Synopses & Reviews
When feisty Edie is sent to a remote school to spy on fragile Anastasia, she never imagines that they'll become best friends instead--and discover an ominous plot that puts both their lives in danger!
Through a series of strange coincidences, orphan Edie finds herself at Knight's Haddon, a stately boarding school for girls. But Edie is not just another student--under normal circumstances, she could never afford to go to boarding school. She's been sent to Knight's Haddon by her art-dealer uncle to investigate the disappearance of a precious crystal bird that belongs to his secretive client's daughter. Anastasia, a Russian royal, has a fragile disposition and a melodramatic bent--or so the headmistress and all the other girls say. Edie's assignment is not only to find the missing glass bird; it's to befriend the troubled blueblood and keep a watchful eye on her. When the two girls uncover a dangerous plot, how can they stop it? Inside the walls of the isolated estate, is there anyone they can trust?
Review
Praise for The Girl with the Glass Bird :
"This is an engrossing book, cleverly plotted and peopled by very real characters."-- The Scotsman (UK)
"[E]xciting and mysterious. There wasn't a moment where you didn't want to read on as the plot kept you captivated with its twists and turns [. . .] a good adventure-mystery book which will make you want to read it again and again and again!"-- Guardian Children's Books Website (UK)
"This is a rollicking romp of a novel [. . .] With a wonderfully spirited heroine, wickedly unpleasesant relatives; teachers with hidden pasts and a fine supporting cast of lacrosse-playing girls. Kerr's debut is impressive and strikes just the right tone."-- Daily Mail (UK)
Kerr’s suspenseful British-boarding-school mystery is full of secrets, murky characters, and psychological intrigue. Ever since 11-year-old Edie’s blind grandmother, who has cared for her following her parents’ death, was forced into a nursing home, Edie has been living miserably at Folly Farm with her nasty cousins. This changes when her unpleasant uncle, godfather to Russian princess Anastasia Stolonov, plants Edie at an old-fashioned, excessively strict boarding school for girls as an undercover spy to discover who is tormenting the princess. Is Anastasia paranoid? Or simply careless? It’s sharp-eyed Edie’s assignment to find out. Despite her uncle’s warning to avoid growing close to the princess, the girls quickly bond. With several fellow students and a trio of adults as plausible suspects, an ambiance of growing mistrust permeates the novel; it’s deepened by mounting questions about the nature of the headmistress’s connection to Edie’s late mother. Set among skirmishes on the lacrosse field, forbidden midnight feasts in dormitory rooms, play rehearsals, and tea outings, the story keeps readers puzzling past its riveting climax, all the way to its gratifying conclusion. Ages 8–12. (Mar.) -- Publisher's Weekly
After watching her vicious cousin kill her pet goldfish—and cook it!—orphan Edie is more than willing to be sent to a girls’ boarding school to act as a spy.
Anastasia, a wealthy Russian princess (but not the famous one), is either being ruthlessly harassed or she’s melodramatically creating a series of situations in which she appears to be the victim. Her father wants to know which, and embedding Edie at the school seems like the perfect way to find out. But the challenges are nearly insurmountable in this atmospheric mystery. Portentous clues abound, and Edie is forced to re-evaluate her first guess that an angry student is responsible for Anastasia’s woes. She becomes increasingly suspicious of staff members, and each adult’s actions begin to take on plausible second meanings. With no responsible person to trust, tension swiftly ratchets upward. A strong British flavor pervades the tale, but many American readers will be familiar with the language and ideas from other imports. The third-person narration effectively conveys both Edie’s spunky attitude and her sense of isolation; Anastasia is less well-developed, but leaving her a bit inscrutable serves to enhance the mystery. A secondary plotline that emerges—an uncertain connection between the headmistress and Edie’s mother—adds enticing red herrings.
A fine mystery that will keep readers engaged until the final, scary reveal—and leave them eager for the next volume in the series. (Mystery. 11-14) -- Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
ESME KERR lives between London and Oxford, where she studied history. She has three children, two dogs, three cats, and four goldfish.