The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen by Deborah Abela

 

This is the second time I have read this book and the second time I have talked about it here on my blog. After I read Deborah Abela's latest book - The Book of Wondrous Possibilities -  I had my eye out for The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen which I read back in 2010. By chance I spied a copy at a recent charity book sale and it was only $2. I am happy to say, though, this book is still in print so you can buy a copy for yourself, your reading companion and your school library. It may already be there because it was a CBCA Notable in 2010.

I suggest you begin by reading my previous post. In this new post I am just going to quote some of the text to give you a flavour of this wonderful rich writing:

Lucien B Crook (the aptly named villian): "His black hair was waxed into a neatly coiffed wave and sat obediently beneath a stiff hat. He stood tall. Some might have described him as good-looking. His trim face was cleanly shaven except for a pencil-thin moustache drawing a neat line beneath his tapered nose."

Take a minute to think about the word choices used here by Deborah Abela: coiffed, obediently, stiff, pencil-thin, tapered nose. 

Mrs Sneed (teacher) : "was a tall, colourless woman, except for the splatter of red paint now on her dress, parts of her face and tightly wound hair. Even her silhouette was harsh, a collection of strict and measured lines. She likes maths not children."

The opening sentence of this book is brilliant: "The girl lay in her coffin with a faint smile on her powder-white face. She had been carefully laid out. Gentle hands smoothed down her white silk dress,k combed her soft curls and brushed on her make-up so that her cheeks look like two faintly pink cherry blossoms."

Mayor Finnigus Bog "wasn't a thin man and, in point of fact, he'd been called, in not-so-polite circles, pudgy, rotund, even chubby. Some say he was worn into shortness by the controlling nature of his wife. Others said it was because his pockets were heavy from the weight of too much money."

This is a story that will quickly become a family favourite. Kids' Book Review

This is a wonderful book and Abela herself is the real magician. Sandy Fussell