by Mira Bartok
First published 2019
Number Thirteen has lived his entire life behind the walls of Miss Carbunkle's Home for Wayward and Misbegotten Creatures. The shy, one-eared fox boy knows only the harsh routine of the orphanage where groundlings like him face daily cruelty from their cunning headmistress. Everything changes when Trinket arrives, a spirited bird groundling who becomes his first real friend. She gives him something he never had: a true name, Arthur, after the legendary king. Together, Arthur and Trinket plot their escape from Miss Carbunkle's prison. They climb over the high walls and flee into a vast steampunk world filled with mechanical wonders and hidden dangers. Their journey leads Arthur toward his ultimate purpose as the Wonderling, the one destined to restore music to a world that has lost its song. This adventure story celebrates the power of friendship to transform the lonely into the brave.
Genres: fiction, adventure, fantasy, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, whimsical
Tropes: found-family, underdog
464 pages · Paperback · Candlewick Press