posted on 24 Jun 2019

The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James

One of the great things about setting a story on a mythological planet somewhere in the universe at an unspecified date in the future is that you can just let your imagination run riot – literally anything goes. In the hands of an experienced author like Lauren James this must be like spending time in a sweet shop without parents around to tell you that too much sugar is bad for you.

Taking full advantage of the freedom from the tedious rules of reality, James creates a story full of impossible wonders – an alien academy for the elite of the universe, an android watchmaker, a pompous student Duke who eats algae and his classmate who will grow up to be a continent. And, rather beautifully, bicycle-riding butterflies.

Hugo, the android watchmaker, has become used to spending time on his own and loves his intricate job working on the academy campus but his world is turned upside down when one of the students, Duke Dorian Luther bursts into his shop and asks him to mend his broken time-travel watch. This should be a straightforward repair but when it transpires that the watch’s energy source has been stolen, it turns out to pose a whole other set of problems.

Soon it is clear that the energy source is being stolen from the watches of other students too and Hugo begins to suspect that there’s a more sinister plot afoot – could someone be planning to build a bomb?

At first Hugo had wanted nothing more than to return to workshop and get on with his orderly life but the longer he spends with other people the more he starts to understand just how much pleasure there is to be had from mixing and socialising – even if the mission he’s on is such a dangerous one. Duke Dorian turns out to be much more friendly than his first pompous appearance had promised and soon a real friendship blossoms between him and Hugo.

Together the two new friends discover that what lies behind the theft of the watch power packs is far more complicated than sabotage or bomb-making – and it’s a truth that will change the lives of both of them.

Obviously I’m not going to reveal the story’s secrets here because that would totally spoil the pleasure for you when you read it yourself. What I can tell you is that behind the fantasy and the surreal cast there is an important story about friendship and doing the right thing by others. It’s a book about the way we’ve all got talents that we sometimes don’t value or recognise and that others might ignore unless we find a way of using them.

Published by Barrington Stoke in their Super Readable series, the book is guided for readers over the age of 8 but older children will enjoy it too – especially if they have been reluctant readers.

 

Terry Potter

June 2019