Recommended for ages 8-12 years
A quirky, hilarious story with a touch of magic—and just the right amount of mayhem!
These are the memoirs of me, Holly Hopkinson, almost ten years old, and absolutely no boring adult stuff allowed, thank you very much.
So, here's the deal: my dad lost his job, which means the whole family has to leave London and move to the middle of nowhere. Total disaster, right? No Wi-Fi, the local kids are basically wild animals, and there’s animal poo everywhere. Ugh.
But then, for my birthday, my wonderfully strange aunt gives me a magic pocket watch. It’s no phone, but—plot twist—I can use it to hypnotize and control people. (I wasn’t thrilled at first, but now? SO MUCH FUN.) And it leads to some seriously surprising moments—including a visit from the QUEEN!
Maybe the countryside isn’t as terrible as I thought…