About this item
Jump aboard for a journey to strange and spectacular lands ... . The magical must-read middle-grade novel from the bestselling author of THE POLAR BEAR EXPLORERS' CLUB and FROZEN CHARLOTTE. Bess has always loved her grandfather's collection of curiosities. So she's delighted when she's handed the keys to his Odditorium. But unless she finds a way to draw in the crowds, she'll have to close its doors for good.. When a mysterious train pulls into town, bound for The Land of Halloween Sweets, Bess hatches a plan and sneaks onboard. She is soon discovered by Beau the puppeteer, Louie the violinist and Maria the fire witch. Eager to join their adventure, Bess sets out to search for the rarest sweet of all - the ghostly gobstopper. . But the land is ruled by the fearsome Candymaker.
About the Author
Alex Bell was born in 1986. She always wanted to be a writer but had several different back-up plans to ensure she didn't end up in the poor house first. For some years these ranged from dolphin trainer to animal shelter vet but then, at fifteen, she had an epiphany involving John and Robert Kennedy and decided to become a lawyer instead. To that end she eagerly started a Law Degree only to find it so boring that she was at a very real risk of going completely insane. To mitigate this she started writing again. The second book got her an agent with Carolyn Whitaker of London Independent Books but, unfortunately, not a publisher. The third book, written during her first summer holidays off from university, found a home with Gollancz. The Ninth Circle came out in April 2008 with possibly the most beautiful cover ever created (matched only by her second book, Jasmyn) .Not one to learn from past experience, Alex started the Legal Practice Course in London. There she met some great people and had a lot of fun messing about during lessons that were clearly meant to be extremely solemn affairs. Thankfully, she dropped out just before the point where all students must submit to the personality-removing process that is a compulsory part of being an esteemed member of the legal profession. Now she happily dwells in an entirely make-believe world of blood, death, madness, murder and mayhem. The doctors have advised that it is best not to disturb her, for she appears to be happy there. The only other thing to add is that Alex Bell is an immensely - immensely - talented young writer, blah, blah, blah. The books are great, blah, blah. Everyone should totally go out and buy them and stuff.
