The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone

When ten-year-old Bronte hears her parents have been killed by pirates, she isn’t too concerned – she never knew them. But it seems they want to control her future: they have left a will full of bizarre, detailed instructions which she must follow, or her home town will be destroyed by magic. The will sends her journeying alone, across kingdoms, to visit her several aunts whom she has rarely seen before – right to the borders of the sinister Whispering Kingdom.

Bronte’s Journey is a wild and whimsical quest that might initially seem to appear mysterious, but all the threads are satisfyingly pulled together in the end. The journey is more than the goal, as Bronte gets what she didn’t know she needed: friendship, family and excellent food in cosy cafes. The enjoyably skilful seeding of the clues throughout the book will give attentive readers lots to flip back through the pages for – but the less attentive reader will also be able to enjoy a delightful, funny story.

This book really has everything: skillfully-spun plot, humour and charm, unforgettable characters and poetry in its language. Readers looking for a modern Joan Aiken should start here.