirit of Su-Ling and her compatriots.

At the end of the book there is a factual section, providing information on the Mongolian invasion, the Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, kung-fu and different types of mooncakes. I found this fascinating and I am sure that young readers will do too. In my opinion, this is a book which would be enjoyed by children throughout primary school, it is both entertaining and educational and presented in a style which encourages everyone to browse. A definite recommendation to add to primary school libraries, classroom collections and home bookshelves.

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Message in the Mooncake by publicist Antonia Wilkinson and Barefoot Books. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.