I found this one at the library and seeing how short it was, decided to plonk myself down on a bean bag and read the whole thing. And what he finds changes his life for ever.Ī cautionary tale with echoes of myth and fairy tale, this bewitching fable will make you careful what you wish for. Set in the hot houses of a stately home in eighteenth century England, a gardener falls from grace when the Duke sets him the impossible task of growing prize pineapples fit to show off in high society.The gardener's star falls further when he is replaced by Mr Amicus, a pineapple 'specialist', whom he believes to be a charlatan and a trickster - but nevertheless miraculously produces fruit to delight the Duke.ĭetermined to uncover Mr Amicus's tricks, the gardener sneaks into the pineapple house to uncover the mysterious shrouded birdcage Mr Amicus carries with him. Let me explain how I find myself in this predicament. 'I have no idea how long I have been incarcerated in these ancient walls. It did make me realise that a book released last year, Wilder Girls, is shockingly similar to the point where I wonder if it was a retelling. I did find it strange that this entire story centers around a boarding school but after the girls and the teacher disappears, we hardly ever see the world from the girl's viewpoints, more often the teachers. Polar opposites in that Mike is a wealthy toff and Albert grew up in an orphanage, his tattoos making him look 'rough', their two personalities compliment one another and I always felt at ease when in their presence. I loved the friendship between Albert and Mike. However I did often get confused about whose viewpoint we'd just switched to and who was doing what, due to the book very rapidly switching people from paragraph to paragraph. The prose in this is quite lovely, it has a dreamlike quality that is perfect. The book tells the stories of many of the people connected to the story and the aftermath of this devastating event. When 4 people vanish, the town is ablaze with gossip about the fates of these three girls and their teacher. Picnic At Hanging Rock is a mystery classic, a surreal novel that takes place at a boarding school in Australia. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared. ![]() After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. It was a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred.Įveryone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. The sequel, which isn't currently attached to this one on Goodreads yet, is The Elsewhere Emporium, I'm intrigued to find out what Thomas gets up to next! It reminds me of a popular book from last year, Starless Sea, except aimed at a much younger audience of course. Magic shows, a mysterious shop, a cruel villain, family secrets, mysterious and wonderful rooms with infinite possibilities, it's all explored here. ![]() Dealing with the death of a parent in cruel circumstances, Thomas was a hero that I really enjoyed reading about. Family dynamics are quite cleverly explored here and it's only when I start thinking back that I realise just how much they come up, and I love the idea of choosing your own family. This story has a good mix of magic, mortal peril, fun and more serious subjects that kids may relate to, using orphan Daniel Holmes as our storyteller. If I could go back in time to my younger self, I would arrive with the biggest stack of books and this would be among them, as I know this tale of a magical shop with doors to different worlds would be read until it fell apart. I may be twenty (mumble) years old but I am still as enchanted by magical books like The Nowhere Emporium, as I would have been at 7 years old. ![]() Can Daniel save his home, and his new friends, before the Nowhere Emporium is destroyed forever? But when Mr Silver disappears, and a shadow from the past threatens everything, the Emporium and all its wonders begin to crumble. Recruited as Mr Silver's apprentice, Daniel learns the secrets of the Emporium's vast labyrinth of passageways and rooms - rooms that contain wonders beyond anything Daniel has ever imagined. Before long, the 'shop from nowhere' - and its owner, Mr Silver - draw Daniel into a breathtaking world of magic and enchantment. ![]() When the mysterious Nowhere Emporium arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes stumbles upon it quite by accident.
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