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"A fun, fast pace adventure story with a lot of magic that will have younger readers entranced."
Though set in contemporary London, Newbury artfully pulls off a Victorian feel to The Moonlighters which is a very fun adventure with a lot of magic and a nice cast of very interesting characters.
Our narrator is Theo, who finds himself on a boring class trip to the National History Museum. Museums aren’t Theo’s idea of a good time. So when he’s dared by a kid Keegan to drop a piece of fossilised dinosaur poop into the hood of Hayley Pritchard, he can’t resist.
Theo’s new to his school, and he hates it, so going through with this dare is, in his mind, a way to become cool and respected. Theo sees it as revenge in a strange way, revenge against his parents for moving, revenge against his father for losing his job and forcing them to be in a new place and Theo in a new school.
After running from his troubles at the museum, Theo decides to go to his Nan’s house and hide from punishment. But his Nan’s not home. This where he meets Alistair Goodfellow, a mysterious and flamboyant young person who sets the gears in motion for an adventure that Theo won’t ever forget.
He ends up in the Casablanca Lily, a strange hotel that is seedy and dark in the day, but a beautiful palace full of magic by night. Like the Artful Dodger and his band of miscreants, Theo and his new friends are sent out at night by Goodfellow to collect magic artefacts and get powers in exchange.
I really loved how magic is used (and not overused) in this novel and there is a lot of character development on the part of Theo as he learns what true friendship really is. It’s a fun, fast pace adventure story that will have younger readers entranced throughout, I really enjoyed it!
Peter Pan meets Oliver Twist in the magical new book by rising star Lee Newbery, author of Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, The Last Firefox.
When ten-year-old Theo runs off from a school trip to London's Natural History Museum and decides to pay his gran a surprise visit, he discovers the surprise is on him - his gran is on holiday and Theo finds himself alone in the big city with nowhere to turn.
Enter Alistair Goodfellow, a mysterious, flamboyant young person with a charismatic twinkle in their eye. Alistair offers Theo a room at the Casablanca Lily - by day, a run-down and unloved hotel; by night, a palace of magical wonders.
Each night, Alistair sends their found family of runaways and ne'er-do-wells, the Moonlighters, out into London in search of lost magical artefacts, gifting them their own magical powers as a reward.
Theo is quickly enthralled, but there is more to Alistair than meets the eye, and soon Theo comes to realize that the items Alistair is hunting could be more dangerous than he'd ever imagined . . .
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Moonlighters and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
The Moonlighters features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Recommendations, Adventure Stories, Stories about Family and Friends, Fantasy / Magical, Romance / Relationship Stories, People / Places, PSHE: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Inclusion, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s / Teenage general interest: City and town life, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Magical realism / Magical fantasy, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: General interest
The Moonlighters is available in Paperback
The Moonlighters was written by Lee Newbery and published by Puffin an imprint of Penguin Random House Children's UK
The Moonlighters has 363 pages
£8.09
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