Penny Chrimes

I'm always attracted to friendly dragons. Herein, I fell in love with Stick's world (an alternative London), his Gutterling language, and of course, the curmudgeonly dragon. Penny Chrimes is an excellent world-builder with just enough detail to leave the rest to the reader's imagination. It is a hard world, but one full of loyalty among the homeless, tumbling, surviving childen. Despite their hardships, they'd rather be free on the streets then imprisoned in an orphanage/workhouse. A bit reminiscent of Dickens' Oliver Twist. In the "Author's Note on Stick's World" Chrimes describes it as "a kind of time-slip betwen the wild rumpus of Georgian England and the brilliant inventiveness and energy of the Victorians." Includes "Stick's Guide to Gutterling."… (meer)

Blow Fly ( or Fly for short) is a chimney sweep in an alternate Victorian England. She was an orphan left in a basket with only a box and now she works cleaning chimneys. On one such occasion she falls through into a room where a Tiger is housed. The Tiger takes one sniff of Fly and declares ( in her head) that Fly is the lost princess and that she needs to help him and all the other animals in the menagerie escape back to Fly's rightful kingdom of Bathia. With the help of some other street children, Fly sets off on an adventure that will take her far from England's shores. There is real mystery and evil woven together in this story which surrounds the contents of the box that only Fly can open, the enormous ruby called the Tiger's Heart.
Book that Year 7 girls who like fantasy, animals and overcoming odds will like. The language is very true to Victorian England ( "Wotcha Gov'nor" type speak) and so a glossary of words is appended. First chapter throws you straight into the story.… (meer)