Cornelia And The Audacious Escapades Of The Somerset Sisters

Lesley M. M. Blume is a bright new star in the world of middle grade fiction. Cornelia is a story that you want to curl up with on a rainy day and never put down. It is full of unforgettable characters--from the ghost of King Arthur to an opera singer who sounds more like a howling dog to a lovable black French bulldog named Mr. Kinyatta to four winsome, independent sisters--and envelops the reader in its descriptions of both far-off places (India, Morocco, and Paris to name a few) and nearby places (the West Village). It is a contemporary novel, but has a fanciful quality to it--much like the Penderwicks--that gives it a timeless feel.

Eleven-year-old Cornelia is the daughter of two world-famous pianists-a legacy that should feel fabulous, but instead feels just plain lonely. She surrounds herself with dictionaries and other books to isolate herself from the outside world. But when a glamorous neighbor named Virginia Somerset moves next door with her servant Patel and a mischievous French bulldog named Mister Kinyatta, Cornelia discovers that the world is a much more exciting place than she had originally thought. An unforgettable story of friendship and adventure that takes readers around the world and back again, Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters is a dazzling first novel by Lesley M. M. Blume.

Ideal for readers interested in childrens fiction.