The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle

by Janet Fox

Overview

“An enchanting, ghostly story that had me in its grip until the last page."—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The False Prince

“Keep calm and carry on.”  That’s what Katherine Bateson’s father told her, and that’s what she’s trying to do:  when her father goes off to the war, when her mother sends Kat and her brother and sister away from London to escape the incessant bombing, even when the children arrive at Rookskill Castle, an ancient, crumbling manor on the misty Scottish highlands.
 
But it’s hard to keep calm in the strange castle that seems haunted by ghosts or worse.  What’s making those terrifying screeches and groans at night?  Why do the castle’s walls seem to have a mind of their own?  And why do people seem to mysteriously appear and disappear?
 
Kat believes she knows the answer: Lady Eleanor, who rules Rookskill Castle, is harboring a Nazi spy. But when her classmates begin to vanish, one by one, Kat must uncover the truth about what the castle actually harbors—and who Lady Eleanor really is—before it's too late.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780147517135
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	239,364
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Janet Fox writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction for children of all ages. Her young adult debut novel, Faithful, was an Amelia Bloomer List pick, and was followed by a companion novel, Forgiven, a Junior Library Guild selection and WILLA Literary Award Finalist, and Sirens. Janet is a 2010 graduate of the MFA/Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a former high school English teacher. She lives in Bozeman, Montana, where she and her family enjoy the mountain vistas.

Read an Excerpt

“Look,” Amelie said. “Come and look.”
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Janet Fox.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

RAVES FOR THE CHARMED CHILDREN OF ROOKSKILL CASTLE:

* “Wonderfully written . . . Readers will curl up and keep the lights on with this chilling page-turner.”—Booklist, starred review
 
* “An original, clever, page-turning adventure.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “In this intricately plotted thriller . . . . True-to-life protagonists, the skillful interweaving of flashbacks and the chatelaine motif, a masterful final encounter, and a satisfying denouement attest to Fox’s craftsmanship.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* “ Fox works a spell of her own, pulling her audience deep into the increasingly nightmarish tale, while creating a stout-hearted heroine who isn't afraid to trust her own mind.”—Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Fox’s story of intrigue and magic is enticing from page one . . . a fascinating and wonderful read.” —VOYA

“[A] cleverly-crafted thriller . . . readers who enjoy historical fiction, science fiction, or horror will not want to miss this book!”—School Library Connections

“An enchanting, ghostly story that had me in its grip until the last page. With her courage, strength, and intelligence, Kat Bateson will become one of the great literary heroines. I rooted for her right through the last page.”
—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The False Prince
 
“With nods to Narnia, Harry Potter and The Golden Compass, Janet Fox has created hair-raising suspense and drama. My heart is still pounding from this action-packed, imaginative read!”
—Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky
 
“Chilling, creepy, charming . . . a delicious read, full of twists and turns and writing that soars right along with the rooks outside the castle walls.”
—Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor-winning author
 
“Fiendishly addicting, with as many twists and turns as the sinister castle that conceals the charmed children and the chilling evil that first ensnared them.”
—Julie Berry, award-winning author of The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place
 
“A new classic: a terrifyingly irresistable mystery, full of danger, magic, and adventure.”
—Nikki Loftin, author of Wish Girl and Nightingale’s Nest

From the Publisher

★ 01/04/2016
In this intricately plotted thriller from Fox (Sirens), the stalwart Bateson children have more to fear from Lady Eleanor, headmistress of their new boarding school in Scotland, than from the bombs of the 1940 London Blitz. Evacuated with two younger siblings to live in a distant relative’s castle, 12-year-old Katherine has only her father’s parting words, her great-aunt’s parting gift of a silver heirloom chatelaine, and fellow student Peter for support in a terrifying battle against evil forces set loose 200 years earlier. Warnings of frightening nighttime noises and disappearing children quickly come too close for comfort, and the quartet’s certainty of a Nazi threat sets them on a trail of discovery and misdirection. Initially grounded in logic and her father’s teachings, Kat’s faith crumbles against disconcerting evidence that, in this castle, magic is real, nothing is what it seems, and a Voldemort-like villainess must be destroyed. True-to-life protagonists, the skillful interweaving of flashbacks and the chatelaine motif, a masterful final encounter, and a satisfying denouement attest to Fox’s craftsmanship. Ages 10–up. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2015
Gr 6 Up—The Nazis have begun bombing London. Katherine Bateson's father is sent off on a highly secret mission, and her mother decides that Katherine and her siblings should go to the Scottish highlands to escape the dangers of the German bombers. Before she goes, Katherine's great-aunt Margaret gives her a farewell gift: Margaret's chatelaine, an ornament worn by women. As the Batesons and other children arrive in Scotland at Lord Gregor's manor, recently converted to a school by the lady of the house, Katherine immediately realizes something is amiss. She and the others fear that a Nazi spy has infiltrated the castle, and they decide that he must be stopped. Then Lady Eleanor turns out to be more than she seems, and the lady's chatelaine is revealed to be magical. Katherine also learns that she and the other children are in grave danger. Fox presents readers with a wonderfully paced, exciting story with enough twists to keep the pages turning. VERDICT The strong female lead and adventure on every page will keep any reader entertained from the first page to the last.—Wayne R. Cherry, Jr., First Baptist Academy Library, Houston, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2015-11-25
During the Blitz, 12-year-old Londoner Kat, along with two younger siblings and an American boy, is sent to a distant relative's Scottish castle, where they confront evils both old and contemporary. Though Lady Eleanor claims to be starting an academy in her castle and has hired faculty to attend to the curriculum, it's soon clear that none are what they claim to be. The old castle keep is burned out, and the newer part seems to have weird twists and turns, secret doors and strange goings-on, including several ghostly children. Clues multiply early on that Eleanor is the same woman for whom the creepy, unnamed village magister has replaced living parts one by one over decades, each given in payment for a charm for a child's soul. Kat's father—now away working for MI6—is a watchmaker, and Kat has his gift for numbers, gears, and puzzles. Witchy magic, Nazi menace, and clockwork all come into play, along with an Enigma machine and spies for both the Allies and the Nazis seeking occult sources of power or protection. After the breathtaking climax, various threads of the story are tied up in a drawing-room denouement in which the characters decide to dispose of toxic magical artifacts rather carelessly—though in a way that invites anticipation (and fortuitously leaves room for sequels). An original, clever, page-turning adventure. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews