The Inventors at No. 8 by A. M. Morgen, 338 pages. Little Brown and Company 2018. $17.
Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
George Devonshire III has bad luck. Or so he thinks. The only person he has left in his life is Frobisher, his servant. Everyone else has died. When a thief attempts to steal his last valuable possession, a map with clues to a famous gemstone, he ends up at the home of Ada Byron and her flying machines. Then Frobisher is kidnapped and he can’t hide from the world any longer. Ada convinces him to go with her on a journey to Geneva and Venice to find the gemstone and rescue Frobisher.
Mechanical birds and a Victorian setting gives this book a steampunk vibe. Main characters George and Ada are highly entertaining. George is naïve and nervous, while Ada is smart and no-nonsense. The plot is somewhat clunky. It constantly changes direction with no satisfying resolution. In the end, you’ll wonder if the entire journey was a waste of time. Ada Byron is loosely based on the girl who becomes Ada Lovelace, first female computer programmer.
Valerie McEnroe, Media Specialist
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