Desperate to escape from his cruel master and make his way back to his home in Italy, Giuseppe is excited to find a green violin that brings in large amounts of money for him each day when he plays it on the streets. Saving most of his money for his passage, he hides the cash and the violin in an old tomb for a Mr. Stroop. Forced to work in a hotel as a maid after her father has a stroke and her mother is forced to stay home and care for the family, Hannah longs to be able to go back to school and move out of the tenement housing they live in. When her father gets seriously ill from a bedsore, Hannah begins a desperate search for the missing treasure of Mr. Stroop. Apprenticed to a clockmaker, Frederick was lucky enough to escape the orphanage life. He can’t, however, be nothing but curious about the mother he never knew. Curious to a fault and hoping to make journeyman, he begins saving scrap metal to make a clockwork man. All he needs is a head. When their paths meet and these three become friends, their plans for a better life back fire. Now Giuseppe is on the run for his life from his cruel master, Frederick has mysterious men from the Archer Museum after him for stealing their clockwork head, and Hannah is on the run from the police for theft and burglary at the hotel she was working in. Now the three’s only hope is to find the treasure. Will they succeed?
An amazing adventure filled with excitement, action, and friendship. The characters are well-developed. The plot is well-done and does a great job of holding the reader’s interest. Readers who like fantasy, adventure, and mystery will enjoy reading this book.
Review by Kira Moody, Olympus Jr. High School Community Friend
Rating: 5 Stars
Interest Level: Grades 5-9
Sample the first chapter
http://matthewjkirby.com/kirbside/
http://www.scholastic.com/clockworkthree/
The Clockwork Three
Written by Matthew J. Kirby
Scholastic
400 p.
Release Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 9780545203371
Excellent review! I really loved this book and also gave it five stars. The characters were real. The story was intricately woven. Looking forward to meeting Matthew J. Kirby at our librarian meeting. Hoping to find a way to have him visit the students at our school, too.