Cover Image

The charmed children of Rookskill Castle

by Fox, Janet S.,

Format: Print Book 2016
Availability: Available at 10 Libraries 11 of 12 copies

Available (11)
Location Collection Call #
Baldwin Borough Library Juvenile Fiction J FOX
Location  Baldwin Borough Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FOX
 
 
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library Children Fiction J Fox
Location  C.C. Mellor Memorial Library
 
Collection  Children Fiction
 
Call Number  J Fox
 
 
Monroeville Public Library Juvenile Fiction J FOX Janet S.
Location  Monroeville Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FOX Janet S.
 
 
Mt. Lebanon Public Library Children's Fiction j FOX Janet
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Fiction
 
Call Number  j FOX Janet
 
 
Northern Tier Regional Library Juvenile J FIC FOX
Location  Northern Tier Regional Library
 
Collection  Juvenile
 
Call Number  J FIC FOX
 
 
Penn Hills Library Juvenile Fiction CHILDREN FOX
Location  Penn Hills Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  CHILDREN FOX
 
 
Penn Hills Library Juvenile Fiction CHILDREN FOX
Location  Penn Hills Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  CHILDREN FOX
 
 
Plum Community Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC FOX
Location  Plum Community Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FIC FOX
 
 
Robinson Library Middle Grade Section MG FIC FOX
Location  Robinson Library
 
Collection  Middle Grade Section
 
Call Number  MG FIC FOX
 
 
Springdale Free Public Library Juvenile Fiction JUV FOX
Location  Springdale Free Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  JUV FOX
 
 
Wilkinsburg Public Library Juvenile Fiction J FOX MYSTERY
Location  Wilkinsburg Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FOX MYSTERY
 
 
 
Unavailable (1)
Location Collection Status
CLP - Main Library Teen Department - Teen Fiction CHECKED OUT
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Teen Department - Teen Fiction
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 

Summary
Rookskill Castle has many secrets. Some you'll find. Some will find you.

Twelve-year-old Katherine Bateson believes in a logical explanation for everything. But even she can't make sense of the strange goings-on at Rookskill Castle, the drafty old Scottish castle-turned-school where she and her siblings have been sent to escape the London Blitz. What's making those mechanical shrieks at night? Why do the castle's wall seem to have a mind of their own? And who are the silent children who seem to haunt Rookskill's grounds?

Kat believes Lady Eleanor, who rules the castle, is harboring a Nazi spy. But when her classmates begin to vanish, one by one, Kat must face the truth about what the castle actually harbors - and what Lady Eleanor is - before it's too late.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "*Starred Review* Robbie is thrilled at the prospect of going to school in a Scottish castle, an escape from London's Blitz during WWII. His older sister, Katherine, takes a more measured view, suspicious of what lies ahead: their father plays an undercover role in MI6, Britain's intelligence service, and has trained Kat in his clock-repair business (You've a mind for patterns and a careful, patient hand). Kat's suspicions only increase when her great-aunt Margaret hands over her odd-looking chatelaine, an antique belt with charms attached each supposed to be suffused with magic should Kat need it. Sure enough, a dark and perilous challenge lies ahead, and Kat is destined to take it on, though the level of malice she faces may be greater than she expected. Lady Eleanor, ostensibly in charge of the castle and school, is a malevolent force straight out of horror tales, and the children will need to fight for their lives and souls. This wonderfully written gothic fairy tale pairs the horror elements with a steampunk witch and mysterious staff, all while telling a war-espionage tale. Embedded lessons even including Plato's cave allegory from a pair of sympathetic castle teachers provide clues to defeating the evil witch. Readers will curl up and keep the lights on with this chilling page-turner.--O'Malley, Anne Copyright 2016 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "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.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Magic -- Juvenile fiction.
Secrecy -- Juvenile fiction.
Castles -- Scotland -- Juvenile fiction.
Brothers and sisters -- Juvenile fiction.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Juvenile fiction.
Magic -- Fiction.
Secrets -- Fiction.
Castles -- Fiction.
Brothers and sisters -- Fiction.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Fiction.
Mystery and detective stories.
Scotland -- Juvenile fiction.
Scotland -- Fiction.
Detective and mystery fiction.
Publisher New York, New York :Viking,2016
Audience Ages 10 up.
Language English
Description 388 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
ISBN 9780451476333
0451476336
Other Classic View