A girl, a boy, and a mechanical fox go on the run in this steampunk adventure. When Lily's father, a reclusive inventor of mechanical people ("mechanicals") and animals ("mechanimals"), goes missing, Lily is thrown into danger. Two mirror-eyed men are after something Papa invented, and they have brutal methods of getting what they want. Together with Malkin, a mechanimal fox, and Robert, the sensitive but brave clockmaker's son, Lily runs away from the men and closer to the secret of her father's invention. Though peppered with death and torture, the action-packed plot doesn't allow the reader to dwell in darkness for long, lest they miss the next airship chase or narrow escape. The mystery of Papa's invention is well done, and the steampunk descriptions of nineteenth-century London are familiar but engaging nonetheless. This is the first of a trilogy, and Bunzl leaves plenty of questions for future installments, such as the fate of mechanicals, whom Lily sees as fully human but whom are often treated as mere machines. An exciting, fast-paced adventure.

A new steampunk trilogy introduces dastardly villains, friendly mechanicals, and thrilling airship action.Robert and Lily, both 13, wouldn't normally have encountered each other in 1896 England. Lily's the only nice girl at a nasty finishing school where all the other students and teachers are dreadful and mistreat their mechs. When her father's airship crashes in a mysterious accident, Lily's fetched from school by her family housekeeper. But as any astute reader trained on the likes of Roald Dahl will know, an orphan can't trust her old housekeeper, especially when she covers her face with a black veil, speaks with an unplaceable "foreign" accent, and has been maltreating the family mechs. Robert's the son of the local clockmaker, eager to help Lily with her quest. But two terrifying baddies with mirrors for eyes are after them both, and it will take all the airship adventure and steam power they can muster to succeed. What dark family secrets was Lily's dad hiding? Surely his old friend, with the totally trustworthy name of Professor Silverfish, will know more about the important clockwork research. The plot gleefully deploys genre tropes while puzzles lead to a CGI-ready series of climactic escapes. "Cogs and chronometers," cry the mechs, and "crankshafts and carburetors"! The human (and humanlike) cast members all present white.Treads familiar ground but with hair-raising and cinematic charm. (map, glossary) (Steampunk. 10-12)

The fantastically imaginative opener to Bunzl-s Cogheart Adventures series is a steampunk story with faint echoes of The Little Princess. Victorian-era Lily is always in trouble at the boarding school she attends; she-d rather be an air pirate than a proper young woman, and it shows in her adventurous spirit and appreciation of penny dreadfuls. Thanks to her father-s example, Lily has love and compassion for the seemingly sentient mechanicals that are used as servants. When her father mysteriously goes missing and Lily is removed from school by her evil guardian, Madame Verdigris, she must uncover her father-s secret, protect it, and find him. Enter Robert, a 13-year-old clockmaker-s apprentice. He-s drawn to Lily after he finds her pet mechanical fox, which has been injured. Together, they embark on a journey through an England filled with dirigibles, mechanical beings, and a darkness of spirit that neither knew existed. With great style and panache, the novel deftly winds through the intricacies of friendship and moral choice while maintaining a fun edge. Ages 8-12. Agent: Katelyn Detweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary. (Feb.)