I'm a big Vashti Hardy fan so news of a book for slightly younger readers caused me much excitement; especially when an early copy arrived at home (many, many thanks to Harriett at Scholastic for that!).
Harley Hitch lives in Forgetown, which is part of the city of Inventia where mechanics, robots and inventing are part of daily life. Harley is full of good intentions, so when the first lesson of the new school year involves designing and building miniature working models of a new watermill for Rusty River, she is determined to do the best she can - after all, she is desperate to be awarded the prestigious honour of being Pupil of the Term. She reluctantly teams up with new student Cosmo and their design looks to be one of the best until it explodes and Harley realises that her classmate, Fenelda ( who was last term's Pupil of the Term, ad is desperate to repeat the honour) hands Harley liquid fire instead of liquid light. As a result, Harley and Cosmo are forced to spend after school in detention, in the Iron Forest, collecting cogs, and it's here that they discover what appears to be a new fungus growing on one of the trees. Excited, they rush home to tell Harley's two grandpas, who suggest they tell their teacher the following day. This results in a trip to the Iron Forest where the class discover that the fungus has grown quite alarmingly over night, and if the forest is in danger then the mechanical parts that everyone needs are also in danger. Whilst their teacher reports the issue to the Horticultural Society of Forgetown, Harley decides that this is the perfect opportunity to prove her worth as Pupil of the Term and sets about trying to rid the forest of the fungus herself. But will her efforts succeed or will she just end up in more trouble?
Harley really is a rather wonderful character: from the second we meet her, you see that she is well-meaning, trying desperately to make it to school without being late; however things seem to always conspire against her. Combine that with her individual dress style (who wouldn't want to adapt your outfits so you can carry useful tools?) and you have a brilliant character. I also like her imperfections though: she makes mistakes, she's often impulsive and she definitely gets things wrong! She realises, sometimes, when she needs to ask for help and when she needs to apologise. In short, she's human and readers will warm to her immediately - I know I did! Cosmo; however, is rather the opposite: very neat, rather quiet (probably shy on his first day), determined to make a good impression and keen not to upset his mum. Together, they make a great pair, even when they aren't speaking to each other!
The world that Vashti has created here is simply wonderful! (although I shouldn't be surprised having read her previous books!). The entire place is based upon technology and the robots are rather wonderful. Harley's pet, Sprocket, is just a delight and has his own huge personality, so much so that you may forget he's a robot! I particularly love the modifications that allow him to bring Harley a cupcake at the end of the day! And, please, if I ask nicely and promise to be polite to it, can I have my own tidy-bot, please?! The STEM theme that runs through the book, as well as the female characters taking the lead in technological creations, is bound to inspire young, female readers, and I love that!
Ooh, and I have to mention the illustrations by George Ermos, which are just a joy to find dotted throughout the book. And please ... that map at the beginning ... I love it!
With messages about friendship, learning from your mistakes and not giving up, this is a great adventure that will introduce younger readers to the wonderful writing of Vashti Hardy and I can't wait to see what Harley, Cosmo and Sprocket get up to next!
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