The Kneebone Boy

General YA Fiction Category

VG/A Potter, Ellen. The Kneebone Boy. 2010. ISN: 978-0-312-37772-4.. 282p. $16.99.

Otto, Lucia and Max are the Hardscrabble children. Their mother has been missing for quite sometimes. One day, their father has to leave for a sudden assignment and he sent them off to London to stay with their Aunt Angela. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding with whoever answered Angela’s phone. The children were not picked up at the London train station. Somehow, the three of them managed to find Angela’s apartment, however Angela is now in Berlin, Germany. At this point, they have to find another place to stay for the night. Max remembered the address of their Great Aunt Hattie from a letter that their father received recently. They went on their adventure to find her hoping that she would allow them to stay. As they find their Great Aunt Hattie, they discover that she was not an old lady, but a young American woman who stayed in a castle in the city of Snoring-by-the-Sea. Great Aunt Hattie encourage the children to go on their own adventure, she believe children should discover their own adventure before they reach the age of fourteen. Indeed, they discover a secret passage to the Kneebone Castle and eventually they learned something unusual about their mother. The writer has a very interest narrative style and most teenagers will find it very easy to follow and enjoy the story very much. Especially in the beginning of the story, the author indicates “I can’t tell you which Hardscrabble I am – Otto, Luica or Max,” that it is because the story belongs to all of them. Dora Ho, Young Adult Librarian - Los Angeles Public Library.