Description: Praise forThe Bone Magician: "This 'paraquel'--meaning it takes place in the same world, but follows a different thread--to Higgins' excellentBlack Book of Secrets(2007) drips with the same lightly fantastical, heavily Dickensian atmospherethere is still no end of picaresque charms, creepy turns, and beguiling cast members..."--Booklist "In this standalone companion novel toThe Black Book of Secrets, British author Higgins deftly balances the exceedingly harsh circumstances with wry humor, sly commentary on class issues, and a protagonist who has enough wisdom to recognize the fact that his optimism is perhaps misguided but who manages to retain it anyway."--The Bulletin of The Center for Children's BooksSet in Urbs Umida, where 'merely to be born was considered the first step towards dying',The Bone Magician. . . is a deliciously dark Gothic thriller-cum-Holmesian-whodunit, the writing so atmospheric that the fumes from the noxious River Foedus, where the murder victims end up, seem to seep off the page and swirl round the reader.-TheTelegraph, UK Young readers with a taste for the macabre will find it deliciously scary.-TheGuardian,UK Praise forThe Black Book of Secrets: "The story's vaguely Dickensian atmosphere is exquisite . . . a smart, peculiarly thrilling book that is sure to appeal to readers ready to sidestep the goody-goody Harry Potters of adventure fiction."-Booklist, Starred Review "The Black Book of Secretshas it all: danger, adventure, theft, murder, body snatching, poisonings, a touch of humor, and enough mystery to keep you guessing until the very end. . . . An enjoyable story that begs for a sequel."-PW Children's Bookshelf, "Galley Talk" "Higgins creates a fascinating novel peopled with colorful characters and imbued with clever plot twists . . . and the novel's climax is both excellent and surprising."-Voices of Youth Advocates "Wonderful. Anyone looking for the next big thing has come to the right place. Higgins has created a uniquely grim fantasy world that more than holds its own with Dickens or Peake. Her characters are brilliantly realised and the story grabs at the reader with hooked talons."-Eoin Colfer "A fantastic debut . . . don't let this book remain a secret!"-John Webb, Waterstone's Children's Fiction Buyer

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