Rose by Holly Webb (review)

In this first title of a series imported from England, young Rose (who believes she’s “about ten”) is excited to exchange St. Bridget’s Home for Abandoned Girls for a housemaid position at the house of wealthy alchemist Mr. Fountain. Her magical powers, however, are making it difficult to keep her head down and make a living, and her abilities strike a nerve with Mr. Fountain’s young apprentice, Freddie, who is clearly not as naturally gifted as Rose in the magical arts. Gradually, though, Freddie and Rose come together to figure out who’s behind a rash of children gone missing. The glamorous and frightening Miss Sparrow, who has her sights set on Mr. Fountain as a spouse, has apparently been trying to discover the secret of eternal life by drinking a magical concoction that includes the blood of the kidnapped children. Calling upon a “mist monster,” Freddie and Rose rescue the children and leave Miss Sparrow to the hungry monster’s devices, but Mr. Fountain’s tidy wrap-up of the situation reveals that she may not be completely gone after all. Webb pokes gentle fun at Victorian tropes here (“She knew no grand lady was going to sweep into the orphanage and claim her as a long-lost daughter”), and the plot offers both intrigue and adventure. Aside from Rose, however, the characters are fairly flat and predictable, and events whip by in order to tie the plot up before the end; the blood-sucking witch is also a rather jarring addition to what is otherwise a domestic historical fantasy. Still, kids who like a mix of magic and history with a dash of darkness (perhaps those not yet ready for Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy) may find this an entertaining read.