The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone

September 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-For 10 years, Bronte Mettlestone has led a perfectly happy life under the care of her Aunt Isabella and her butler while her parents, whom Bronte has never met, have been off on fabulous adventures. Until, that is, the day a telegram arrives announcing their untimely death at the hands of marauding pirates. In their will, Bronte's parents leave her a highly detailed set of instructions, sending her on a rollicking journey by herself across the Empires and Kingdoms to deliver very specific gifts to her father's 10 other sisters at very specific times. What's worse, the will has been enforced with faery cross-stitch, meaning Bronte must follow the instructions to the letter or risk her hometown of Gainsleigh being destroyed. As Bronte sets off, savvy readers will suspect that there may be more going on than she realizes. Along with a litany of (mostly) delightful aunts, Bronte encounters everything from water sprites to dragons to dark mages, culminating in revelations about her true family history. Bronte's world and the people inhabiting it sport a charming anachronism and poignant insight that are sure to delight fans of fantasy adventures like Catherynne Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Trenton Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society, while the story's clipping pace and well-constructed mysteries, which will leave readers guessing until the very end, make this an excellent recommendation for any fantasy fan. VERDICT This quirky and endearing adventure set in a captivating, off-beat world is an excellent purchase wherever fantasy circulates well.-Darla Salva Cruz, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2018
The stipulations of her parents' will send Bronte Mettlestone on a quest throughout Kingdoms and Empires.When Bronte is just 10, her aunt Isabelle, with whom she lives, receives word that her parents--off gallivanting since Bronte's birth--have been killed by pirates. Their will, bound with magic Faery cross-stitch, compels Bronte to deliver, in person, a gift to each of her other 10 aunts, spending at least three days with each one. She begins with Aunt Sue, who takes her to the elves' Festival of Matchstick, where Bronte saves a baby from drowning and wins the Elvish Medal of Bravery. Next, Bronte frees Aunt Emma from wrongful imprisonment regarding the theft of a water sprite's pepper grinder and saves the water sprite from death by drying. As her adventures go on, and on, Bronte learns more about the Whisperers, who spread Dark Magic from their kingdom, and the Spellbinders, who stopped it--and that she may have a closer relationship to all this magic than she knew. This is Moriarty's first foray into middle-grade fiction, and it turns out to be about five aunt adventures too many--the never-ending whimsy becomes cloying, and the story stalls. Readers struggle to keep so many characters straight, let alone care about any of them, and without emotional connection there's not enough incentive to keep reading. Most of the characters are described as light-skinned.Imaginative but not fully realized. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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November 5, 2018
At age 10, Bronte Mettlestone receives a telegram stating that her parents have been killed by pirates. She doesn’t remember them, however, having been raised by her loving Aunt Isabelle and the butler. In her parents’ will (bound by “faery cross-stitch”) is the stipulation that she travel alone and deliver gifts to her 10 aunts. If she fails, her hometown will be in trouble. Despite the danger of running into dark mages, she begins her quest, which reads like a string of dreams. While visiting Aunt Sue, Bronte is awarded the Elvish Medal for Bravery for rescuing a baby from the river. She then saves wrongly accused Aunt Emma (who’s been imprisoned for stealing a water sprite’s pepper grinder), rides dragons with Aunt Sophy, and the list goes on. Bronte’s voice is more chatty than charming, and readers may feel frustrated that Moriarty (A Tangle of Gold) reveals details of Bronte’s history and powers only toward the end, when it feels like an afterthought. Still, the back-to-back adventures make for a speedy plot that will keep readers turning the pages. Ages 8–12.

September 15, 2018
Grades 4-6 As an infant, Bronte was left in Aunt Isabelle's care by her mother and father, who have not been heard from since. Ten years later, Isabelle and Bronte receive word that pirates have killed her parents. Their eccentric will compels their daughter to make a solo journey to visit each of her other 10 aunts and deliver a different present to each one. Along the way, Bronte discovers her many aunts and cousins, several new friends, and a secret mission. Combining events such as the rescue of a baby floating downriver in a basket, meetings with water sprites, and an avalanche, Bronte's journey takes many unexpected twists and has consequences rippling out far beyond her extended family. A strong-minded girl who constantly struggles to do the right thing, Bronte makes a likable heroine and an amusing narrator who offers colorful characters, lively conversations, and insightful reflections. Her eventful story, seemingly as delicate as gossamer, yet strong as silk, is well structured and entertaining. An episodic, high-spirited tale of adventure and magic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from September 1, 2018
In this highly entertaining and brilliantly plotted fantasy, orphaned ten-year-old Bronte must embark alone on a multi-kingdom visit to her many aunts, a trip minutely scripted by the terms of her parents' will. In the course of her adventures Bronte rescues a baby from a raging river and earns a medal of bravery from elves; flies on a dragon's back; solves a mystery (with the help of a gleefully rule-breaking librarian) that proves the innocence of Aunt Emma and saves the life of a water sprite; protects a kingdom by playing her trumpet; and makes true friends and eludes murderous pirates on a cruise ship?to give just a sample of the variety and frequency of incident here. And, oh yes, she discovers that she is a Spellbinder (like Aunt Carrie, a.k.a. the powerful Carabella-the-Great); defeats the evil Whispering King with her newfound skills; and releases her parents?spoiler alert: not dead after all!?from the king's dungeons. With its storytelling aplomb, humor, imagination, and many twists and turns, this novel places Moriarty (the Colors of Madeleine YA trilogy, beginning with A Corner of White, rev. 5/13) firmly in Diana Wynne Jones territory. Readers will want to begin rereading this spellbinder just as soon as they finish it, to find all the clues and connections and coincidences Moriarty drops and weaves and reconciles throughout. martha v. Parravano

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2019
In this highly entertaining, brilliantly plotted fantasy, orphaned ten-year-old Bronte must embark alone on a multi-kingdom visit to her many aunts, a trip minutely scripted by the terms of her parents' will. With storytelling aplomb, humor, imagination, and many twists and turns, readers will want to begin rereading this spellbinder just as soon as they finish it, to find all the clues and connections and coincidences Moriarty drops throughout.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 17, 2017
As a baby, Bronte Mettlestone was left in the lobby of her Aunt Isabelle’s building by her parents, before they set off to have adventures. When she is 10, Bronte learns that her parents have been killed by pirates—but this is less important than learning that they have left a magical will requiring Bronte to journey alone to each of her 10 other aunts, all in different kingdoms. The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone is a whimsical romp full of extraordinary aunts, dragons, water sprites, kidnappings, spell-casters and delicious food. And while the story seems at first to be mostly froth, as it goes along it develops surprising depth. Even as she has daring adventures, the story doesn’t forget that Bronte is only 10 years old. Her relationships with her aunts, the other children she makes friends with and the parents she never knew have a lightly sketched but very human complexity. And the plot pulls together its many threads into a neat and satisfying climax. It will appeal to middle and upper primary readers who are happy to tackle long books as long as they have some pictures. Many fans of Jaclyn Moriarty’s YA novels will also be delighted by the sympathetic and quirky characters of Bronte’s extended family. Jarrah Moore is a primary literacy editor at Cengage Learning Australia