FICTION

Sealed with a Secret

by Lisa SCHROEDER
224p. Scholastic. May 2016. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780545907347.
COPY ISBN
Gr 4–7—Twelve-year-old Phoebe has a secret. While on an antiquing trip in Paris with her family in My Secret Guide to Paris, she discovered a beautiful antique compact. Phoebe has worked with her dad in his antiques shop since she was a little girl, and she suspects the compact might be valuable enough to help send her sister Alice to college. Things get a bit more complicated when Phoebe opens it and finds a World War II-era letter containing a mysterious spell to bring people closer together "in more ways than one." Following the steps of the spell leads Phoebe on a scavenger hunt around London. Schroeder is at her best when bringing the city of London to life and depicting the complex relationships between siblings.
VERDICT Though the dialogue can be a bit clunky at times, the pacing and setting development should satisfy young fans of Wendy Mass's "Willow Falls" series and other magic-laced middle grade romps.
Reviewed by Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
When twelve-year-old Brit Phoebe finds a WWII-era letter with a "spell" to bring two people closer, she hopes it'll fix her relationship with older sister Alice. The letter leads Phoebe to London's iconic locations, giving readers a breezy intro to British history. Though this companion to My Secret Guide to Paris is predictable, Schroeder deftly describes the growing pains siblings can experience.
 , May 01, 2016

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