The Left-Handed Fate

by Kate Milford (Author) Eliza Wheeler (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

From Kate Milford, the bestselling author of National Book Award nominee Greenglass House, comes another magical, middle-grade adventure, The Left-Handed Fate.

Lucy Bluecrowne and Maxwell Ault are on a mission: find the three pieces of a strange and arcane engine. They're not exactly sure what this machine does, but they have it on good authority that it will stop the war that's raging between their home country of England and Napoleon Bonaparte's France. Despite being followed by mysterious men dressed all in black, they're well on their way to finding everything they need when their ship, the famous Left-Handed Fate, is taken by the Americans.

And not just any Americans. The Fate (and with it, Lucy and Max) are put under the command of Oliver Dexter, who's only just turned twelve.

But Lucy and Max aren't the only ones trying to put the engine together, and if the pieces fall into the wrong hands, it could prove disastrous. Oliver is faced with a choice: help Lucy and Max and become a traitor to his country? Or follow orders and risk endangering that same country and many others at the same time--not to mention his friends?

This world has a seductive, fairytale quality--Patrick O'Brian's Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. . . It's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery. --The New York Times Book Review

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ALA/Booklist

The story teems with lively characters and a captivating sense of place, all driven along by the engrossing puzzle of the mysterious contraption. . . . A colorful, swashbuckling caper full of heart.

Kirkus

Starred Review
Rich and strange of place and premise; suspenseful and thought-provoking.

Hornbook

The idea of achieving peace through superior firepower is effectively questioned over the course of the narrative, but it is the human questions of honor, courage, and generosity--embodied in decisive Lucy, philosophical Max, impish Liao, and dutiful Oliver--that will leave readers cheering by the book's rousing close.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8—Navigating the dangers, depths, and shifting alliances of the high seas is always a tricky affair. Because Lucy Bluecrowne, Maxwell Ault, and Oliver Dexter (pirate's daughter, aspiring natural philosopher, and midshipman-turned-acting prize captain, respectively) are barely teenagers, what might have been merely tricky turns into an undertaking of epic proportions. With settings ranging from the tumultuous Baltimore harbor to the magical fictional port of Nagspeake, this sequel to Milford's Bluecrowne follows the quest for a mysterious ancient engine, a weapon that could perhaps put an end to war. Beautifully written, with careful attention to historical details, the story balances steampunk elements, mythology, and action with plenty of passion, jam, and jokes. The surprising conclusion will astonish and satisfy, despite more than one deus ex machina. Wheeler's textured illustrations add movement and lucidity, making the denser and more difficult to visualize elements of the plot accessible. VERDICT An unusually rigorous romp for lovers of steampunk, mystery, and swashbuckling adventure.—Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"This world has a seductive, fairytale quality—Patrick O'Brian's Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. . . It's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery." —The New York Times Book Review


Kate Milford

Kate Milford is the author of the novels The Broken Lands and The Boneshaker, as well as the crowdfunded novella The Kairos Mechanism. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit the tourism website of fictional Nagspeake (where Greenglass House is located) at www.nagspeake.com and Kate's personal website at www.clockworkfoundry.com.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780805098006
Lexile Measure
810
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Square Fish
Publication date
August 20, 2016
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
Library of Congress categories
-

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