Content report card
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London parent’s guide: what’s inside
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
This is a fantasy adventure set in alternate 1980s London where magical booksellers battle supernatural threats. While there is action and some peril, violence is not graphic and the tone remains adventure-focused rather than dark. The story emphasizes family, loyalty, and cooperation, with well-developed characters who model good judgment and growth. It's best suited for mid-to-older teens who enjoy fantasy worldbuilding and mysteries.
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From the publisher
A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a... A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.
Shelved under
- Young Adult Fiction
- Loveable Characters
- Diverse Characters
- Plot driven
- Not Diverse Characters
- Weak Character Development
- Strong Character Development
- A mix driven
- Unloveable Characters
- Character driven
- Adventurous
- mysterious
Books in the Left-Handed Booksellers of London series
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ISBN 9780062683250 · Katherine Tegen Books