Age Group: 9 - 12 Years, 12+ Years

Description:

In an alternate 1930s England, brilliant engineers can bring patchwork mechanical children to life, but a strict set of laws forbids them from ever giving these creations a soul. Christopher is the lucky one — a "proper" human boy, orphaned in a fire and working for the shifty, unlicensed engineer Mr Absalom. His best friends are mechanicals: the kindly Round Rob, the brave Jack, the gentle giant Gripper, and the lopsided Manda. Then a sudden accident reveals a shocking truth that turns Christopher's whole life upside down, and shadowy strangers snatch him away. Determined to save him, his ragtag mechanical companions set off on a perilous journey across a strange, soot-stained Britain, uncovering a long-buried secret along the way. A beautifully written, heart-stopping science-fiction adventure about friendship, identity, and what it really means to be human.