The Sinister Secrets of Singe

by Sean Ferrell, Graham Carter (Illustrator)

Overview

Now in paperback. The Wild Robot meets Sweet Tooth in the first book in a sweeping adventure series packed with robots, smugglers, battles, and a lonely boy trying to find where he fits in the world.

Eleven-year-old Noah has always lived in a mysterious house that grows larger every night. With only his mother and a robot-boy for company, he spends his days building devices for the city of Liberty. It’s a place he’s not allowed to visit—not since his father almost destroyed it.

After discovering a hidden message, Noah sets off to find the notorious inventor. All Noah wants is to be happy and for his skill to be appreciated, and he’s certain he’ll find both at his father’s side. With the help of a band of smugglers, he sails to the infamous island of Singe.

But what he finds there is perhaps more terrifying than the mechanical monsters his father was banished for. And when Noah returns home, he accidentally leads his father’s robot army to Liberty once more.

Now, it’s up to Noah to rescue the city—but to do so, he’ll have to make a terrible choice.

Clever, captivating, and a little bit heartbreaking, The Sinister Secrets of Singe is a breathless adventure perfect for anyone who’s ever felt lost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645951858
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	06/25/2024
Series:	The Sinister Secrets , #1
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.23(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.03(d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sean Ferrell lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He writes stories about children and adults who don’t understand why they keep getting into trouble. He is the author of I Don’t Like Koala and The Snurtch, both of which received starred reviews, as well as several novels for adults. The Sinister Secrets of Singe is his first middle grade novel.

Graham Carter can often be found printmaking, sketching, or making a mess in his studio. His picture book Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. He lives in Seaford in the UK with his wife and sons.

Editorial Reviews

"A boy’s determined search for his father lends emotional heft to this steampunk-inflected series starter. . . . Tackling questions about sacrifice and sentience, this speculative enterprise, accompanied by Carter’s moody illustrations, offers melancholic refinement. . . ."—Publishers Weekly

"Ferrell opens this exciting new middle-grade adventure series with a bang. . . . Lush world building and an action-packed storyline will prove perfect for fans of book franchises such as A Series of Unfortunate Events. With a plot that never fails to lose steam, accompanied by Carter’s eerie illustrations, Noah’s origin story is one that fans of adventure and mystery ought not to miss."—Booklist

"A rollicking adventure featuring a lonely, clever boy choosing to take great risks, face family struggles, and forge found family in the face of tremendous obstacles. Recommended for middle grade adventure shelves."—School Library Journal

"This high adventure veers between fast action sequences and stolid instances of emotional development."—Foreword Reviews
 
"An impressively descriptive story. . . ."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

04/24/2023

A boy’s determined search for his father lends emotional heft to this steampunk-inflected series starter, a middle grade debut from Ferrell (The Snurtch). Long overseen by distant mother Marie and robot caretaker Elijah, 11-year-old Noah isn’t allowed outside the family’s home, which grows larger each night, spiraling noisily and by unknown means into an ever-widening edifice at the edge of industrial city Liberty. After stumbling upon the schematics for a robot designed by his absent inventor father—whose “terrible mistake” once cost Liberty lives—Noah wonders if any of the man’s creations remain, and how they might be connected to the domicile’s growth. Noah soon unlocks an emissary of his father, and is swept up in a desperate quest to find his dad, fighting off terrifying machines and joining Winona, a girl his age, and her band of smugglers. Tackling questions about sacrifice and sentience, this speculative enterprise, accompanied by Carter’s moody illustrations, offers melancholic refinement to an otherwise straightforward adventure. Noah reads as white; Winona has copper skin. Ages 10–up. Author’s agent: Alec Shane, Writers House. (June)

Publishers Weekly

07/14/2023

Gr 4–7—This action-driven read with a steampunk twist finds a boy grappling with the consequences of his parent's creations (creatures like the spideratus and octochines). Noah, 11, has lived his life in isolation in a house that mysteriously continues to grow nightly with a robot caretaker and his distant mother, whom he refers to as Marie. A tinkerer and an inventor, his projects are taken to a local factory to go into production for some project in Liberty. When his curiosity brings him face-to-face with a hidden test left by his eccentric, exiled father, a series of events is set up that brings him into contact with the crew of The Abbreviated. With them he embarks on a journey to the island of Singe to see the deluded mechanical world his father built during his exile. When Noah and his traveling companions return to Liberty, the danger of the robot creatures follows, and Noah has to use all his wits to devise a solution to save the town and its people. The book introduces a main character who grapples with the choices his parents made in their work while defining his own values and willingness to make sacrifices. Illustrations intermittently appear in the text. VERDICT A rollicking adventure featuring a lonely, clever boy choosing to take great risks, face family struggles, and forge found family in the face of tremendous obstacles. Recommended for middle grade adventure shelves.—Erin Wyatt

School Library Journal

2023-03-29
Robots and humans interact in this steampunk adventure.

Eleven-year-old Noah has only known nighttime construction noises in his house, as new rooms are erratically built by an unknown creature. But when Noah wakes up to silence one day, his caretaker, humanoid robot Elijah, who is the only friend he’s ever known, refuses to answer his questions. Noah’s mother also won’t tell him anything and goes to work as usual at the robot factory in town, leaving Noah a list of contraptions to fix—something he, like his absent father, has a gift for. As the story unfolds, Noah learns secrets about what creature is hammering each night and why his father is gone. Accompanied by Elijah, Noah sets off to find his father and eventually comes face to face with incredible monster robots. The story’s promising beginning introduces readers to a compelling world of retrofuturism full of noise, steam, and whirring gears. But as the story continues, it doesn’t maintain this momentum. The initially impressive descriptions of the mechanics of the robots are overused, taking chunks out of what could be a terribly imaginative plot. While a few succinct observations about the morality of relying on the perfection of machines over the imperfection of humans are worthwhile, overall, the story is lacking in heft. Atmospheric black-and-white illustrations add a bit of whimsy. Noah reads White; the supporting cast is diverse in skin tone.

An impressively descriptive story hampered by thin substance. (Adventure. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews