Bloggin' 'bout Books: Matthew J. Kirby

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Three Kids + Three Treasures = One Big Adventure

1:00 AM

(Image from Indiebound)

Three children. Three treasures. One big adventure.

Hannah, Frederick and Giuseppe are strangers living in the same city whose lives are about to converge. Each of the kids harbor a secret desire: Hannah hopes to cure her bedridden father, Frederick longs to make journeyman so he can open his own clockwork shop, and Giuse

ppe just wants to flee his cruel padrone and head back to Italy. They are impossible goals for a hotel maid, an apprentice, and a street musician, but when each of the kids finds a mysterious treasure, their goals actually seem achievable. Rumors of hidden money could mean the best doctors for Hannah's father; a valuable Magnus head could complete Frederick's automaton, a creation sure to earn him fame and fortune; and a magic violin is bringing in enough money to satisfy Giuseppe's employer as well as purchase a boat ticket. Only secrets never stay secret for very long - as desperate as the trio are to hold onto their gems, someone's even more determined to take them.

When, by chance, the kids meet, a fast friendship forms. As they share their stories, they realize that the only people they can really count on are each other. By working together they just might be able to solve the mysteries of their individual treasures, making all their dreams come true in the process. What seems simple, though, soon turns into a grand adventure, forcing the children into face-offs with everything from street thugs to a cougar to mechanical bodyguards. Getting the things they most desire won't be easy for the determined trio, it may even be impossible, but they have to try - for their families, themselves and each other.

The Clockwork Three, Matthew J. Kirby's exciting debut for middle graders, mixes a whole bunch of genres (historical fiction, fantasy, adventure, steampunk, etc.) to create a thrilling ride sure to capture the imaginations of readers of all ages. Empathetic characters, solid writing and an intriguing plotline make the story both compelling and moving. While the tale touches on dark subjects (poverty, child labor, kidnapping, and other issues common at the turn-of-the-century), it remains a hopeful, magical tale of children gathering the courage to change their own lives. The ending offers enough mystery for several books, which I sincerely hope are forthcoming. And soon.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a teensy bit of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Can you think of any others?)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for subject matter best suited for older children

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Clockwork Three from the generous folks at Scholastic. Thank you!

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)
25. To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
26. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (Feb)
27. A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
28. If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell (Feb)
29. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano [audio] (Feb)
30. Wool by Hugh Howey (Feb)
31. Shift by Hugh Howey (Feb)
32. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
33. The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan (Mar)
34. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (Mar)
35. Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber (Mar)
36. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Mar)
37. The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Mar)
38. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor [audio] (Mar)
39. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (Mar)
40. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (Mar)
41. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth* [audio] (Mar)
42. Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks With Monks and Amish Farmers helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker (Mar)
43. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (Mar)
44. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto* (Apr)
45. Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams (Apr)
46. The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (Apr)
47. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Apr)
48. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth [audio] (Apr)
49. That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Apr)
50. A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue (Apr)
51. The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Apr)
52. The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes (Apr)
53. Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Apr)
54. Murder Runs in the Family by Tamara Berry (Apr)
55. The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (Apr)
56. Petals and Poison by Jess Dylan [audio] (Apr)
57. It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson (Apr)
58. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* [re-read] (May)
59. Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (May)
60. You Are Here: Connecting Flights by various authors, edited by Ellen Oh (May)
61. The Silver Shooter by Erin Lindsey* (May)
62. The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry* (May)
63. The Secret Room by Jane Casey* (May)
64. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson (May)
65. The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson (May)
66. Girl Forgotten by April Henry (May)
67. One Sharp Stitch by Allie Pleiter (May)
68. On Her Own Grounds: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles (May)
69. #FollowMe for Murder by Sarah E. Burr (May)
70. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware [re-read] (May)
71. Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman (May)
72. Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack (May)
73. The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller [audio] (May)
74. The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware (May)
75. I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang (May)
76. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower (May)
77. The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens (Jun)
78. The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (Jun)
79. Find Her by Ginger Reno (Jun)
80. Same Page by Elly Swartz (Jun)
81. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (Jun)
82. A Death at Seascape House by Emma Jameson (Jun)
83. Something Wilder by Christina Lauren (Jun)
84. Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian (Jun)
85. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict* (Jun)
86. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore [audio] (Jun)
87. The Town With No Mirrors by Christina Collins (Jun)
88. Clammed Up by Barbara Ross (Jun)
89. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness* [re-read] (Jun)
90. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery (Jun)
91. With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (Jun)
92. Murder Past Due by Miranda James (Jun)
93. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (Jun)
94. This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber [audio] (Jun)
95. The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia (Jun)
96. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin (Jun)
97. The Experiment by Rebecca Stead (Jun)
98. The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry (Jun)
99. The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa (Jun)
100. Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler (Jul)
101. The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (Jul)
102. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness* [re-read] (Jul)
103. The Death of Us by Lori Rader-Day (Jul)
104. You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego (Jul)
105. Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green (Jul)
106. A Berry Deadly Welcome by A.R. Winters (Jul)
107. The Beat I Drum by Dusti Bowling (Jul)
108. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton* (Jul)
109. The Women by Kristin Hannah [audio] (Jul)
110. The Ivory City by Emily Bain Murphy (Jul)
111. A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow (Jul)
112. No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack (Jul)
113. A Murder Most Fowl by Carmela Dutra (Jul)
114. Loon Cove Summer by Donna Galanti (Jul)
115. Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong* (Jul)
116. The Ripple Effect by Rebecca Caprara (Jul)
117. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Jul)
118. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Aug)
119. Death on Eat Street by J.J. Cook (Aug)
120. The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand* [audio] (Aug)
121. Heist Society by Ally Carter (Aug)
122. Evil Bones by Kathy Reichs* (Aug)
123. Six Weeks in Reno by Lucy H. Hedrick (Aug)
124. The Tontine Caper by Dianne K. Salerni (Aug)
125. I.R.L. by Jenny Goebel (Aug)
126. The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris [audio] (Aug)
127. Gluten for Punishment by Nancy J. Parra (Aug)
128. Curses, Boiled Again! by Shari Randall (Aug)
129. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (Aug)
130. The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows [audio] (Aug)
131. The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Aug)
132. The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly (Aug)
133. Betrayal in the Badlands by Dana Mentink (Aug)
134. Canter With a Killer by Amber Camp (Aug)
135. Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar (Aug)
136. Dominoes, Danzon, and Death by Raquel V. Reyes (Aug)
137. The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths* (Aug)

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Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)