Nine’s life with Pockets was giving me Oliver & Fagin vibes, but that quickly changes when she discovers a magic house with a colorful group of residents. I found the curse breaking to be interesting and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. I do wish Nine was nicer to Eric though, him sneaking her boiled sweets in an attempt to make her less sad/angry was very endearing. I’m hoping that Sparkes plans on telling readers who the skeleton in the closet is and why Flabberghast seems determined to not talk about it.

Overall a fun Middle Grade book about an orphan pickpocket finding a magical house under a curse.

Such a fun read! Middle grade books are so much fun, especially featuring orphans and a magical house. Highly recommended!

I absolutely love this book! From the moment I met Nine, I was hooked! All the characters throughout this book are so much fun and full of personality. The whole time I was reading this, I was imagining reading it aloud to my students. I know they would devour it just like I did!