The Curio Collectors by Eloise Williams
Publication Date: 2nd March 2023
Genre: Historical Children’s Fiction
4.2 Stars
One Liner: Such a cute adventurous book
Digswell Water, 1896
Lily and Tom travel with Ma Hawker, collecting interesting items, displaying, and selling them to people for money. When Lily gets duped into buying a bag of useless items, she finds scrimshaw in it. Flora Meriweathe is desperate to find the missing scrimshaw to know more about her mother. However, someone else also wants this mysterious item and will go to any lengths to grab it. Can Lily and Tom help Flora in her quest?
The story comes in Lily’s first-person POV.
My Thoughts:
This is an adorable little story about 12-year-old Lily and her 10-year-old little brother Tom. Their characteristics are reversed. Lily is practical and handy with the tools, and Tom is a dreamer. I love Lily’s arc.
The story has adventure, mystery, danger, and intrigue but for the kiddos. This makes a cozy mystery for adults. Some may find it too mild and easily solved, but it should work well for the target audience (well, I think I can include myself in that category).
The book breaks stereotypes about women at varying levels. Be it Ma Hawker traveling alone with two kids or the other characters we meet towards the end, it puts women in assertive roles without making it preachy. At the same time, they aren’t flawless.
The illustrations are in black and white but very atmospheric. My favorite is the one in the graveyard. And, of course, I’m totally in love with Lily’s flowing tresses.
Being a short book, it packs quite a bit in less than 100 pages. While the beginning takes the time to set the stage and let readers meet the characters, the second half speeds by like a superfast train. This makes the climax a little rushed. The ending is perfect and can work as a lead for a sequel. I sure would love to read more adventures by the trio.
To summarize, The Curio Collectors is a lovely little book about the adventures of young nomadic travelers from the Victorian period. The theme is less common in fiction writing and makes a good choice for kids to learn more about a different era.
Thank you, NetGalley and Barrington Stoke, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TheCurioCollectors
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