The Starspun Web

Gr 4-6–O’Hart’s latest fantasy thriller offers readers the plot-driven science fiction tale that her readers have come to expect. Orphan and young scientist Tess de Sousa explores multiple universes with her pet tarantula, Violet. Her journey begins when a stranger named Norton F. Cleat finds Tess at Ackerbee’s Home for Lost and Foundlings, the orphanage where she lives. Posing as a distant relative, Cleat takes her away to his home at Roedeer Lodge, where she begins to question his dangerous intentions, and his use of a mysterious device called a Star-Spinner. Tess soon learns that the Star-Spinner is a gateway between her own world and parallel universe where WWII rages in Dublin, Ireland. She also discovers that Norton F. Cleat plans to use her as a central component of a diabolical plan. With her brother Thomas and her friends from Ackerbee’s, she must stop a nefarious plot at all costs. Readers will find Tess a strong heroine, and likewise, secondary characters, including Miss Ackerbee and Tess’s orphan friends, Wilf and Millie, enhance the emotional impact of the journey. Overall, the text is accessible for middle graders and will keep fantasy fans engaged. The ending leaves the reader wanting more and leaves room for a sequel.