"She was right by the water, exactly where they had seen his own mother in shadow, throwing in the Jewels ... Bo had her back to him, facing the river with her arms stretched out. And just like Billy's mother, she had the Eclipsing Moon in one hand, and the Brightest Sun in the other."
Bo Delafort is a river girl. She lives near the Thames and she and her family hunt through the debris washed up by the river hoping to find treasures. Yes this is mudlarking. And as this story opens Bo has found a real treasure. Something so valuable her family could possibly be rich way beyond their wildest dreams but Bo has no intention of selling this moon jewel. The river has spoken to Bo and given her a vision which seems to be part of a bigger story about this object. On the day she finds one part of the Jewels of the Eclipse she also meets a boy. Bo lives on the south side of the river and Billy lives on the north side. Astute readers might notice some odd things about Billy (I only made these discoveries later) but Bo feels a connection to Billy and so she eventually shares her treasure.
Meanwhile up in the big house where Billy works in the kitchen the owner Dr Frederick Muncaster is in a rage. He is desperate to find the two jewels - moon and sun - because with these he can restore his family fortunes. He scoffs at the story that there is a magical ballad that can release the power of these stones but it is that promise of power that keeps you turning the pages because this power can bring a dead loved one back to life. Billy wants to be reunited with his dead mother. Bo has just watched her loved brother march off to be a solider in World War II and now the family learn he has died but what about the mysterious Miss Alice Cressant. She has arrived as the new teacher at school and she seems to be taking a special interest in young Bo. Muncaster also has a strange lady in his life - her name is Avery Charbonnier. Billy is suspicious of her but not for any of the reasons we discover later.
Publisher blurb: For the people who live on the banks of the Thames, the river is a living, breathing thing. It can take your treasures. It can hide your treasures. And, sometimes, it can give them back. Bo and Billy are two children who have never met. Billy is an orphan. Bo's dad died when she was small and now her brother is off to war. Both children are poor, but they have each found half of a priceless treasure, given up by the river. A treasure which – when the pieces are reunited – holds the power to give back to one of them the most precious thing they have ever lost. But should the treasure be put back together again? And why has the river given it up now?
I often read two even three books at the same time. I kept Hidden Treasure beside my bed this week and so it has taken me quite a long time to finish this book but I did enjoy taking 'small bites' of the story rather than bingeing the whole thing in one or two sessions. Last night I read the final 50 pages and the action just raced along because we had reached the all-important night of the eclipse which Jessie Burton beautifully links with the night World War I ends. As an adult reader I knew it would be impossible to bring back someone who has died but I did not predict the way Jessie Burton resolved her gripping story.
We keep reading about the ballad the Bo needs so I was pleased to see the whole piece quoted at the back of the book. Here is an important fragment:
O Billy River, you'll never be alone!
O Billy River, I'm letting you fly home!
O Billy River, you just wait and see,
I am the River Girl and I've come to set you free!
Here are a couple of examples of the way Jessie Burton describes a character or a scene:
"The man before her was in his late thirties, as tall and broad as a prizefighter and dressed in a brown that suit that her mother would have marvelled at for the fineness of its cut. But despite its quality, Bo noticed it was worn out at the edges. The sky-blue silk tie at his neck was faded, and so was the whiteness of his shirt. ... And beneath the brim of his bowler hat, piercing her with a stare, was a pair of sinister emerald eyes."
"With a huge key he retrieved from his pocket, Kimble unlocked and pushed open a heavy door. It opened on to a small room, with a large table in the middle, upon which were two pairs of soft white cotton gloves. The room was lit b three weak electric lights screwed to the walls. It was bare, apart from the table and a bookshelf on the far wall, about eight shelves high from floor to ceiling, crammed with leather bound volumes of various thicknesses."
The reviewer at Kids' Book Review loved Hidden Treasure but I found it odd that they suggested 12+. I think mature readers with good reading stamina aged 11+ are sure to enjoy Hidden Treasure.
A piece of ambitious storytelling, it successfully conveys the awful grief of loss, the feeling of the temptation to bring a dead loved one back, even as a ghost, is genuine. All that is wrapped up in a fast-moving adventure with child friendly central characters and baddies who really are very bad and come to a suitably unhappy ending. There’s a dramatic climax but there are twists and surprises throughout, treasures to keep readers turning the pages. Books for Keeps
There is a fierceness to Bo that makes her compelling, an irreverent heedlessness and insatiable curiosity that leads her to plough on regardless of obstacles, a trait that does her both great credit and great harm. In Billy, we find a quieter, sadder, more reserved character, one who is more worldly wise, and the pair of them make an excellent contrast. Wet Broken Things
Better Reading list three reasons to read Hidden Treasure:
- Bo and Billy feel like real kids and their journeys will make your heart ache, then soar with joy. Billy is an orphan and Bo’s family has already faced so many losses. But these two heroes are brave, kind and determined to do what’s right, no matter what. You’ll root for them from the very first page as their friendship and growth is as powerful as the treasure they’re chasing!
- If you love books with rich, detailed worlds and stories that keep you on the edge of your seat, Hidden Treasure is perfect for you. Think exciting quests, magical realism and characters you won’t forget, just like the adventures in books by authors like Philip Pullman and Katherine Rundell. You’re about to get swept up in a new classic!
- Every page is full of surprises. When Bo and Billy find the treasure pieces, things get complicated. Should they put it back together or is it too dangerous? Could it lead to something more powerful? Every twist makes the story more thrilling, and by the end, you’ll be left thinking about it long after the last page.
Jessie Burton is an author whose books include adult bestsellers The Miniaturist, The Muse, The Confession and The House of Fortune, and a previous novel for young readers, The Restless Girls, which is being adapted for a musical.
Reviewer mention Ruby in the Smoke (Philip Pullman) as a book to read after Hidden Treasure. It is many decades since I read Ruby in the Smoke, but I do remember the opening scenes were fantastic. Here is an Australian companion book:
