The Secret Keepers

Reuben lives with his mother in New Umbra, a place ruled by the unseen menace known as The Smoke, and his very much seen henchmen, The Directions, who always travel in groups of four and watch everything and everyone. The townspeople live in fear of coming to the attention of The Smoke and know they need to keep on the right side of The Directions to ensure that does not happen. Reuben, a lonely boy with no friends who routinely skips school in favour of exploring the area, knows to steer clear of them but he has an adventurous streak and a curiosity which is bound to lead him into trouble. One day, while on one of his many excursions, he finds something very unusual - a pocket watch with no hands, seemingly useless until Reuben works out that it has the power to make the person holding it invisible for fifteen minutes at a time. The downside is that, whilst the person is invisible, they are also unable to see. Reuben is desperate to find out more about the watch and where it came from, believing there might be a reward for its return which would solve his mother's dire financial situation, but his search for the owner also brings him to the attention of The Smoke and Reuben and his new found friends, descendants of a past owner of the watch, are in grave danger as they battle to prevent The Smoke achieving the ultimate power. This is an exciting story involving many twists and turns, a legend from long ago and a promise kept down through the generations. It is also a very long story - 510 pages in all. It is advertised as suitable for readers of nine and over and indeed there is nothing in the vocabulary, the story line or the concepts that the competent nine year old reader would find overly challenging. The thickness of the book, however, may be off-putting for many readers of this age group. The book, though, is divided into three parts, the first two of about 150 pages each and the third section a little longer at about 200 pages and it might be more manageable for the young reader to consider this as a trilogy contained within one volume and treat it as three books. 510 pages / Ages 9+ / Reviewed by June Hughes, school librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 9+