The Lost Property Office by James R. Hannibal

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Lost Property Office by James R. Hannibal Kate Quealy-Gainer Hannibal, James R. The Lost Property Office. Simon, 2016 390p (Section 13) Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-6709-4 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-6711-7 $10.99 R Gr. 5-7 Thirteen-year-old Jack is hypersensitive, to the point that he often uses white noise in his headphones to drown out the overwhelming world. When his mother brings him and his sister on a trip to London to search for their missing father, though, Jack learns that his sensitivity might not be a vulnerability but a skill. After he accidently stumbles into the Lost Property Office, Gwen, a twelve-year-old ambitious apprentice there, informs him that he is a Tracker like his father and that he can track lost historical artifacts. Now the evil Clockmaker is holding Jack’s father hostage, and he gives Jack twenty-four hours to use his skills to find the Ember, the mysterious source of the Great Fire of London. The pace never slackens here; just a few pages into the book, Jack is already chasing clues across present-day London and through its history. Facts about the Great Fire along with references to other significant events and figures in England’s past (World War II, philosopher Robert Hooke) fly as fast and furious as Jack’s race through the city, and while they don’t always relate directly to Jack’s story, they’ll likely garner the attention of history buffs. Throw in a bit a steampunk with the Clockmaker’s contraptions, the ghosts of the poor victims of the fire whose names were never recorded, and a successful quest, and you’ve got a book with maximal audience draw. Copyright © 2016 by The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois