Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski

[Originally published 2008, republished 2016, Revised and updated]

Petra's father, a skilled inventor, is honored to be commissioned by the prince to create a wondrous clock. However, when the prince has the inventor's eyes removed, it's up to Petra and her talking tin spider Astrophil to not only retrieve her father's eyes but stop the dangerous clock.

Why did it take me so long to read this book? It was a perfect blend of history and magic, marvels and discoveries. Petra was an intriguing mix of innocence and determination and her friends and enemies were a fascinating collection of characters. The mix of adventure, history, and magic is excellent. It's not quite a steampunk title, although it has elements of steampunk in the many metal inventions. It's not quite historical fiction, although it includes many legends and mentions of historical characters of Bohemia. It's not quite fantasy, but there's definitely magic involved.

Revisited: Although I booktalked this a great deal, loving it so much myself, it never really caught on. However, every time I start thinking about weeding it, it gets rediscovered and loved - so much so that I purchased the rest of the books in the trilogy (many years after their publication). It seems to appeal most to high-level readers in 4th and 5th grade and some of my homeschoolers who like fantasy in 6th-7th. The original edition is long out of print, but a new paperback edition was published and that is available in prebound format (I prefer the original cover myself).

Verdict: Highly recommended.

ISBN: 978-0374310264; Published August 2008 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Purchased for the library