The Left-Handed Fate

by Kate Milford, Eliza Wheeler (Illustrator)

Overview

From Kate Milford, the bestselling author of National Book Award nominee Greenglass House, comes another magical, middle-grade adventure, The Left-Handed Fate.

Lucy Bluecrowne and Maxwell Ault are on a mission: find the three pieces of a strange and arcane engine. They're not exactly sure what this machine does, but they have it on good authority that it will stop the war that's raging between their home country of England and Napoleon Bonaparte's France. Despite being followed by mysterious men dressed all in black, they're well on their way to finding everything they need when their ship, the famous Left-Handed Fate, is taken by the Americans.

And not just any Americans. The Fate (and with it, Lucy and Max) are put under the command of Oliver Dexter, who's only just turned twelve.

But Lucy and Max aren't the only ones trying to put the engine together, and if the pieces fall into the wrong hands, it could prove disastrous. Oliver is faced with a choice: help Lucy and Max and become a traitor to his country? Or follow orders and risk endangering that same country and many others at the same time—not to mention his friends?

"This world has a seductive, fairytale quality—Patrick O’Brian’s Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. . . It's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery." —The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250121837
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	08/22/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 5.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Kate Milford is the author of The Boneshaker, The Broken Lands, The Kairos Mechanism, Bluecrowne, andGreenglass House, which was long-listed for the National Book Award. Originally from Annapolis, Maryland, Kate now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.

Eliza Wheeler is the author-illustrator of MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS (Penguin), which debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list. She has illustrated many children’s books, including JOHN RONALD’S DRAGONS: THE STORY OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN (Caroline McAlister), TELL ME A TATTOO STORY (Alison McGhee), WHEREVER YOU GO (Pat Zietlow Miller), and Newbery Honor winning novel DOLL BONES (Holly Black). Eliza received the SCBWI National Grand Prize Award for best portfolio in 2011. She lives with her husband in Minnesota.

Editorial Reviews

"This world has a seductive, fairytale quality—Patrick O’Brian’s Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. . . It's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery." —The New York Times Book Review

"Rich and strange of place and premise; suspenseful and thought-provoking." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Beautifully written, with careful attention to historical details . . . An unusually rigorous romp for lovers of steampunk, mystery, and swashbuckling adventure." —School Library Journal

"The story teems with lively characters and a captivating sense of place, all driven along by the engrossing puzzle of the mysterious contraption. . . . A colorful, swashbuckling caper full of heart." —Booklist

"The idea of achieving peace through superior firepower is effectively questioned over the course of the narrative, but it is the human questions of honor, courage, and generosity—embodied in decisive Lucy, philosophical Max, impish Liao, and dutiful Oliver—that will leave readers cheering by the book’s rousing close." —The Horn Book

From the Publisher

Milford is a master at creating intricate worlds infused with an element of the fantastical…For the setting of The Left-Handed Fate, Milford concocts a captivating portrait of 19th-century sloops and brigs with their lamp-lit captain's quarters, copper-bound sea chests and late-night snacks of biscuits and sherry…This world has a seductive, fairy-tale quality—Patrick O'Brian's Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki…Through her three heroes, [Milford]…sensitively explores the complexities of loyalty, duty and leadership in a way young readers will relate to. We also meet one of the most memorable middle-grade characters in recent memory: the Mad Spinster, a spidery-looking weaver with indigo-hued fingers, lips "stained a purple-red wine color" and a loom that may have answers to the book's mysteries…it's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery. As the Mad Spinster sighs, "There are so few truly wonderful puzzles to be had these days." Here, at least, is one.

The New York Times Book Review - Catherine Hong

★ 2016-05-18
An ancient inscription and a handful of inscrutable artifacts plunge three young people into both the War of 1812 and a much larger, older conflict.Opening in Baltimore then moving on to the not-entirely-earthly town of Nagspeake (setting, in another era, of Milford's Greenglass House, 2014), the tale centers on staid, methodical "natural philosopher" Max Ault; 12-year-old American naval officer Oliver Dexter; and fiery Lucy Bluecrowne, daughter of a renowned British privateer, captain of the titular ship. It pits them against both relentless French pursuers and mysterious men in black with eldritch abilities. The prize is a three-part device made thousands of years ago and said to be able to stop war…a superweapon, or so everyone (nearly everyone) presumes. Along with being replete with rousing chases, races, and violent explosions, the tale is uncommonly rich in memorable characters, from the central three, who all display stout hearts and hidden depths, to Lucy's 9-year-old half brother, part-Chinese Liao: pacifist, expert lockpick, and fireworks genius extraordinaire. The labyrinthine Nagspeake itself is magical and vivid enough to serve as more than just a setting (and deservedly sports a metafictional website). Wheeler's neatly turned monochromes capture the tale's warmth and wonder, though (at least as she depicts it) the cast appears to be white, excepting Liao. Rich and strange of place and premise; suspenseful and thought-provoking. (Fantasy. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews