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In the city of Agora, anything can be bought and sold. Even children are possessions until their twelfth birthday. Mark has been sold by his father, and Lily, an orphan from birth, has bartered for her life. Thrown together by chance, in the ancient tower of Count Stelli, they face an existence of poverty and servitude, unless they can find a way to break free. But, unbeknown to Mark and Lily, they are being watched by the ruler of the city. Can they survive the traps and treachery that await them and discover the dark secret that binds them together? Their lives depend on this question: what is the Midnight Charter?
| ISBN | 014132371X | | Pages | 384 | | ISBN13 | 9780141323718
(What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 265 | | Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd | | Published in | London | | Imprint | Puffin Books | | Height (mm) | 198 | | Format | Paperback | | Width (mm) | 129 | | Publication date | 06 Aug 2009 | | Spine width (mm) | 23 | | DEWEY | 823.92 | | Academic level | Children (6-12) | | DEWEY edition | DC22 | | Interest age | from 9 to 11 |
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David Whitleys wonderful debut novel is a classic fantasy adventure in all the best senses. He has created an 18th century ideal - the insular city of Agora is a marketplace without money where only those who have something to trade can survive. But for those who have nothing, who become debtors, there is no charity, no welfare and the future is bleak. The story begins as the city reaches the time of its Golden Age and the secret prophecies of the Midnight Charter are about to be revealed. But a dangerous power struggle among the ruling class soon emerges and among all the scheming, plots and deceptions we meet Mark and Lily, two 12 year olds who are alone but for each other, and must survive with nothing but their wits. And as their stories unfold and they begin to learn how they can use their talents we discover that they are being watched, that dark forces are at work and somehow they are bound up in the whole future of their nation. A future that may not be so golden after all. The plot twists and turns as Marks and Lilys fortunes change, their paths diverge and cross again as the malign influence of The Midnight Charter seems to haunt their every move. Complex at times and occasionally demanding, as we are asked to think about what a society should be like, but Whitley has imagined a world so complete in all its detail, so sophisticated in its examination of morality and corruption in a closed society that we are carried along to a thrilling ending which leaves us eagerly awaiting book two. - Kathleen Jones Write a review
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