AustLit

'A darkly whimsical and wickedly funny tale about a twelve-year-old maid who finds herself at the very heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, ghosts, and intrigue. Just right for fans of Lemony Snicket and Neil Gaiman, Anyone but Ivy Pocket is the first book in a four-book series and is illustrated throughout.

'Ivy Pocket is a walking disaster, at every turn enraging and appalling the fancy aristocrats she works for. But our protagonist doesn't see herself that way at all. In fact, she's convinced she's rather wonderful, perfectly charming, and extremely talented. When Ivy finds herself abandoned and penniless in Paris, she has no idea how she will get back to England. Fate intervenes when Ivy is called to the sickbed of a dying duchess and is charged with delivering a spectacular (and possibly cursed) diamond necklace to Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday. From that moment on, Ivy Pocket is propelled towards her remarkable destiny in a surprising adventure full of villains, mayhem, and misunderstandings.' (Publication summary)

'A slightly dead girl with a nose for a mystery— somebody stop Ivy Pocket! The hilarious followup to Anyone But Ivy Pocket Ivy is now the beloved daughter of Ezra and Mother Snagbsy, coffin makers, even if she does have to work rather like a maid. But then Ivy guesses that all is not as it seems with her new parents, and discovers that she can pass into the world of the Clock Diamond. There, she sees her friend Rebecca, horribly sad and desperate. Can Ivy save Rebecca, and what do a missing aristocrat, a forbidden love affair and a bullfrog have to do with her mission? Illustrated in humorous gothic detail, Somebody Stop Ivy Pocket is the second tale in Ivy's deadly comic journey to discover who she really is. Now with a major feature film in production!' (Publication summary)