Poverty and drought has swamped the State to the point where, even the butcher’s meager bone remains taste like a banquet.
Amidst this lack, business at the Coles Book Arcade in Bourke Street, is slowing significantly.
Mr and Mrs Coles with their two eldest children sail off to Sydney.
Due to the slump, they are considering closing the store and opening one in a more viable location to secure the children’s livelihood.
Pearl and Valentine remain to keep shop under the watchful eye of the Manager, Mr Pike.
Pearl decides to use her limited magic to spruce up neglected areas. Removing this financial pressure, she hopes her parents will reconsider the move.
Painful memories of the magician Magnus Maximillian and the horror of his actions against her sister Ruby, resurge in Pearl when a ghost returns to the Bookshop.Autonomous Wraith is the other half of Magnus, separated
during a failed experiment. He needs a body to move into to exact revenge on
the magician.
He begins to invade Pearl’s body, and the Book
Arcade becomes a source of powerful magic. As she now owns the ability
to do incredible things, Pearl is easily persuaded by Autonomous to undertake daring,
dangerous exploits, until he is utterly in control and Pearl is trapped, mind
and body.
A battle begins. The weakening Magnus sets Pearl a list of incomprehensible feats to decipher and complete, in exchange for her freedom from Autonomous.
Each feat is a part of a set of secret locks that protect The Lost Book of Magic. Magnus needs the book to steal back the other half of power from Autonomous to become whole again.
Valentine, Pearl and Mr Pike, along with Pike’s
close friend, Kezia, team up to decipher the complex conundrums and riddles.
This well-researched novel is full of action, magic, tension, with twists and turns, plaited into the local history of the time.
The Lost Book of Magic can be read independently, but if read after the Grandest Bookshop in the World, a wider picture of the story is gained. The former, with its prequel, The Bookseller’s Apprentice, are award-winning novels. This third one, brilliant and detailed, will surely follow in their footsteps.
Title: The Lost Book of Magic
Author: Amelia Mellor
Publisher: Affirm Press, $22.99
Publication Date: 22 September 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922863973
For ages: 10+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction
