The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller

This is a delightful, deeply human novel about young Walter Lavender Jnr. Walter Jnr was born three days after his father Walter Snr had been reported missing over the sea whilst co-piloting a plane to Bombay. Walter Jnr was not a problem baby or child, he just never spoke until he was seven years old. This story is about Walter from the age 12.

Walter understood his communication disorder and how to deal with it. He learnt to say just what was necessary to get by and his mother Lucy encouraged him to write down important information. Walter also found he had a gift - he could find lost things. People were careless and lost the most important things, but Walter would listen to them and write down where they had been, when the article had been lost and go out and find it for them. All the time still looking for his lost father.

Lucy ran a bakery, cooking her own cakes from the kitchen at the back where she lived with Walter Jnr. The way Walter Jnr describes it makes you want to visit this magical bakery.

"There were rum-infused black and white penguin cookies that waddled and tipped over each other and competitive chestnut tortes that galloped across the display and trampled the molasses pecan cinnamon rolls, and there were desserts too - pumpkin five-spice ice-cream bombes that didn't melt until you ate them and wedges of salted butter country apple galette that trickled into your knotted muscles to relax them and towering squares of fizzy angel food cake that rendered you just a bit lighter and monogrammed petits fours that reminded you of the places you came from and lemon verbena chiffon cupcakes that freshened you up and chilled lychee puddings that slowed time and made you breathe deeper."

Lucy kept a special mysterious book in the shop window of the bakery. One day it goes missing and it is Walter Jnr's mission to find it. How hard can that be? After all he is the master of finding lost  things. When their landlord suddenly threatens to close the shop, it us up to Walter Jnr to find the missing book and save his mother's shop.

An excellent read, one that makes the reader smile and wonder.

Posted by Flaxmere Library Book Chat

Catalogue link: The Lustre of Lost Thing

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

“One stormy summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hair clips and jewellery, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something bigger; something she won’t talk about.” - Publisher's blurb.

I know that they say not to judge a book by its cover, but honestly, that’s how I pick half the books that end up on my ‘to be read’ pile. Knowing nothing about this book other than the fact that it had an intriguing title and a beautiful cover I grabbed it from the new books shelf and had to read it.

I’m glad I did because it is a beautifully written, diverse story about the difficulties of being a teenage girl, loss and heartbreak, all set in a well-developed world of magical realism.

Two different groups of teenagers find the spell book, and use it to try and bring back what they lost; a bracelet, a diary, a mother, virginity unwillingly given. But in order to find what is lost, they have to be prepared to lose something even more precious.

Moïra’s writing is very lyrical and easy to read. I got wrapped up in the magic and lost track of the world around me. Clues left through the story helped me to slowly piece it together, and while I did guess the ending, it wasn’t until towards the end that I finally got it.

A great read for those who love magic, mystery and YA.

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: Spellbook of the Lost and Found