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About The Book

A boy discovers a mysterious mechanical world he may never escape in this steampunk fantasy that’s “a thrill a minute” (Kirkus Reviews), set in nineteenth-century England.

Ten-year-old Jack Foster has stepped through a doorway and into quite a different London.

Londinium is a smoky, dark, and dangerous place, home to mischievous metal fairies and fearsome clockwork dragons that breathe scalding steam. The people wear goggles to protect their eyes, brass grill insets in their nostrils to filter air, or mechanical limbs to replace missing ones.

Over it all rules the Lady, and the Lady has demanded a new son—a perfect flesh-and-blood child. She has chosen Jack. His only hope of escape lies with a legendary clockwork bird.

The Gearwing grants wishes—or it did, before it was broken—before it was killed. But some things don’t stay dead forever.

Fans of books like Splendors and Glooms and Doll Bones will find Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times irresistible!

About The Author

Photo credit: James Drew

Emma Trevayne is a full-time writer. She is an avid music collector, a lover of computer code languages, and a photographer. She is the author of Coda, ChorusFlights and Chimes and Mysterious Times, and Spindrift and the Orchid. She has lived in Canada, England, and America.

About The Illustrator

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (May 13, 2014)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781442498808
  • Grades: 3 - 7
  • Ages: 8 - 12
  • Lexile ® 810L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

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Raves and Reviews

“So full of verve and imagination that the sinister steampunk world practically pops off the page. The prose sparkles, the inventions astonish, and the characters are ones you'll root for from the moment you meet them. Loved it, beginning to end.”

– Stefan Bachman, author of The Peculiar

"In this steampunk fantasy...no one character is all good or all bad, and Trevayne explores their motivations and machinations thoroughly. The richly drawn world and inventive steampunk elements help this novel stand out from the pack of middle-grade fantasy."

– School Library Journal

"[F]ast-paced, escalating suspense...the novel’s strength lies in worldbuilding and vivid descriptions, and Anglophiles will likely enjoy the historical-cultural references."

– Kirkus Reviews

"Once action passes through to Londinium the pace picks up and the steampunk narrative starts to hum. Jack's mechanical ability is put to good use, but it is the power of loyalty and friendship that gives the story its strength and drives it to a rousing conclusion."

– The Horn Book Magazine

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More books from this author: Emma Trevayne