Review Detail

Hopcraft's secrets fill this book with interesting twists and turns which I don't want to reveal! Let's just say that there is a talking bear rug, a shapeshifter, and time travel. In time honored British fashion, there's also a decent amount of tea being brewed, a helpful butler who cooks delicious meals, and a canopy bed.

There's a pleasant tension between Alfie's real life, which includes reigning in his single father, getting settled in his new community, and surviving at school, and the magical dilemmas. Alfie holds a very big secret, and the fate of magic in the world, as well as the castle, falls on his slim shoulders. While he has some help from Caspian and Orin, they are not always present, and more adept at giving him enigmatic clues than actual help.

In the grand tradition of L.M. Boston's The Children of Green Knowe and Lawrence's Withern Rise series, Hexbridge Castle gives us a plucky hero, a fascinating mystery, and a venerable house packed with comforts as well as conspiracies. Readers who have enjoyed Stroud's The Last Siege, Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden, or Bellair's The House with a Clock in Its Walls will enjoy this modern classic and be eager for a sequel.