Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for the daring ‘Poppy Pym and the Double Jinx‘ by Laura Wood and thank you to Scholastic for inviting me to take part.

Double, double, toil and trouble…. Mystery is afoot in the sleepy town of Brimwell so naturally, Poppy and her friends decide to investigate. But when an arson attack and a series of unfortunate events occur during the local amateur dramatics group’s rehearsals, it would appear that things aren’t all they first seem.

For those of you who missed the first awesome Poppy Pym adventure (‘Poppy Pym and the Pharoah’s Curse‘), Poppy is the adopted daughter of Madame Pym’s Spectacular Circus after she was pulled out of a magician’s hat when she was a baby.  Now at a swanky new boarding school, St. Smithens, Poppy and her friends seem to be magnets for mysteries (and trouble!)

When on a trip into town for cake and books, everyone is dismayed to see Brimwell Town Hall turn into a blazing inferno. And there’s a cat stuck on the roof!  Without thinking, Poppy leaps to its rescue, using her circus skills to scale the roof.

That heroic deed not only lands her in hot water with her teacher, Miss Susan, but also drops her bang smack in the middle of the hunt for a long-lost family fortune, a cursed play and untold dramas!

I’m a bit of a sucker for stories set in boarding schools – they take me right back to the Trebizon and Mallory Towers tales of my childhood. So unsurprisingly, I loved this book and tried desperately to guess who was behind all the ‘accidents’ and tricks before the end – and I’m pleased to say I managed it (but only after steering clear of a red herring.) Maybe Poppy will let me join her gang?

Full of humour and references to popular culture (‘Love Vampire: Vampires in Love’ reminded me a lot of another very successful vampire franchise), I defy readers not to get totally drawn into the exciting world of Poppy Pym.

St. Smithens, once the family home of Phineas Scrimshaw, is a grand old building full of dusty attics and old oil paintings, but one place I’d particularly like to visit is the library – described thus:

If that hasn’t convinced you, maybe this amazing giveaway will: Scholastic have very kindly agreed to send a set of BOTH awesome Poppy Pym books to one lucky reader!

All you need to do is comment below with the name of your favourite book by Friday 16th September (if you are under 16, please get an adult’s permission first as I’ll need your address to post your prize.)

Poppy Pym – A glorious mash-up of Trebizon and Nancy Drew.  Love it! (p.s. If you haven’t read either of those series, check them out too.)

Library Girl.

For other stops on the blog tour, take a look below –