Description
A French village, new friends, fabulous food, a local mystery to be solved and . . . a ghost.
She snaps the locket shut. Just as quickly as he appeared, the boy is gone. Josephine's heart is hammering. Her skin feels prickly and hot. Surely, she's imagined him. That's the only possible explanation. Because boys don't live in lockets. Not unless they're ghosts. And ghosts aren't real. Or are they?
When almost-thirteen-year-old Josephine Eloise Thomas moves from Sydney to a chateau in the southwest of France, she expects many things - adventures, inspiration for the stories she loves to write and maybe finding out more about her French mother, who tragically died when she was a toddler. What she doesn't expect is to find a beautiful gold locket with the ghost of Louis XVII trapped inside!
After being accidentally released into the twenty-first century, the young prince proves to be annoying, strange and obviously from another time. He also believes that Josephine is not who she says she is.
Then, there's Gabriel. The grandson of the local baker - French, beautiful, an artist and definitely not a ghost.
When Josephine and Gabriel venture to the shadowy Chateau Du Lac next door to her home, the secrets become more sinister. With Louis's help, can Josephine and Gabriel discover what her neighbours are really up to and solve the mystery of Louis and the locket too?
Review
Twelve-year-old Josephine and her family have just moved from Australia to a chateau in the southwest of France. Her best friend moved to Singapore earlier in the year, and they continue to communicate via email and facetime. It is surely Josephine’s time for a great adventure. Maybe something that she can diarize and use later, when she becomes a famous author.
The chateau needs renovation and she hopes that her clumsy Dad will not hurt himself in the process. He will be filming everything to use in a renovation documentary, as he is famous for producing wonderful documentaries.
Although Josephine wanted adventure, she never expected quite so much! First, she finds a locket and when she opens it, out pops the ghost of Louis XVII who has been inside the locket since his death in 1795. Then she meets and befriends the baker’s son, Gabriel.
Together, they uncover that famous stolen paintings are in the supposedly empty chateau next door. But can they alert the authorities and get the thieves caught? Josephine is able to keep Louis’ presence a secret from everyone, although the blur that keeps appearing in her Dad’s filming is making that a bit difficult...
This is a terrific novel, based on history and with references to the French Revolution, but set firmly in 2025. Jacqueline Harvey has written a wonderful story full of adventure, mystery and in-depth characters. You will love Josephine from the outset, and I am sure that readers will be keen to follow her adventures in future stories, with the second book due later in the year. It is best suited to middle grade readers aged 9 and up.
Teacher Notes prepared by the publisher are available on our website for this title.
