The Midwatch by Judith Rossell

"Good gravy. What is actually going on here?"

"Holy mackerel"

Getting kicked out of one orphanage and being sent to another is absolutely the best thing that could ever have happened to Maggie. Yes, I did say the 'best thing'. Sister Immaculata delivers Maggie Fishbone to The Midwatch Institute for Orphans, Runaways and Unwanted Girls. 

Maggie's first impression is that this is a thoroughly dreadful place. I have emphasised some of the words in these quotes to give you an idea about this place:

"The woman frowned, let them in, the closed the door behind them with a heavy thud."

"They were wearing long, grey hooded cloaks, and they walked silently past with their eyes down."

"The gloomy organ music echoed around the hallway. Maggie could feel the sadness seeping into her like a trickle of cold water."

"The woman opened the door into a large, shadowy room full of tables and chairs."

"At the far end of the room was a platform, where an extremely tall lady, as upright as a ruler, was playing the organ. She had a grim expression and a black eye-patch and she wore an old-fashioned black gown that reached to the ground."

You now have an impression of The Midwatch but I have to tell you that you are entirely mistaken. Maggie Fishbone, Nell Wozniak and Sofie Zarescu - the three new girls - are all in for a huge shock. All of those sights and sounds from the first scene are designed to trick the outside world and especially people like Sister Immaculata. 

What is really going on in this place? How are the activities connected with the night monster - a creature that has been attacking people in the Northside of the city.  Why do the girls need to learn codes, German, fencing and even stranger subjects like Hiding and Observing? Why has the librarian Dr Entwhistle been hurt and where is Miss Fenechurch? Surely she was just using the library for innocent plant research. 

Judith Rossell is so skilled at world building and she also knows how to write about delicious food.

"The hot chocolate was rich and delicious and quite different from the watery cocoa they sometimes had at the orphanage."

"Maggie hesitated, then took the closest cake, which was shaped like a frog. It was sweet and crumbly and filled with strawberry cream. She finished it in three slightly messy bites."

"Maggie was very hungry, despite all the cakes. They filled their plates with stew, mashed potatoes and green peas."

"On Sundays, there was no morning bell and no lessons, and there were hot cinnamon waffles with maple syrup for breakfast."

If you look at my labels for this post you will see Steampunk because the world of this book is somewhere in the past and perhaps set in a city a little like London or maybe New York (there are two lions outside the library), but this place also has some modern technology and of course airships like the one you can see on the cover. Here is another illustration:

I don't usually quote cover endorsements but I totally agree with Jaclyn Moriarty:

"A cracking concept, sensational characters and absolutely smashing pictures. The Midwatch is the cat's pyjamas."

I can't recommend The Midwatch highly enough. Pop it on your Christmas shopping list and your school library wish list. If your school library buys the Standing Order service from Scholastic, or the Lamont Standing order, or the standing order from Pegi Williams then you will already have a copy of The Midwatch. Why not take it home to read over the Christmas break - you are sure to thoroughly enjoy this clever, page-turning story. And I love the way the publisher Hardie Grant has produced this book as a scrumptious textured hardback.

I am certain The Midwatch will feature in our 2025 CBCA Younger Readers award lists - Notable title and Shortlist and it would not surprise me if this book is even the winner!

POST UPDATE - This book didn't make the CBCA short list - I am so shocked and desperately disappointed for Judith Rossell. Today (6th May, 2025) I saw this book has now arrived in the US. It has a new cover, amended title and a glowing STAR review from Kirkus:

Cinematic, amusing, and exciting: a slightly subversive, 

delightfully empowering, all-around winner.

Australian review comments:

The biggest children's book of the year! The Midwatch is the long-awaited new middle-grade novel from internationally bestselling author–illustrator Judith Rossell. Readings Melbourne

... even the women running the Midwatch have their secrets and connections that nobody really knows about. This is a fun novel, because it uses the girl detective trope well, and plays with it. It allows the girls to be brave and doing things that nobody expects them to do whilst finding ways to blend in with the society. ... This amazing book is one that has something for all readers who come to this book, and is magical for all ages. The Book Muse

This is a rollicking adventure and mystery that has surprises on every page. Judith Rossell has again created an amazing world that you will easily get lost in. Maggie and her classmates are smart, funny and full of life and the Institute has such brilliant classes! A fast-paced and thrilling story that is sure to be a firm favorite, as the girls prove that they are not to be underestimated, and that friendship and trust and determination can overcome even the most scary situations. I absolutely loved this book and it will suit curious minds, 10 years and older. Lamont Books

Companion books:

Cogheart

The Unadoptables

Sweet Adversity

The Runaways of Haddington Hall

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Crookhaven The School for Thieves

Here are other books by Judith Rossell - she also did the splendid art in her book and I am lucky to own a small piece from Withering-by-Sea.

Withering-by-Sea

Wormwood Mire

Wakestone Hall

A Garden of Lilies

Jed and the Junkyard War by Steven Bohls

Jed has been taught extreme survival skills by his parents and I do mean extreme. On the morning of his twelfth birthday he wakes up and his parents are gone. He finds some instructions about climbing through the back of the dishwasher. He must wear a strange watch and NEVER tell anyone his name.

Jed does climb though the dishwasher and he finds himself in a very strange world where everything is made from junk. His parents have told him to search for Grandpa Jenkins but Jed only has vague memories of this man. He finds himself on a wild pirate ship where food comes from tin cans. By lucky chance one of the things inside the pack his parents left for him, along with batteries and water, was a can opener. He uses his opener to prepare their first taste of hot food not just strange cold meals straight from the cans.

"The crew were supposed to take one whiff of the cooking food and suddenly realise how tragic their every meal had been up to that point. Probably too much to ask but they weren't supposed to be disgusted just by the preparation."

If you enjoy raw adventure stories with lashings of steampunk, and a little violence, I think you will really enjoy this dystopian story BUT I have a warning. Nothing is really resolved at the end so you will want to find the sequel. Oh and I should say the ending of this first book is going to utterly shock you. I would recommend this book for ages 11+.

I picked this book up from a major book chain because all kids books were 20% off. The book was published in 2016 and my copy has languished on the bookstore shelves since April 2019. The cover really appealed to me - do you like it?

Publisher blurb: Jed is a regular kid with a normal, loving family . . . that is, if it's normal for a loving family to drop their child off in the middle of nowhere and expect him home in time for Sunday dinner. Luckily, Jed excels at being a regular kid who-armed with wit and determination-can make his way out of any situation. At least until the morning of his twelfth birthday, when Jed wakes to discover his parents missing. Something is wrong. Really wrong. Jed just doesn't realize it's floating-city, violent-junk-storm, battling-metals, Frankensteined-scavengers kind of wrong. Yet. A cryptic list of instructions leads Jed into a mysterious world at war over . . . junk. Here, batteries and bottled water are currency, tremendously large things fall from the sky, and nothing is exactly what it seems. Resilient Jed, ready to escape this upside-down place, bargains his way onto a flying tugboat with a crew of misfit junkers. They set course to find Jed's family, but a soul-crushing revelation sends Jed spiraling out of control . . . perhaps for good.

A well-wrought debut with enough of a start on both the plot and worldbuilding to leave readers impatient for the follow-up. Kirkus

If you like Steampunk look for this series by Peter Bunzl. Spoiler alert - the ending of Cogheart resonates with the ending of Jed and the Junkyard war. 

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the great beyond by Alex English

Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond is the start of a dazzling new series featuring mechanical dragons, carnivorous plants, sky pirates and perhaps worst of all … pickled squibnuts! Read on if ye dare… Simon and Schuster

This book has all the ingredients for a rollicking plot and Alex English combines each element into a very satisfying and fast moving adventure.

Ingredients:

• Echo - An orphan living with the royal family - parentage unknown
• Golden Hairpin in the shape of a wolf with an emerald eye - an object owned by Echo and her only connection to her the mother who abandoned her when she was a baby
• An inscription on the hairpin Messrs Evergreen and Spruce, Port Tourbillon Where is this place?
• A prophesy that is an impossible riddle "When Tuesday arrives on a Sunday night ... "
• A Kingdom with strict rules - no one can leave this city. If they do they are sure to die out in the Barren. No one has ever returned.
• Horace - The Crown Prince, son of the King, a boy who likes butterflies but not adventures
• Maps - showing the world is much bigger than the children and citizens have been told
• The arrival of a stranger from the outside - now Echo along with Horace, need to find the truth, and hopefully rescue her mother
• Sky Pirates and Hot Air Balloons and elements of steam punk fiction
• Loyal friends

Blurb: Echo Quickthorn is an orphan and ward of the King of Lockfort She has grown up believing that nothing exists outside the kingdom’s walls and that adventures are taboo. No one in Lockfort looks like her or shares her dreams of exploring. Echo has always felt like maybe she belongs somewhere else, but how can she when all that exists beyond Lockfort is a barren wasteland?

But everything changes when an eccentric professor crash lands his airship outside her bedroom window in the dead of night, claiming to have come from another city and armed with a map of magical, unheard-of places that exist beyond the kingdom walls.

Is this the opportunity she’s been waiting for to go on the adventure of a lifetime? Echo must leave behind everything she knows to discover unimaginable places and finally discover the truth about her family…  LoveReading4Kids

Sky Pirates is due for publication on 5th August and an audio version will also be available. Echo Quickthorn and the great beyond is the first book in the Sky Pirates trilogy. The cover art is by Mark Chambers.

I would pair this book with these:

Seven Professors of the Far North

The Mapmakers Race

Authors of these books have highly praised Echo Quickthorn and the great beyond:

Skycircus by Peter Bunzl

Skycircus is book three in the Cogheart series. I will confess I often start series but rarely keep going. Clearly this is not true for the Cogheart books. They are wonderful. When I spied book three in a store late last year I didn't even look at the price sticker (who cares how much it cost I needed to read this book) and this week, with great anticipation, I dived back into the steampunk world of Lily, Robert, and their mechanical fox Malkin.  Here the four book in the series:

As the title suggests the friends end up at the circus but this is a sinister circus where the acts are hybrids - half human half machine. Lily is tricked into attending the Skycircus which is being held near her home. It is the night of her fourteenth birthday and she is in a bad mood because it seems her father is distracted with other matters and her birthday celebration has been overlooked. When a mysterious invitation arrives in a parcel Lily does not hesitate. She does not think about consequences. She does not smell a trap - but you will! She asks her friends Robert and Tolly and her mechanical fox Malkin to come too.

Here is the invitation:

This all seems okay BUT on the bottom is a message for Lily:

"This VIP ticket entitles Lily Hartman and three friends to visit us and receive answers. 
PS Angelique would like to meet you after the show."

Answers? Also included with this circus invitation Lily has been sent a diary written by her late mother. This is so wonderful because Lily's father doesn't talk about Grace since her death seven years ago.  There is a letter with the book and this is why, as a reader, I was yelling at Lily NOT to go to the circus.

"We have a simple question, and it's one that's not a trick:
Some us are wondering what it is that makes you tick?"

Lily has a cogheart - a mechanical heart. Her heart is supposed to be a secret. It somehow never needs winding and it will never stop - a perpetual motion machine. Others would love to know the secret that makes this device tick.

The three friends do go to the circus along with Malkin and YES it is a horrible trap and the plan by the circus boss Madame Lyons Mane is truly dreadful.

A rollicking adventure story helmed by a plucky, imperfect heroine, a diligent, caring friend, and a smart-aleck fox, skycircus embeds its rich steampunk europe with issues of body and identity that are relevant in the modern zeitgeist. Forewordreviews

This is a grand book with a plot as tense as tiptoeing the tightrope, and bold narration that shouts as loudly as the red and white stripes of the circus tent. Minerva Reads

An exceptional adventure, wonderfully told, this book is a complete joy from start to finish and i just can’t recommend it enough. Booklover Jo

Skycircus can stand alone but I highly recommend you do try to read the preceding books -  Cogheart and  Moonlocket  - The strength of this writing comes from the team work of the friends, the determination of Lily to help others and the way Peter Bunzl gives the reader hints which are rather like the background music you might hear in a movie or television program. Think of the music track that lets you know something bad is about to happen but you are powerless to prevent it. This book also made me think of The Greatest Showman - the movie.

Here are a few text quotes to give you an idea of this idea - one word or two can turn an simple sentence into something quite sinister:

"In the sky, the grey scudding clouds were rimmed with gold, like sweat-stains on the silk lining of an old hat."

"His ghostly face was white with powder. A black make-up snake squiggled round one eye and a painted teardrop fell from the other, making him look positively frightening."

"When she'd leaned in close to whisper, the aroma had cut through the sawdust and animals smells of the circus ring. It lingered like a memory Lily couldn't quite place, faint and out of reach."

"The grey murk descended again ... he shivered at the odd slimy feeling of it against his footpads."


In this video Peter talks about Skycircus. Click here to see the cover come to life!

Here are some books I would suggest you look for after reading Skycircus:

Circus of Thieves and the Raffle of Doom

Fizzlebert Stump the Boy who ran away from the Circus

The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen

Moonlocket by Peter Bunzl

Jack Door has broken out of prison. He is a dangerous criminal convicted of stealing the Blood Moon Diamond from Queen Victoria. Lily's friend Robert has no idea but his life is entwined with Jack. Once again we find Robert and Lily are chasing and being chased across London accompanied by Malkin - mechanical fox.

Moonlocket is the second book in the Cogheart Adventure series which began with Cogheart. There is just the right amount of recapping so Moonlocket can stand alone but most curious readers will surely want to discover more about Lily especially after reading the first sentences:

"In her short life Lily Hartman had come back from the dead not once, but twice. Neither time had been particularly pleasant."

I really enjoyed the first installment so I was keen to own book two and three. I now discover Peter Bunzl has just published the fourth installment - Shadowsea. This is a terrific series for Middle Grade readers with just the right amount of tension, heroes who make you cheer, baddies who make you hiss and wonderful loyal friends. At times the story feels like an old fashioned melodrama where the dastardly villain keeps appearing intent on capturing Robert and retrieving the precious diamond which has been missing for fifteen years.

Peter Bunzl has activities for each book on his web site. You can read a sample of the text here which begins with the prologue where Jack is escaping the prison.


You know it’s a “tockingly” good steampunk mystery when the dastardly escaped criminals who stole from Queen Victoria are somehow connected to the hero’s mysterious, long-lost mother. Kirkus

Drawing on wondrous details and strongly motivated characters, Moonlocket is a caper with heart. Foreword reviews

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

From the first page Peter Bunzl creates his alternate (Steampunk) world. Take at look at these text fragments:

"the silver airship"
"clockwork innards"
"the stench of burning has filled the fight deck"
"It's at least a day's journey from here, have you enough clicks?"

Clicks?  Wait a minute John Hartman is talking to a fox - isn't that surprising enough? Now we discover this fox is clockwork.

"Take your winder anyway.' John produced a tarnished key on a chain and hung it round the fox's neck, next to the pouch. 'Though heaven knows who'll wind you if I'm not here."

Malkin, the fox is now on the run. This was one of my favourite parts of this story. Malkin is carrying a message for John's daughter, Lily. This message is so urgent I think I almost held my breath through the first 160 pages of this book. Then tragedy strikes. Maklin is shot. He survives but the letter is badly damaged and almost impossible to read. Lily thinks her father is dead, she thinks Professor Silverfish can help her, and she knows she must hurry because some very evil men want to get their hands on her father's invention. Thank goodness she has two wonderful friends and of course Malkin to help her. This book is a wild ride with so many surprising twists.

Professor Hartman has made some remarkable mechs. I especially adore Mrs Rust - the housekeeper. She has a number replaceable hands perfect for every task - spatulas, spoons and a whisk for example. She also has such wonderful expressions and she adores Lily. Here are some of her funny expressions:

"Cogs and chronometers! My tiger-Lil's back!"

"Smokestacks and sprockets."

"Widgets and windscreen wipers."

"Stopwatches and spinning tops."

Peter Bunzl gives us wonderful descriptions of the evil men who are after Malkin and Lily and her friend Robert:

"A big fellow with ginger mutton-shop sideburns arrived carrying a steam-riffle. His body looked lumpen, like a sack of rocks He resembled a crusher ... his cheeks were as red as bulging blood sausages. But what made Robert gulp was the pair of silver mirrors screwed into the raw sockets of the man's eyes. Scars  emanated from them, criss-crossing his cheeks, and running up under the brim of his hat."

Cogheart is the first book in this series. I accidentally stumbled across a comment by Peter Bunzl about Steampunk which is a genre I really enjoy. His comment made me curious to read his books so I have begun with the first published in 2016 (it is actually Peter's first book) and I do hope to continue the series. You can see the three books above. I do like their covers and on the Cogheart website they have been animated. I hope we meet Mrs Rust in the next installment and perhaps gain further insights into the emotional sensibilities of the mechs created by the professor.


An extraordinary story, exceptionally written it truly is a future classic which will be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Book Lover Jo

You can read the prologue to Cogheart on the Usborne site. Peter Bunzl has some activities for each book on his website. Here is a set of discussion questions. Peter Bunzl answers five questions. Listen to Peter talk about his book on this podcast.

In an Australian classroom you might link this book with Mechanica and Aquatica. If you enjoy Cogheart, and I think you will,  I would recommend other Steampunk books such as Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel and also the wonderful book Tin by Padraig Kenny.

Here is a display by a class in a UK school where they develop the idea of Mechanimals - Malkin, the fox for example, is a mechanimal.

Tin by Padraig Kenny

Tin is about heart and soul, friendship, and mechanical strength – it’s about the future of machines and the inheritance of human loyalty. It’s also funny, adventurous, and loving.  Barry Cunningham Chicken House books in The Bookseller.

I really enjoy books where the author asks the reader to do some work, some thinking.  A book where the pieces of the plot puzzle are slowly revealed.  Where, as a reader I keep forming and re-forming theories about the characters, time period, and in this case, the political scene.

Enter the world of Tin.  There are mechanicals and propers.  Propers are human.  Mechanicals are mostly robots made by engineers and most look like children.  Engineers need a licence to operate and create mechanicals and there are strict laws.  It is forbidden to :

"confer life and sentience upon any raw material which conforms to the standard agreed dimensions of an adult or 'proper' human being."
"it is strictly forbidden to confer life upon a mechanical using the principals of refined propulsion, otherwise known as 'ensoulment."

As the story opens Mr Absalom, who seems to be a shady character, is striding through the town with Christopher and Jack.  It is clear Jack is a mechanical. 

"Snow was falling from the night sky, and all the world was cold and hushed except for the regular metallic squeaking of Jack's joints."

Christopher is a mystery. He shows emotion, he seems to be working for Absalom but it is Jack, not Christopher, who sabotages Absalom's plans. Absalom has other mechanicals in his yard -

Round Rob - Rob's head was always coming loose and  "the trunk of his body was made from an old cooking pot (and he) ... could be hired out for proper children to roll him down hills at festivals and fetes."

Manda "Her grin was a crooked as ever, and the brown curls on her head didn't sit quite right. Her left eye was larger than the right and her right leg was shorter than the left ... "

Gripper  "the largest standing over eight feet tall with a barrel chest that tapered at the waist. He had tree-trunk wide legs and great clod-hopping feet. His huge arms were a muscled collage of wires and rivets and piping - they ended in gigantic clawed hands ... "

Estelle - a young girl - human -  skilled in the application of skin.

Together these disparate and kind creatures form a team.  Christopher is in danger and it will take all their ingenuity to save him.

You can read more of the plot here but I would wait until you finish reading Tin as it does contain some spoilers. You can hear the author speaking about the themes in his book in this brief video. Here is a great idea - Waterstones have collected images of window displays from their shops in this Pinterest board.  I highly recommend Tin for mature primary students and junior high.

There have been so many items in the media lately about Artificial Intelligence AI - Tin shows a possible beginning for the machines which are now part of our world along with the hope for kindness and the triumph of good over evil. Click on these links to read more about the current debate.

• Irish Times
• QUARTZ
• Evening Standard

Each character is written tenderly, with exquisite details that are really immersive. The story sets out questions of war, morality and shows you how powerful friendship can be, with or without a human connection. Estellosaurus


It is tempting to hope that some movie studio is fighting to snap up film rights for this must-read YA novel, but would a movie spoil the book? Read Tin now before anyone else gets their hands on it. It is brilliant. John Millen Young Post City University of Hong Kong.

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander

Steampunk -

1. Science fiction set in an alternate version of the historic past, especially 19th-century England, and involving advanced technologies usually based on steam power.

I needed to begin this review with a definition of Steampunk because this might be a genre you have not yet encountered.  In our library we have some wonderful examples of this such as Howls moving castle, Mortal engines and Airborn by Kenneth Oppel.  I am a huge fan of these books.

Goblin Secrets has a very complex plot.  You must take your time and read this book carefully.  The author William Alexander does not always spell things out.  In some ways reading this book is like picking up pieces of torn paper. As you collect each fragment the you must try to reassemble the whole.  Tiny references near the beginning of this tale do fit  back together until the final dramatic scenes. This book demands patience but you will be rewarded.

While I was reading Goblin Secrets this week I stopped for a moment to find a review.  I discovered this book won the prestigious US National Book Award in 2012 but it is a book that also has critics. 

Early in the story it is easy to see this is going to be an interesting book.  

"Stubble said Graba used to be a sailor, or a boat witch, and that she'd lost her legs in a pirate attack ... Graba killed some pirates with a look and a laugh and a lock of her hair before they cut her legs off with rusty swords."  In the opening scene, Rownie is is summoned to oil the witch's mechanical legs.  "She extended a gearwork leg from under her stool.  It was bird-shaped, with three long talon-toes in from and one in back, at the heel.  The whole limb had been made out of cooper and wood."

Rownie is sent to buy more oil but as he runs through the winding streets of Southside he sees poster advertising a play.  This is astonishing because goblins are putting on the play and because all plays have been banned and because Rownie knows his brother Rowan was a performer and these goblins might know where to find him.  Joining the goblins Rownie has so much to discover about his city. The flood is coming but how will a small orphan stop this catastrophe?

Here is a very detailed review - well worth reading after you have read Goblin Secrets first.  After reading Goblin secrets you might also enjoy The Thief Lord, The invention of Hugo Cabret and The Magician's Elephant.

I am adding the alternate cover below - which do you prefer?

Alexander’s world, blending steampunk and witchy magic, is impressively convincing and evocative in its oddities. Though highly textured, it’s tightly woven and reassuringly seamless.