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THE EXTREMELY INCONVENIENT ADVENTURES OF BRONTE METTLESTONE

Jaclyn Moriarty

An enchanting and whimsical spell-filled novel from the award-winning author of Feeling Sorry for Celia and A Corner of White, who spins a fantastic tale of high intrigue, grand adventure and an abundance of aunts.
Bronte Mettlestone is ten years old when her parents are killed by pirates.

This does not bother her particularly: her parents ran away to have adventures when she was a baby. She has been raised by her Aunt Isabelle, with assistance from the Butler, and has spent a pleasant childhood of afternoon teas and riding lessons. Now, however, her parents have left detailed instructions for Bronte in their will. (Instructions that, annoyingly, have been reinforced with faery cross-stitch, which means that if she doesn't complete them, terrible things could happen!) She travels the kingdoms, perfectly alone, delivering gifts to ten other aunts: a farmer aunt who owns an orange orchard, a veterinarian aunt who specializes in dragon care, a pair of aunts who captain a cruise ship, and a former rock star aunt who is now the reigning monarch of a small kingdom.

But as she travels from aunt to aunt, Bronte suspects there might be more to this journey than the simple delivery of treasure.

Jaclyn Moriarty grew up in Sydney, Australia, with four sisters (including author Liane Moriarty), one brother, two dogs, and twelve chickens. She studied law at the University of Sydney, Yale, and Cambridge, and worked as an entertainment lawyer before she wrote the Ashbury High novels, including The Year of Secret Assignments, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, and The Ghosts of Ashbury High. She still lives in Sydney, with her little boy, Charlie.
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Published 2018-10-08 by Arthur A. Levine Books

Book

Published 2018-10-08 by Arthur A. Levine Books

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UK: Guppy Books ; ANZ: Allen & Unwin ; China (si): Yutian ; French: Gallimard ; Israel: Armchair Publishing House ; Italian: Gribaudi ; Polish: Zielona Sowa ; Portuguese (P): ASA ; Russia: Polyandria ; Spanish: Planeta

Bronte Mettlestone is A 2017 Aurealis Award Finalist 2018 Australian Indie Book Award longlist A Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book Shortlisted for the Readings Children's Prize Winner of the Queensland Literary Award

Her eventful story, seemingly as delicate as gossamer, yet strong as silk, is well structured and entertaining. An episodic, high-spirited tale of adventure and magic.

With its storytelling aplomb, humor, imagination, and many twists and turns, this novel places Moriarty (the Colors of Madeleine YA trilogy, beginning with A Corner of White, rev. 5/13) firmly in Diana Wynne Jones territory. Readers will want to begin rereading this spellbinder just as soon as they finish it, to find all the clues and connections and coincidences Moriarty drops and weaves and reconciles throughout. Read more...

Jaclyn Moriarty charms, thrills and delights in this delightfully unpredictable, unique and modern novel, while also brilliantly evoking echoes of classic children's authors like Diana Wynne Jones and Joan Aiken.

THE EXTREMELY INCONVENIENT ADVENTURES OF BRONTE METTLESTONE is Winner of the Queensland Literary Award 2017 Aurealis Award Finalist 2018 Australian Indie Book Award longlist A Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book Shortlisted for the Readings Children's Prize

An absolute sparkling delight of a story! Whisperers, water sprites, spellbinders and faery-cross stitch; this book is brimming with bright new magic... just perfect.

Fantasy lovers will relish the dragons and gnomes, 'impenetrable forests' and 'nefarious kingdoms'. But however well trodden the landscape, we never feel as if we've been here before. Like all the best fantasy writers, Moriarty can turn familiar tropes into something of her own.

This quirky and endearing adventure set in a captivating, off-beat world is an excellent purchase wherever fantasy circulates well.