Cogheart

by Peter Bunzl

★★★★★

Review

Here is another book that I absolutely adore. This book is full of adventure, friendship and suspense... the perfect combination for a page turner.

Some books that I read just speak to my soul, and here is the perfect example. I really did love everything about this book - from the characters, to the setting and even the way that Peter Bunzl writes. From the first chapter, I was absolutely hooked by the main character Lily (probably because of her reluctance to engage in the "norm" that was expected for girls in the Victorian times) and had fully committed myself to following her adventure through Victorian Britain.

As I made my way through the book, I was drawn in by each and every one of the characters and found myself wondering what secrets they had to hide. The unique selling point in this book is by far the mechanicals/mechanicals which are characters who have been created by Lily's father, a mechanical inventor. Each mechanical character has such a brilliant personality and together they bring an additional element of interest, fun and humour to an otherwise very serious storyline. Mrs Rust is my personal favourite, with her random but brilliant mechanical outbursts and genuine love for Lily.

Something else that I loved about this book is its setting of Victorian Britain. Through the story, Peter Bunzl drops in subtle but interesting details about life in the Victorian era and I found myself learning quite a lot about what it would have been like to live in such times. Again, this is a pretty unique selling point as many other children's books are set in modern times or in the future, providing very different settings, characters and story lines.

I would highly recommend this book to any reader looking for a great adventure with a major plot twist!!

Dive Deeper

At a glance

Author: Peter Bunzl

Illustrator: Becca Stadtlander

Release Date: 1st September 2016

Book type: Chapter, 368 pages, paperback

Reader level: Confident reader/ Content (8+)

Series: 1 of 4

Overview

Cogheart is a Victorian adventure story that follows the journey of Lily, a young girl, and her mechanimal (mechanical animal) fox, Malkin through London to save her family.

Lily's life has already been turned upside down one before when her Ma died in a fatal crash when she was very little. But now, her father is missing, suspected dead, after his airship crash-landed in the middle of nowhere under suspicious circumstances.

Leaving Miss Octavia Scrimshaw's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies to return home, Lily is greeted by her loving mechanical family and her not-so-loving housekeeper, Madame Verdigris. After only a short time at home, Lily realises that Madame Verdigris has no intention of helping her to find her missing father, but is intent on stealing his groundbreaking research and the wealth he has left behind.

As Lily continues to uncover the hidden secrets, she joins forces with Robert, a clock-maker's son, and her best friend and mechanical fox, Malkin, to solve the mystery. Together, they wade through the dark and menacing world in search of the truth of her past and the whereabouts of her lost father. However, some people want these secrets to stay hidden forever and will stop at nothing to ensure Lily never uncovers the truth...