The first of an occasional book review

The Truth about Verity Sparks

Susan Green. Walker books ISBN 978-1-921720-27-7

2011 paperback

My name is Verity Sparks and I've got itchy fingers. The Professor calls it telegativism. Sounds like a disease, doesn't it? But it's not. It's more like a talent. A gift. I've always had it, but I didn't know I had it until the summer of 1878. It happened the day I finished the yellow hat.

And so begins a rollicking adventure, written with great panache and humour. It's not easy to set your story in an historical setting but Susan Green has written with sensitivity about the plight of the working class in London of 1878- how does an orphan find work and keep employed when an unjust accusation of theft is engineered?

But thanks to Verity's unusual itchy fingers, she is able to find lost items and eventually solve the mystery of her foundling status. Along the way, she is befriended by the Plush family who are Investigators in a Confidential Inquiry Agency- Professor Plush wants to experiment with Verity's unique talent and this again calls on the nineteenth century's fascination with the supernatural and science.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book- the pace, skill and intrigue kept me page turning right to the end.

A highly recommended read for years 5 upwards.