About This Book:
Nell is determined to find her beloved missing au pair in this vibrant adventure set in, and underneath, Paris.
Penelope Magnificent spends as little time as possible with her awful parents—a grocery-mogul father and a fashion-obsessed mother who loves expensive purses more than she does her daughter. But when they mention an important trip to Paris, Nell begs to come along. Paris holds something very dear to her: her old au pair Perrine—Pear—who lives there. Pear used to write to Nell every week, promising to come to her rescue, but recently the letters stopped. With the help of a savvy bellboy named Xavier, Nell sets out from her parents’ ultra-fancy Parisian hotel to find her beloved Pear. But Pear’s old neighbors and coworkers are strangely tight-lipped. And as Nell’s search for the truth takes her and Xavier to some of the darkest, most mysterious parts of the city, a sinister plot comes to light involving the destruction of a cherished—and delicious—part of Parisian life. Food, fashion, and intrigue abound in this delightful caper from the author of The Secret Starling.
*Review Contributed by Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
Time Travel to Roald Dahl’s London
As an older person, I could tell that the author didn’t actually live through this time period, although most of the historical details are good. At one point, the father is described as juggling three calculators while out and about; if there were personal calculators in 1969, they would have had to be plugged in, so this seems possible but not probable.
I enjoyed this one very much, and traveling to London during the 1960s was delightful. This was very similar to the work of David Walliams, so a good choice where British style of adventure and humor is popular. This might also be a good choice for readers who enjoyed Snicket’s The Series of Unfortunate Events.
