Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2013
320 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
If ever a chill entered her soul, or the hope suddenly drained from her heart, she knew a bogle was to blame. Birdie McAdam, a ten-year-old orphan, is tougher than she looks. She's proud of her job as apprentice to Alfred the Bogler, a man who catches monsters for a living. Birdie lures the bogles out of their lairs with her sweet songs, and Alfred kills them before they kill her. On the mean streets of Victorian England, hunting bogles is actually less dangerous work than mudlarking for scraps along the vile river Thames. (See glossary!) Or so it seems - until the orphans of London start to disappear ...
"Starred Review. Jinks opens her projected trilogy in high style, offering a period melodrama replete with colorful characters, narrow squeaks and explosions of ectoplasmic goo." - Kirkus
"The well-paced story builds to an exciting climax as each bogle encounter raises the stakes and Birdie and Alfred face a decision that will change their lives. While this particular adventure is wrapped up nicely, readers will be delighted that the stage is set for future bogling exploits." - School Library Journal
"Starred Review. The tension-fueled plot moves forward on two tracks as Birdie and Alfred face increasingly perilous confrontations with a variety of monsters, and Miss Eames makes Birdie an irresistible offer...What will loyal Birdie do? Prepare to wait to find out - this installment is the first in a projected trilogy. Ages 9–12." - Publishers Weekly
This information about How to Catch a Bogle was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Catherine Jinks is the Australian author of more than thirty books for all ages. She has garnered many awards, including the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award (three times), the Victorian Premier's Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction. In 2014 A Very Unusual Pursuit won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers.
Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.
From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with...
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
