Wrapped

June 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-On the eve of her debut into 19th-century London society, 18-year-old Agnes Wilkins wishes her life promised more than wearing the right dress for the right party in hopes of finding a suitable husband. She longs for passion like Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy share in the novels of "A Lady." At a "mummy unwrapping party," Lord Showalter hands her a pair of scissors and encourages her to make a cut into the sarcophagus wrappings, where she uncovers a silver jackal's head and impulsively hides it in her dress. Soon after her subterfuge, a suspicious-looking waiter follows her and, ultimately, turns up dead. Agnes is too scared to confess her theft and instead heads to the British Museum to try to find some answers. There she encounters Caedmon, a self-taught man with a passion for Egyptian artifacts. The pair discovers that the artifact is actually a hidden message intended for a spy with allegiance to Napoleon Bonaparte. With only an elderly former English intelligence officer to assist them, the two embark on a mission to stop the French dictator before he harnesses ancient Egyptian magic that would render him unbeatable in battle. The closer the young people get toward solving the mystery, the more dangerous the stakes become. Bradbury offers a grand historical mystery with a pinch of supernatural intrigue and a hint of romance. Readers will be swept up in Agnes's life but may feel beaten over the head with the message that women lacked power during this era. An extremely happy ending leaves room for a possible sequel for those who can't get enough of Agnes and Caedmon's adventures.-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
An 1815 parlor diversion leads to a fizzy, frothy caper. Agnes is a Regency debutante with an inquisitive mind, a nose for trouble and some not-insignificant feminist objections to the process of finding a husband. When she pockets the trinket she finds among the linens at her neighbor's mummy-unwrapping party, she unwittingly sets off a series of catastrophes will that include burglaries, violent attacks and murder. Her guilt drives her to investigate the mysteries surrounding the mummy and the party guests, drawing her into a tenuous partnership with a British Museum janitor while at the same time dodging the advances of Lord Showalter, the party's host and the most sought-after suitor in London. The secrets she uncovers have consequences both personal and political, giving her quest a heightened urgency. Bradbury weaves Egyptology, Napoleonic conquest and a flirtation with the supernatural into a spy thriller that is a marked departure from her 2008 debut, Shift. The story is steeped in the historical details of the period, even as the author's note outlines the liberties taken with the timeline. Austen fans who wish her characters would get up off their settees and risk an adventure will enjoy Bradbury's smart, feisty heroine (who is herself an avid reader of A Lady). (Mystery. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Whats a spirited young London debutante to do when her entire life seems planned out for her? Agnes longs for adventure, and the Egyptian antiquities making their way to Victorian England provide just the right opportunity. Mummy unwrappings occur at posh parties, and as repulsed as Agnes is by this pastime and the cultural disrespect it reflects, she is put on the spot at one point and secretly (so she thinks) discovers a small jackal figure in the process. The find turns out to be the missing piece in an international spy drama involving Napol'ons planned invasion of England. Enter a handsome young Egyptologist clerk at the British Museum who captures Agnes heart and an overbearing and prominent young lord who also plays for her affections, and readers have the makings of a bold and daring historical adventure tale with a brave, quick-thinking heroine at its center. A good mystery for fans of the plucky heroine in Julia Goldings Cat Royal Adventures.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)