The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden

Gr 4–7—From the first chapter, Trevayne will have readers intrigued. On the eve of Thomas Marsden's 12th birthday, he and his father are out after dark looking for graves to rob. It's 19th-century London, and grave robbing is how Thomas and his father keep food on the table and the tallow candles burning. Thomas has developed a knack for "finding the bones": the sense of knowing which grave might hold the plunder they can sell in order to fill their bellies and put coal in the home fire. On this night, the first grave's yield is two silver coins. The second grave is fresh, and there is no coffin, just a body, one that is identical to Thomas, even down to the blemish on his cheek. There are also faeries living in London, trapped in the basement of a grand home belonging to a spiritualist named Mordecai. These faeries were brought to London against their will by Mordecai and able to speak for the dead, making him rich and famous. Even the queen has come to him in order to speak to her dead husband. The faeries are entrapped by evil magic and the iron that hurts and weakens them. The oldest of them, Deadnettle, has a plan to help them escape back to their world. The key is Thomas Marsden. Finding the grave of his "twin" leads Thomas to the faeries and to his destiny. Full of mystery and suspense, this fantasy adventure presents a likable main character, an eye into historical London, and an opportunity to recognize that sometimes it is our very ordinariness that makes us special.