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The Moonlighters

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Book Synopsis

Peter Pan meets Oliver Twist in the magical new book by rising star Lee Newbery, author of Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, The Last Firefox.

When ten-year-old Theo runs off from a school trip to London’s Natural History Museum and decides to pay his gran a surprise visit, he discovers the surprise is on him – his gran is on holiday and Theo finds himself alone in the big city with nowhere to turn.

Enter Alistair Goodfellow, a mysterious, flamboyant young person with a charismatic twinkle in their eye. Alistair offers Theo a room at the Casablanca Lily – by day, a run-down and unloved hotel; by night, a palace of magical wonders.

Each night, Alistair sends their found family of runaways and ne’er-do-wells, the Moonlighters, out into London in search of lost magical artefacts, gifting them their own magical powers as a reward.

Theo is quickly enthralled, but there is more to Alistair than meets the eye, and soon Theo comes to realize that the items Alistair is hunting could be more dangerous than he’d ever imagined . . .

Our Review Panel says...

Theo finds himself lost and alone in London after accidentally knocking the head off a Velociraptor with an old piece of dinosaur poop and running away from the chaos that ensues. He soon finds himself in the company of the fabulous and well-mannered Alistair Goodfellow, who offers him a get out of jail clause with a stay at the Casablanca Lily. He finds Alastair mysterious with his tricks and strange objects that seem to be magic.

As he finds himself needing to stay at Casablanca Lily, he soon realises that he has entered a magical world where even the house becomes alive and enchanted at night. He meets Alistair’s other lodgers and soon finds himself hunting for magical relics and enjoying having a taste of what fun the magic can bring. It all seems too good to be true, and soon the Moonlighters find themselves in danger and also doubting whether Alistair is as kind as he seems.

This book screams Oliver Twist meets Harry Potter with its characters and storyline. Alistair Goodfellow plays a Fagin-like character (but more stylish and devoted) with his group of run-away children, known as his Moonlighters, who are fighting a magical villain for the good of the magical community. It was easy to read, and I was gripped and emotionally invested in the Moonlighters as they faced their challenges. I would really recommend this book for Key Stage 2 children to read and lose themselves within the magical storyline.

The Moonlighters

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