This was a very magical story set in Georgian England! I found the characters to be very likable! I also thought it had humor, action, and adventure! Thus, this novel will be sure to appeal to middle school readers! I recommend this for fans of Gail Carson Levine, Jane Yolen, and Rebecca Roanhorse!

What a delightfully magical book! I read this in one sitting and was really hooked into Cordelia's world.

What you can expect:
*A fast-paced middle grade adventure that's fun for all ages
*An inventive magical system
*A Georgian London setting
*A story full of twists and turns
*Healthy and loving family dynamics
*A genuine setup to continue Cordelia's story

I'm so excited that this book is getting a sequel. I can't wait to see what Cordelia discovers. Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was an absolutely adorable character driven middle grade novel. I love reading debut novels to see how the author grow as their novels continue. This was a magical tale that will be a great addition to middle grade shelves.

I absolutely love this world building and these characters! Magic was throughout these pages and I am so looking forward to reading more from this lovely author!

This book reminded me of why I loved middle grade/YA adventure reads so much growing up. Being completely swept into an adventure, magic all around, and the feeling that you can do anything - there’s no problem too big for these young heroes to conquer. I loved everything about this book! It was funny and fun with an exciting plot and engaging characters. I loved the concept of the magical Makers of historic London and Cordelia was such a wonderful strong, bold, compassionate heroine to lead us through this magical adventure! I loved the nods throughout challenging gender and sexuality stereotypes. I think this is a fantastic book for middle grade readers but people of any age will absolutely enjoy it!

Thank you to Norton Young Readers & NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fun story with adventure and magic!
Cordelia’s family are the Hatmakers – they make hats imbued with magic to help the wearer sleep, be brave, hold peace talks – whatever is needed.
The Hatmakers has the hallmarks of any middle-grade book: quirky characters, a deceased parent, strong friendships, and standing up for what’s right. It’s still a unique and fun story, and the magic system is so interesting. I’d love to see even more exploration of that in more books!
I’ll definitely be adding The Hatmakers to the library’s collection!

I'm a bit late with my review but I needed to say that I loved this book! The world-building is terrific and the whole book teems with magic that both kids and adults will enjoy. If you like spunky kid protagonists you're going to love Cordelia. I do hope Merchant will continue this enchanting world in a sequel.

Not exactly a book I loved maybe it’s because for me it was just a bit of a slower read & it was hard for me to keep interested in it. It was just ok maybe a younger audience would enjoy this lots than myself.

What a fun read! I found this middle grade to be unique and creative. I thought the descriptions and story were often quirky, sometimes silly, and it made me laugh a few times. There wasn't as much heart as I like in my middle grade, but it was definitely fun. I can see kids really enjoying this book, but it wasn't a new favorite for me.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

A wonderfully magical story! Cordelia is a spunky, family loving, brave, sees the best in people type girl. She wants nothing more than to learn her family’s craft. The story is full of Magic, adventure, and friendship. Sometimes the best lessons are learned when doing the right thing.

The Hatmakers
By Tamzin Merchant
3 ½ stars


This is a middle grade fantasy set in England, we follow a young girl named Cordelia Hatmaker. After a terrible storm the Hatmaker family learns that Cordelia’s father was lost at sea just as he was entering the bay to his home port. However, while everyone else is mourning Cordelia is in denial and decides to search for and rescue her father. But the search and rescue mission must be put on hold because France and England may be going to war soon and the King is not in his right mind so it is up to the Princess and all the Makers to prevent a war from breaking out. As if things were not already complicated enough someone seems to be making all the magical clothes in the city misbehave, Cordelia and her friends certainly had their hands full.

This book was everything a middle grade book should be, it was whimsical, silly and full of magic. It definitely brightened my mood during the bleak winter months. I enjoyed it quite a bit and am interested to see if there will be a sequel. As I said above I read this months ago so I am not sure why I only gave it 3 ½ stars, now I would lean towards 4 stars as I do have quite a few fond memories about it. If you have or know a middle grade child who enjoys fantasy or just silly books in general I think this is definitely worth the read.

This was a really fun and cute middle grade adventure. Things I enjoyed about it were the descriptions of the hats and how they were made. The funny things happening in the book were quite funny and I enjoyed them. Things that didn’t work for me were the main character, I felt that she was reckless and a bit too big for her britches. Some of the things she did didn’t make sense and caused more issues for her. I also didn’t like how long it took for some good action to happen. It took until well more than halfway for me to really be turning the pages. I did like the ending, but not sure if I will pick up the next book as it ended in a way that indicates there will be a follow up.

Overall, it was really cute, but not the best middle grade I’ve read.

First I'd like to thank Netgalley for the EArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So much fun! I never knew so much went in to making a hat! The extended family in the guild, the mystery, the adventure, the ingredients! It was all so fantastic! The characters were wonderful and so well developed. We knew how each one was going to react when something happened. The location was perfect, as England has the history of guilds and their secretiveness.

I loved what happened when our evildoer messes with the creations to use them for evil. The silliness, but also realizing that people do come under control of others and don't realize it.

And best of all.... our two young heroes who work together against the odds to make things right.

I look forward to sharing this with my young friends who come into the library.

“Keep wildness in your wits and magic in your fingertips!”

Cordelia Hatmaker is a member of one of the 5 maker families whose job is to make clothes for the royal family of of England. The story starts with the Hatmaker family receiving devastating news…Prospero Hatmaker, Cordelia’s father, has been lost at sea. While the family mourns his lost Cordelia comes up with a plan to find her father because he can’t be gone, he is only lost at sea. Before she can go forward with her plan the Hatmaker family as well as the other makers (glove, boot, cloak, watch) are tasked to make peace clothes for the royal family to help with the growing threat of war between France. But in the shadow a villain is lurking and is goal is to stop the makers from succeeding.

This book was so much fun to read! The magic is great and I loved reading about all the different kinds of hat ingredient and what they’re used for in hat making. This book is fun and at time a little how silly and you can’t help but laugh. I really loved Cordelia and how she never backed down when things got tough. Her friendship with Goose Bookmaker is one of favorite parts of the book. I really enjoyed the authors writing style and I am so looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy of this book!

*I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Children deserve to have high quality material to read, and I think that The Hatmakers fits that bill. Charming and delightful, this novel was quite a joy to read. The characters were well developed, the setting was charming, and I genuinely cannot find any qualms with this book.

My Thoughts
I couldn’t pass up a chance to read this book based on the synopsis and the beautiful cover art. Here are my pros and cons for The Hatmakers:

Pros
1. First, shout out to Paola Escobar who provided illustrations!
2. I loved the concept of creating hats to help (or hurt) the wearer! Thankfully, the Hatmakers were a family who were against doing anything bad to the wearers of their hats, so they focused on only providing helpful headwear!
3. The writing style was awesome. I was drawn in from the beginning and the story developed wonderfully!
4. The story is full of humor, intrigue, daring-do, deceit, grief, magic, and adventure! There is literally a bit of everything in this wonderful book!
5. The world-building was awesome. Yes, we are in London, but it is a magical London and it is so much fun.
Cordelia is a spunky, tenacious, smart, daring young female protagonist. I loved her!
6. Very satisfying ending.

Cons
1. I have one con, and I am nitpicking, but aside from Cordelia, I didn’t feel like the characters were very fleshed out. I personally wanted a little more substance for the secondary characters, but it didn’t impact my overall opinion of the book.

Summary
Apparently this book is the first in a series starring Cordelia Hatmaker and I cannot wait to read more about this spunky and smart young lady!

Written for reading ages 9 to 12 (grade level 3 to 7), although I honestly think teens and adults would enjoy this book, too!

Thank you NetGalley and Norton Young Readers for providing an ebook, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This charming story takes place in a magical version of England, where select Makers craft objects for the King and for sale that contain powers, such as courage, anger, and peacefulness. Things for Cordelia begin to go wrong when her father is lost at sea, and she is the only one who thinks he is still alive. As she plots to find him, the kingdom is in danger of war. Unfortunately, an old feud prevents the Makers from working together at the time they need it most. Will Cordelia and her BootMaker friend Goose be able to save the kingdom? This charming and clever story is full of imaginative twists and turns that keep the reader hooked.

I appreciate what Merchant has done here. We see so many books with magic that it can be difficult to find a unique take on the idea. By tying magic to clothing, to materials and the state of mind of the maker, we have both a clear set of rules and endless possibilities. We see actual results that differ from what was intended. I can get behind that structure. I'm less fond of the actual plot.The twists aren't always well tied together, so the plot can jump around a lot and feels a bit scattered. There are, perhaps, too many disparate elements. And the final resolution is heavily telegraphed in the first scenes, so there isn't much surprise there. With underdeveloped characters and a tone that creates a marked emotional distance from the reader, I found it less than compelling.

Thank you NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the digital advance reading copy of this book.

I thought this book was very interesting, I like the idea that people can make clothes with magical clothing items. These magical items can create feelings of peace, rage, love, or give you the confidence to conquer stage fright (I would buy that!).

I hope there is a second novel because I would love to find out what happens to the maker families in the next chapter of their lives.